Stern tube greaser - how to use one?

[sabresailor]

Hi - I have just bought a boat (25ft yacht with 13hp volvo) with a stern tube greaser. Can someone advise me on when & how often to turn the greaser please?

General suggestion seems to be give it half a turn after motor has been stopped. I have read a few posts but not sure this is correct.

Thanks

Mike

 

[mawm]

I have found no one who can give me a definitive answer.

I had a dripless shaft seal fitted and unfortunately do not know who manufactured it as the person who fitted it made enough money from me to fund his cruising for the rest of his life. I used to give it a half turn once or twice a season (about 40 hrs/season) and it always dripped, so I increased the frequency of greasing it......... and it dripped even more.

There must be a point where the grease blocks the flow of the water that cools the seal and shaft. I think that I have managed to do so!.

 

[sailorman]

Hi - I have just bought a boat (25ft yacht with 13hp volvo) with a stern tube greaser. Can someone advise me on when & how often to turn the greaser please?

General suggestion seems to be give it half a turn after motor has been stopped. I have read a few posts but not sure this is correct.

Thanks

Mike

mine does not drip or spew grease inside the boat.I can turn the shaft by hand on the coldest of mornings (gland not too tight).
i generally only turn my remote greaser when finished for a w/e, on a long passage under engine, i might give it a turn if i remember

 

[Neil_Y]

Sparingly, over use can allow grease down the stern tube to the bearing, here it can block up the water flow through the bearing causing it to over heat and fail.

 

[michael_w]

My boat's got a traditional stuffing box usually I firm up the greaser every 6 hours of continuous motoring. Or when I can remember.

 

[[70521]]

When I remember.

 

[Poignard]

When I remember.

+1

 

[sailorman]

Just make sure that the stuffing box is not running too hot to touch

 

[sighmoon]

I turn it until it goes stiff after motoring.

On the subject though, trying to fill it up, I get grease all over my hands trying to poke and squelch it into the greaser, and lots of air pockets where I haven't managed to poke it enough. Am I doing it wrong?

THe grease tub has a cover with a hole so you can squeeze it down to make a sausage shaped lump of grease, but it still doesn't go in easily . Does anybody have a clever dodge - for instance, could freezing a sausage thus produced make it easier to get into the greaser?

 

[sailorman]

I turn it until it goes stiff after motoring.

On the subject though, trying to fill it up, I get grease all over my hands trying to poke and squelch it into the greaser, and lots of air pockets where I haven't managed to poke it enough. Am I doing it wrong?

THe grease tub has a cover with a hole so you can squeeze it down to make a sausage shaped lump of grease, but it still doesn't go in easily . Does anybody have a clever dodge - for instance, could freezing a sausage thus produced make it easier to get into the greaser?

place the tin with the hole over the greaser & push, no mess,no dust,no fuss,thats us

 

[vyv_cox]

The type installed makes something of a difference. The two principal types are shown in the first two drawings here http://coxengineering.sharepoint.com/Pages/Sterngear.aspx
In the top one the stern tube is filled with grease, which can slowly leak past the lower bearing. An occasional turn of the greaser is needed to top this up.
The lower type is fitted with a grease nipple or connection but the grease enters the stern tube below the packing. In this design the grease simply floats on the water in the stern tube and rarely manages to get inside the packing. With modern packing materials greasing is rarely needed. If the packing housing is hot to the touch it may benefit from greasing, although slackening the bolts will probably be better.

 

[sighmoon]

place the tin with the hole over the greaser & push, no mess,no dust,no fuss,thats us

I thought that was how it was supposed to work. In our case though, the greaser is in a corner so the tub won't fit over it.

 

[[70521]]

I thought that was how it was supposed to work. In our case though, the greaser is in a corner so the tub won't fit over it.

Same problem here, I use a spoon.

 

[Nigel-in-Oxford]

I was told in my youth to turn the greasing pump until it went hard at the end of every day of use, have done that for the last 40 odd years, no problems and few drips.
To fill the greaser take the pump body off and press the now open base on the disk in the grease tin, as you push down screw the pump to the top as it fills, wipe end and refit. Easy.

 

[jerrytug]

First wind out the handle so the full lenghth of the threaded push rod is exposed,but do not remove the cap.
Next grasp the greaser body in your hand using a rag to stop it slipping,and unscrew the whole greaser body from the fitting which is screwed down. The first time you do this it will be tight because it has paint on it or has been overtightened,so you may need an oil filter removing tool eg strap wrench.
Turn it upside down and put in grease,I use a knife from the galley, and *gently* tap the greaser handle on deck, the grease will fill up the greaser as if by magic with no gaps,no prodding down the grease,no mess.
When it is full,screw it back on,don't overtighten.
I found this method by accident due to overtightened threads on the cap by the way cheers Jerry

Edited to add,I turn it until it gets stiff,then another couple of turns,before motoring,and before leaving the boat unattended for a while.
Thin grease lets a drip through,thick grease doesn't, I found a massive pot of 70-yr old lift machinery grease,seems to work well and smells weird,made from whales perhaps!

 

[ghostlymoron]

What is the greaser supposed to lubricate? Stern gland, cutless bearing, stern tube? It sounds as though many sailors forget or don't bother to grease without dire consequences.

 

[Tranona]

Its a hangover from the days when stern tubes had a white metal bearing behind the packing which did need grease. As already suggested, modern packing does not need large quantities of grease.

 

[l'escargot]

I turn it until it goes stiff after motoring.

On the subject though, trying to fill it up, I get grease all over my hands trying to poke and squelch it into the greaser, and lots of air pockets where I haven't managed to poke it enough. Am I doing it wrong?

THe grease tub has a cover with a hole so you can squeeze it down to make a sausage shaped lump of grease, but it still doesn't go in easily . Does anybody have a clever dodge - for instance, could freezing a sausage thus produced make it easier to get into the greaser?

The last greaser I had, the tube actually unscrewed at the base. You lifted it off, placed it in the grease tin, wound the plunger back up and it drew in the grease. Then just screwed it back onto the base.

 

[cryan]

It's interesting to read that a lot of people grease when stopped. It is fairly standard practice at sea to only grease when the shaft is rotating. This way the shaft distributes the lubricant around the shaft as you add it and there is zero chance of over pressuring one side of the shaft with too much grease and thus risk damaging the shaft line components.
As to how much? On a small vessel with greasing points on the shaft you would generally give the points a couple of shots of grease every week if running all the time. So on a yacht? 2-3 times a season?

For the leisure user, clockwork auto greasing capsules may be an easier option. Simply wind them up and they add as required until their empty.

 

[Woodlouse]

I give the greaser a turn when ever I think about it when motoring, so typically every four to eight hours. I don't see the point in greasing when the prop shaft isn't turning since I can't imagine the grease being distributed evenly.