Mechanical shaft seals – Goulds Pumps 3498 - IOM User Manual
Page 42
Make sure the seal cage is properly located in the stuffing
box under the sealing water inlet. The function of the seal
cage is to establish a liquid seal around the shaft, prevent
leakage of air through the stuffing box, and lubricate the
packing. If it is not properly located, it serves no purpose.
MECHANICAL SHAFT SEALS
General
A mechanical shaft seal is supplied in place of a packed
stuffing box where specifically requested. Mechanical seals
are preferred over packing on some applications because of
better sealing qualities and longer serviceability. Leakage is
eliminated when a seal is properly installed, and normally
the life of the seal is much greater than that of packing on
similar applications.
General instructions for operation of the various
mechanical sealing arrangements are included below. It is
not feasible to include detailed instructions for all
mechanical seals in this booklet because of the almost
unlimited number of possible combinations and
arrangements. Instead, seal manufacturer’s instructions will
be included as a separate supplement to this book where
required.
1.
Mechanical seals are precision products and should be
treated with care. Use special care when handling
seals. Clean oil and clean parts are essential to prevent
scratching the finely lapped sealing faces. Even light
scratches on these faces could result in leaky seals.
2.
Normally, mechanical seals require no adjustment or
maintenance, except routine replacement of worn, or
broken parts.
3.
A mechanical seal which has been used should not be
put back into service until the sealing faces have been
replaced or relapped. (Relapping is generally
economical only in seals two inches in size and
above.)
Four important rules which should always be followed for
optimum seal life are:
1.
Keep the seal faces as clean as possible.
2.
Keep the seal as cool as possible.
3.
Assure that the seal always has proper lubrication.
4.
If seal is lubricated with filtered fluid, clean filter
frequently.
3498 IOM 12/04
39
5