Water lubricated stern gland

[Noggin]

I have a Vetus water lubricated stern gland.  A steady drip has developed - the last time this happened (3 yrs ago) -the seal was replaced & the problem solved.  Is the seal supposed to wear out? - does it have a life span? 

[Tony Brooks]

You do know it needs lubricating now and again with "special" grease and the seal pulling forward and the shaft cleaning ever ??? hours.

[blackrose]

It's just basic plumber's silicone grease, the thick stuff is best. It's not that special really.

[Noggin]

No thanks Tony - I didn'tt know that - I wasn't advised the last time the seal  was replaced - I have contacted Vetus for further info

 

[Tony Brooks]

I would also check the engine to shaft alignment in case the engine has dropped on its mounts. Has the shaft bearing been checked? I think its a rubber Cutless bearing and they do wear out.

[Noggin]

I had an RCR inspection/service 2 mths ago so I would hope any problem re the mounts would have been picked up then -they were checked- it does sound like the Cutless bearing has worn out -    Thanks Tony

[johnmck]

Eight years and 5000 engine hours, ner  a drip from our PSS water lubricated stern gland. No extra lubrication required either. 

[dor]

A lot of people do not really understand these stern glands.

Mine has done several thousand hours over the last eleven years and doesn’t drip.

the most important thing is to have accurate alignment. They work very well with Python drive type bearings. They will accommodate a certain amount of movement if relying on direct connection , but don’t like a continuous misalignment. This can show as a ‘polishing ‘ of the bearing on one side if you have removed the prop shaft.

Squirting some silicone grease in the hole every 100 hours, as instructed by Vetus, is very desirable; I’m surprised how many owners of this stern gland are unaware of this.

Running a bit of grease round the shaft on the outside of the bearing doesn’t hurt either.

Make sure the vent is clear. This does not need a continuous flow of water in the sort of usage in a canal boat, but is needed to allow air to clear so that water can flow into the bearing.

[Drayke]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

It's just basic plumber's silicone grease, the thick stuff is best. It's not that special really.

Vetus silicon grease must be very special going by the price of it . 

[blackrose]

2 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

Vetus silicon grease must be very special going by the price of it . 

One would have thought so, but as I said, it's just thick plumber's silicone grease available at an plumber's merchants or online, eBay, etc. 

 

I think we all know how expensive Vetus parts are, and it's almost as well known that they can often be replaced with much cheaper non-vetus components. I'm thinking of things like their water trap/sediment pre-fuel filter elements which are ridiculously expensive but do exactly the same job as CAV/DELPHI ones that only cost a few quid. You have to buy and fit the housing first of course but it pays for itself straight away after the first element change.

Edited May 3, 2019 by blackrose

[Alan de Enfield]

34 minutes ago, blackrose said:

I think we all know how expensive Vetus parts are,

Wait until you try Volvo parts.

 

Needed some 'special' hydraulic oil for the steering, local Volvo dealer was just under £30 for 1 litre.

The Vetus is £17.95 / litre

 

Got the specification (ISO VG 15) found the same spec and ordered from Ebay.

Got 5 litres for £10 (delivered)

 

Hydraulic fluid
Hydraulic oil : In accordance with ISO VG 15
Viscosity : 14 cSt at 40°C
Viscosity index : Greater dan 380
Solidifying point : Below -60°C

The following hydraulic oils fulfil the above specifications:
Vetus : Hydraulic oil HF15
Shell : Aeroshell Fluid 4
Chevron Texaco : Aircraft Hydraulic 5606G
Esso : Univis HVI 13
Exxon Mobil : Mobil Aero HFA

Edited May 3, 2019 by Alan de Enfield

[Jen-in-Wellies]

10 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

Vetus silicon grease must be very special going by the price of it . 

It is the Costalotium they put in it. Not an ingredient of other greases.

 

Jen ?

[Boater Sam]

8 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Wait until you try Volvo parts.

 

Needed some 'special' hydraulic oil for the steering, local Volvo dealer was just under £30 for 1 litre.

The Vetus is £17.95 / litre

 

Got the specification (ISO VG 15) found the same spec and ordered from Ebay.

Got 5 litres for £10 (delivered)

 

Hydraulic fluid
Hydraulic oil : In accordance with ISO VG 15
Viscosity : 14 cSt at 40°C
Viscosity index : Greater dan 380
Solidifying point : Below -60°C

The following hydraulic oils fulfil the above specifications:
Vetus : Hydraulic oil HF15
Shell : Aeroshell Fluid 4
Chevron Texaco : Aircraft Hydraulic 5606G
Esso : Univis HVI 13
Exxon Mobil : Mobil Aero HFA

This is what happens all the time when vehicle/components manufacturers specify that you must use only their oils, filters, greases etc. Its a nice earner for them. As they don't actually manufacture the commodity but buy it in rebranded it is possible to get exactly the same product from the maker at a significantly reduced price.

