Stuffing Box, no greaser

[Spyro]

How common is it to find a traditional stuffing box with no remote greaser. The stuffing box looks original and has no signs of where a greaser would have been fitted.
What are the advantages or disadvantages of this?

 

[MrCramp]

Every one I have ever seen has either had a greaser, or a couple had oil/water feeds. Maybe you should ask this question on the Classic boat forum as maybe older boats have different arangements.

 

[TigaWave]

Many have no greaser, but most of these are not in the UK it seems.

Grease can cause problems, as it is not a good conductor of heat (no where near as good as water) and the grease can work its way back down the shaft to the stern tube bearing, blocking water channels and due to its poor conduction of heat, over heating the bearing and accelerating wear.

Water is an excellent lubricant and coolant, and many thousands of stern glands operate with just water.

We work with a stern gear company in Western Australia and they only see greased glands when the bearing has failed and its full of grease.

 

[Spyro]

Thanks for the info, No stern tube bearing on mine though.

 

[peteK]

When I bought my boat there was no greaser fitted on stuffing box ,bought a kit,tapped a thread in the stern tube and fitted it.

 

[MrCramp]

Which kit did you buy and where did you buy it from. Would you reccomend it?

 

[peteK]

Bought it from a canal boat chandelry as it was the best price at the time.Look in the marine catalogues or on line.The kit consists of a screw down pump which you fill with grease ,a length of plastic pipe and several brass fittings.Before I fitted it a lot of water used to leak in if I didnt keep adjusting the stern gland,but now all I do is give half a turn to stop the water ingress.

 

[MrCramp]

Thanks for the reply. I have the grease nipple and use a conventional grease gun at the moment, so it should be easy to fit a remote greaser.

 

[Evadne]

I managed for years with the little "chinese eggcup" size greaser where you have to fill the cup on top of the bearing up and then screw it down again. I fitted a remote greaser two winters ago. It's easier to add grease to the bearing, and I know what is going in and when, but I'm not sure I've gained all that much really, apart from squeezing more grease into the bearing than I used to. The bearing is good (repacked it last winter) and only needs a tickle of grease every few hours. We rarely motor for more thaon an hour or two at a time.