That depends on the shaft angle, if fairly steep the breather is halfway along the bearing section so can leave air in there by the seal lip.
Radice is the same with greasing point and air vent/ water feed
I've had both and am going back to Volvo to install on my recently acquired boat.. I can't recall drying out in 15 years (never say never but...) and I have easy access to burp and grease it... the less complicated Volvo offering seems like the better choice in this scenario.
neutral, if already fitted. There are pros and cons.. it needs more space to fit (not an issue if already fitted) the carbon ring can 'stick' to the stainless face if not used for a while, on the plus side it should not need replacing every 5 years as Volvo recommends. Vyv's site is very useful Stern glands
Each to his or her own. I had a bilge keeler and now have a cat. We dry out regularly and, especially on the cat, getting at the seals to burp them would be a pain. Even if I rarely dried, it's the sort of thing that I'd easily forget after a winter ashore.
Exactly the opposite. One of the benfits of the Radice is that it is self venting so no need to 2burp" after drying out. Hardly complicated. Just run the vent above the waterline. No need to visit McDonalds to get a straw to do the greasing either.
PSS is over complicated and expensive. would not change it on an existing boat unless there were other things needed doing. For some, though the fact that it does not run on the shaft means you can fit it on a worn shaft - although a new shaft and a Volvo seal would be cheaper on a small boat.
Straws are also available in M&S cafes.
All down to the location of the seal : were I to use a Radice the vent pipe would have to take a convoluted route in the aft cabin to ensure it gains sufficient height, and my prejudice about below water line fittings without seacocks comes to bear.