 

#There are exceptions. We used to buy Fomoco (Ford) oil in gallons ( going back a bit ) cheaper than the Esso equivalent in bulk. The empty cans came in handy for the "I'v run out of petrol up the road and have no can" brigade#

[Guest]

I liked the earlier type Vetus seal where the actual seal looked like a miniature go cart tyre. I found the later type that use two traditional oil seals to be less successful. I now have a Radice seal which looks like the Volvo type but has a vent tube and lubricating point fitted. Cheshire Marine supplied me with this, also about 1/2 the price of a Vetus unit.
More details here http://destinynarrowboat.weebly.com/vetus.html

[pearley]

WE have the Volvo one and grease it at every engine service - 250 hours. The first one was replaced in 2014 so 10 years and around 5000 hours. It was replaced again last year, not due to leakage but we damaged the prop so had the cutlass bearing, shaft and seal replaced at the same time. The one supplied by Kings Lock was non genuine and seems much stiffer rubber. I push a shaped piece of plastic between the rubber and shaft to open it up then squeeze 100ml of grease in with a syringe. Would be much easier if it had a grease cap like the Vetus.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, pearley said:

WE have the Volvo one and grease it at every engine service - 250 hours. The first one was replaced in 2014 so 10 years and around 5000 hours. It was replaced again last year, not due to leakage but we damaged the prop so had the cutlass bearing, shaft and seal replaced at the same time. The one supplied by Kings Lock was non genuine and seems much stiffer rubber. I push a shaped piece of plastic between the rubber and shaft to open it up then squeeze 100ml of grease in with a syringe. Would be much easier if it had a grease cap like the Vetus.

I have heard that some people use a flattened drinking straw attached to a syringe for getting grease into the Volvo unit.

[Sea Dog]

16 hours ago, catweasel said:

I have heard that some people use a flattened drinking straw attached to a syringe for getting grease into the Volvo unit.

Quite frankly I'd stick to the manufacturers instructions and press the grease in with a finger so as not to risk damage to the lip seal. Mine certainly seems quite happy to let me do that. It's also important to "burp" it after its been out of the water to remove any trapped air and allow the water lubricated design to do its stuff.

[blackrose]

On the Vetus unit there's a small Allen key screw at the top which you're supposed to undo and put a small amount of silicone grease in. I've never had much success trying to do that as you can't get much in through the tiny hole. Some people say they use a syringe but the grease is a bit too thick for that, so a couple of times I just took the front of the bronze housing off completely, slid it up the shaft, cleaned inside with a clean cloth and slapped a decent amount of grease in there. You get a bit of water coming through as you're doing it but nothing to worry about and it flushes any dirt out. When you take the 3 screws off and separate the front of the housing you do have to be careful not to damage the gasket, so you just pull the front away gently and check to see which part of the housing the gasket is stuck to.

[Tony Brooks]

35 minutes ago, blackrose said:

On the Vetus unit there's a small Allen key screw at the top which you're supposed to undo and put a small amount of silicone grease in. I've never had much success trying to do that as you can't get much in through the tiny hole. Some people say they use a syringe but the grease is a bit too thick for that, so a couple of times I just took the front of the bronze housing off completely, slid it up the shaft, cleaned inside with a clean cloth and slapped a decent amount of grease in there. You get a bit of water coming through as you're doing it but nothing to worry about and it flushes any dirt out. When you take the 3 screws off and separate the front of the housing you do have to be careful not to damage the gasket, so you just pull the front away gently and check to see which part of the housing the gasket is stuck to.

your way seems fine to me as long as you watch the gasket but what about putting the grease tub/tube in near boiling water for a while, that should thin it a bit.

[blackrose]

4 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

your way seems fine to me as long as you watch the gasket but what about putting the grease tub/tube in near boiling water for a while, that should thin it a bit.

Yes that's not a bad idea and it would thicken up once in there as it cooled down.

[Guest]

4 hours ago, blackrose said:

On the Vetus unit there's a small Allen key screw at the top which you're supposed to undo and put a small amount of silicone grease in. I've never had much success trying to do that as you can't get much in through the tiny hole. Some people say they use a syringe but the grease is a bit too thick for that, so a couple of times I just took the front of the bronze housing off completely, slid it up the shaft, cleaned inside with a clean cloth and slapped a decent amount of grease in there. You get a bit of water coming through as you're doing it but nothing to worry about and it flushes any dirt out. When you take the 3 screws off and separate the front of the housing you do have to be careful not to damage the gasket, so you just pull the front away gently and check to see which part of the housing the gasket is stuck to.

Never had any probs. using a syringe when I had the vetus unit TBH, but can see that it would be a good idea to warm the stuff first.