Stuffing Box!

Warning: This post is boring!

So I have had a slow drip from the stuffing box for some time now, which I have known. Part of the reason for the neglecting this was because I didn’t know where to even begin.

For those who don’t know what a stuffing box, it is the is a mechanical seal assembly used to prevent water from leaking around a rotating shaft, such as a boat propeller shaft. Some water needs to be present to cool the shaft, provide lubrication of packing material and keep it from overheating. It works by compressing packing material around the shaft using an adjustable nut, allowing the shaft to move while creating a tight seal.

The slow drip turned into a fast drip once back in the water and I knew it was time to do something about it, as my bilge was fuller than normal this morning. With the encouragement from my good friend, I started to hammer away to loosen up the locking nut and packing nut. Since the stuffing box is in an awkward tight place behind the engine I also check off my yoga for the day. After a few hours of loosening the locking nut and tightening the packing nut, I managed to stop the leak. Tomorrow, I will run the boat in gear to make sure I haven’t tightened it too much and therefore overheat.

As soon as I think there is nothing more to learn, Sarantium throws me another opportunity to learn!

The lower nut is the packing nut and the one directly above is the blocking nut, which does exactly that; blocks the packing nut from moving back.