[C320-list] Stuffing box question

[Chris Burti]

First question: When you unscrew the nut, how much water comes rushing in? A gusher, a trickle?  Not much until you start pulling the old packing out. Then a flow, but nothing to panic about.

Second question: Assuming I’ve measured and cut the packing beforehand, do I need a wrap around where the water is coming in? This is a nod to my natural clumsiness and likely fumbling while under pressure to clean out the old packing as quickly as possible.

I was thinking an old bicycle tube wrapped around the shaft. Not leak proof, but enough to slow things down. Old towel worked for me.

The new GFO packing was larger than the old and I had to tighten down on two rings with the nut first and undo it again in order to get the third ring in.

I cut my rings ahead of time. I overlapped once and cut them on a diagonal to make a scarf joint for a better fit and I aligned the joints at 120 degrees so that flow is minimized.

Remember, you want a tiny drip when the shaft is turning to lubricate and cool the packing and shaft.

Thanks,
Chris Burti
Commitment #867
Farmville, NC

From: Jack Brennan
Sent: Wednesday, November 25, 2020 7:47 PM
To: C320-list at catalina320.com
Subject: [C320-list] Stuffing box question

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