Stuffing Box Question.

[BAD ORCA]

I have an old dripless i'd like to start thinking about replacing. I want to change it to a traditional bronze stuffing box but am a little confused on the dimensions.

My stern tube is 2.5" outer diameter and my shaft is 1". All the bronze stuffing boxes ive looked at so far for 1" shaft have smaller diameter connection to stern tube. Is my particular setup an anomoly or am i misunderstanding how they are connected?

My impression is that the rubber hose is one single diameter that connects from the back of the stuffing box directly onto the stern tube. Thats how it looks in the pics and is how my dripless is setup. Are there common adaptors to get a smaller i.d. hose onto a larger o.d. stern tube?

[kapnd]

Hose in a hose for reducer?
It’s worked for me, I used Rector Seal#5 from Lowe’si. It is slippery enough to help with installation, and then becomes sticky.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by BAD ORCA

My stern tube is 2.5" outer diameter and my shaft is 1". All the bronze stuffing boxes ive looked at so far for 1" shaft have smaller diameter connection to stern tube.

Give these guys a call.
https://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/...-packing-boxes

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by BAD ORCA

I have an old dripless i'd like to start thinking about replacing. I want to change it to a traditional bronze stuffing box but am a little confused on the dimensions.

What is your rationale for the switch back? I wouldn't say don't do it, but having a dry bilge once we got rid of the stuff box really made the boat smell nicer and drier too. We don't have water in the bilges.

Pete

[kapnd]

Originally Posted by Pete7

What is your rationale for the switch back? I wouldn't say don't do it, but having a dry bilge once we got rid of the stuff box really made the boat smell nicer and drier too. We don't have water in the bilges.

Pete

Modern packing materials correctly installed can make a stuffing box dry without the inherent dangers of dripless seals.
The farther you sail from civilization, the more important it becomes that the packing gland is foolproof, and is user serviceable.

[BAD ORCA]

Originally Posted by Pete7

What is your rationale for the switch back? I wouldn't say don't do it, but having a dry bilge once we got rid of the stuff box really made the boat smell nicer and drier too. We don't have water in the bilges.

Pete

I trust them more than a dripless against catastrophic failure. Iv'e had issues with my dripless in the past that makes me wary of them long term. As a consequence i had to permanently relocate a battery bank and water heater behind the shaft seal so i could get in that space in the event of a failure of the bellows.

With new packing materials, traditional stuffing box are fairly dry in the bilge, and it would be a simple ordeal to make a contained area in the bilge under the shaft and put a small bilge pump in there to keep the rest of the bilge dry.

I may be stuck with the dripless though as its the only seal i can find that will fit my boat and the short section of shaft.

[BAD ORCA]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Give these guys a call.
https://www.deepblueyachtsupply.com/...-packing-boxes

Thank you, will do.

[BAD ORCA]

Originally Posted by kapnd

Hose in a hose for reducer?
It’s worked for me, I used Rector Seal#5 from Lowe’si. It is slippery enough to help with installation, and then becomes sticky.

Potentially but it seems like it creates a weak link. Thats why i want to replace my dripless. The bellows seem like a similar weak link that scares me.

If i could find a reducer hose that was one piece, that might work.