[C320-list] correct stuffing box adjustment

[Jeff Hare]

I agree with Herb's guidelines.  Ultimately, you want it to run at a temp that won't burn your hand if you touch the nut after motoring at speed for a while. 

If it is too hot to touch it needs to be loosened. If its got steady drips and cool to the touch, tighten it up until it either stops dripping or starts to get hot. 

The GFO packing on ours barely drips when running and runs uncomfortably warm but not  too hot to keep a your hand on.  It always seems to have a drop of water on the underside of the nut if it has been sitting but a paper towel below it never gets wet.  

After several seasons I inspected the shaft and there was no sign of wear at the contact area so I assume its not too tight. 

I do suggest putting a few drops of penetrating oil on the threads every few months if you think of it to make adjustments an easy process.  I keep  a mini plastic dropper bottle of oil in the compartment so you can hit it on occasion when opening/closing the thru-hull if you see corrosion forming? But don't get oil on the shaft or on the packing material. 

-Jeff
------Original Message------
From: hcreech at comcast.net
Sender: c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
ReplyTo: C320-List at Catalina320.com
Subject: Re: [C320-list] correct stuffing box adjustment
Sent: Aug 29, 2010 2:05 AM

Peter, 
Before I installed gortex packing, which I highly recommend, as do most on this list, mine was adjusted so that I had one drip about every ten seconds when running. My attempt was to have no drips when not running, but this was never achieved, there was always a drip. Invest in the GFO packing, it is worth it and you want have to worry about drip rates again. 


Herb Creech 
Cloud Chaser #606 



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Peter Belsky" <peter at peterbelsky.com> 
To: C320-List at Catalina320.com 
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2010 12:37:00 AM 
Subject: [C320-list] correct stuffing box adjustment 


Can anyone advise on the drip rate for a properly adjusted stuffing box. I was only able to get 1 drop every 15 to 30 seconds when the shaft was not spinning. However I could not see any drips at all once the engine was in gear and the shaft spinning (2,500 RPMs) 

I figured 1 drop every few seconds when still was a better bet than no drips at all, as I don't want anything to overheat. 

Any insights much appreciated... Peter