Stuffing box question/can of worms

[Keith]

Wrong, RickBee. From Wikipedia:


Organic chemistry is a discipline within chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation (by synthesis or by other means) of chemical compounds that contain carbon. These compounds may contain any number of other elements, including hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, the halogens as well as phosphorus, silicon and sulfur.<sup class="reference">[1]</sup><sup class="reference">[2]</sup><sup class="reference">[3]</sup>

Because of their unique properties, multi-carbon compounds exhibit extremely large variety and the range of application of organic compounds is enormous. They form the basis of, or are important constituents of many products (paints, plastics, food, explosives, drugs, petrochemicals, to name but a few) and (apart from a very few exceptions) they form the basis of all earthly life processes.

[RickB]

I don't suppose the term "organic compound" lit any bulbs did it? Not to mention that definition of organic was written a few hundred years ago. Keep looking, keep reading, you will find as many definitions as you care to use.

That doesn't make carbon organic and it doesn't mean it cannot be part of a ceramic composition.

[C lectric]

Captain Morgan23,

At the risk of confusing the issue, if you keep on* with the stuffing box you have and repack it (it's a good unit) there will always be a fine mist of spray thrown around the whole area.* Perfectly normal even on well adjusted boxes.

I covered mine with a hacked up piece of an old fender lightly clamped in place over the top of the box with the bottom side left open.* That way any spray is caught by the fender piece and drops into the bilge instead of covering the coupling and back of the marine gear and anything else nearby.*** Can be very quickly removed for adjustment and you can still check the drip rate easily without touching the fender.

By the way, get some extra S.bronze nuts and use them for locking the adjustment nuts.

-- Edited by C lectric on Sunday 25th of October 2009 10:14:16 PM

[Keith]

Saying carbon is inorganic is just plain stupid. And wrong of course.

[RickB]

Keith wrote:

Saying carbon is inorganic is just plain stupid. And wrong of course.

*Well, I guess if you don't know the difference between an element and a compound then a lot of things must seem "just plain stupid."

[Keith]

"There are many inorganic carbon compounds; carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, cyanides, carbide ... the list goes on."
______________________________________

Those are all organic, since they contain carbon.

[RickB]

"Those are all organic, since they contain carbon. "


And some people believe the Earth is flat.

I am not going to waste my time arguing with a scientific illiterate but it is disappointing to see such an example in this day and age.

[Keith]

Gee, RickBee, with a degree in chemistry I wouldn't exactly call myself a "scientific illiterate", but of course you would.

You have obviously never maken a single mistake in your entire life, in your own mind.

You also have NEVER told a lie, have you? You're perfect.

[captmorgan23]

I have noticed that threads really tend to go off on crazy tangents on this forum.........and also tend to get a little hostile......you guys need to play nice with each other.....I mean thats why we own trawlers ...right...so we can go slow, take a deep breath, and relax a little bit.

MP

[Marin]

captmorgan23 wrote:

I have noticed that threads really tend to go off on crazy tangents on this forum.........and also tend to get a little hostile......

It's human nature on parade.* The only way to prevent it is to actively moderate the forum, which is what they do on the T&T list.* A lot of people resent the T&T moderators but I can understand why they are as strict as they are.* With a large group of participants you get all sorts of personalities, and discussions will soon wander off-topic and maybe*get personal.* I've seen threads on T&T start with a query about customs requirements for entering Canada and end up in a heated argument over gun rights until a moderator put a stop to it.* Most of the people on T&T seem to like the way that forum is run.* It's an e-mail based list which means you get every post whether you want to or not.* Many people object when it bogs their system down with tons of off-topic entries.* So there is a practical motivation to keeping the T&T*list on-topic.

A web-based forum doesn't have the volume issue for people.* John and Doug have decided to let this forum be self-governing and have provided a bucket--- Off the Deep End--- for off-topic discussions and personal differences.* Outside of that, it's pretty much anything goes although I assume the administrators could block a person from posting if they wanted to.

[Marc1]

RickB wrote: Keith wrote: Saying carbon is inorganic is just plain stupid. And wrong of course.

Well, I guess if you don't know the difference between an element and a compound then a lot of things must seem "just plain stupid."
Jeez, you guys know how to have fun right? Why did no one call me?

Carbon is inorganic? Carbon is Organic? What about Oxigen? Is Oxigen organic? What about O2 does it make it more organic? I think that Hydrogen is organic...when combined with Carbon in CH4....Peuuuu.....who was it?


Ha ha, guys you crack me up, come on stay on the subject of packing> I think it was me who said to avoid "ceramic" packings, and was probably wrong for repeating someone else's words. I meant to say drippless crapparola system who can rip apart and sink your boat.
I use to own a very old Chris Craft boat built if I am not wrong in the 30ties who had a stuffing box that looked just like the one in the picture a few pages back but did not have the hose and clamps. The stuffing mechanism was attached directly to the brass pipe, no hose of any nature. Also the engine was not on flexible mounts but on steel mounts bolted down and there was no flexible coupling either.
Despite all of that I had no problems. For stuffing I used Hessian fibre mixed with a bit of grease and twisted it around in a cord of sorts. Never thought that to be critical anyway since even if I took all the stuffing off to clean it out I would get only a moderate water intake since the pipe was lined with a large white metal bush and the gap was the thickness of a newspaper page. We made that bush ourselves with old crankshaft bushes from the wreckers. We wrapped the shaft in newspaper and pored the molted metal in the hole. The paper would burn but would still produce an acceptable gap.

My boat did not even have a bilge pump. I did have a square tin cut diagonally that I used to get water out once a month or so. Good ol' days eh?




-- Edited by Marc1 on Tuesday 27th of October 2009 10:57:15 PM

[Baker]

Marin wrote:

*

A web-based forum doesn't have the volume issue for people.* John and Doug have decided to let this forum be self-governing and have provided a bucket--- Off the Deep End--- for off-topic discussions and personal differences.* Outside of that, it's pretty much anything goes although I assume the administrators could block a person from posting if they wanted to.
*



I guess I have confidence in the goodness of people. *I am hoping y'all catch yourselves before it gets ugly. *And, Yes, we can ban someone and have.

[sunchaser]

The*best reference point for organic vs inorganic is your grocery store. Go to the fruits and vegetables section, organic costs twice as much. Or place both objects in question near a Florida swamp, after two years the*object unchanged is inorganic. Neither wikpedia nor organic chemistry books from the 50s are accurate to the purist, so why the fuss.

I can tell you that for over 4 decades I have been in an industry that successfully combines organics with inorganics to make elements. However, I'll never claim to be an expert less I get thoroughly skewered by the TF police!*

Lets see now, is anhydrous ammonia plowed into the soil to*make beets grow faster an organic or inorganic? How about the carbon ceramic seals on the shaft used to prevent AA from uselessly leaking into the atmosphere? Oh, and who really cares?

[captmorgan23]

I love pop tarts.....my favorite ones are the cinnamon and sugar with the frosting. I am also a huge fan of 50's detective movies.....anybody...anybody.

MP

[BaltimoreLurker]

BaltimoreLurker wrote:
FF wrote:
This is mostly correct UNTIL the more modern Gore and other materials were marketed.

Now your 1905 antique stuffing box can be packed with modern material that runs with a dry bilge , even underway , lower shaft temperature than even tefflon, and far less chance of a scored shaft from flaking being captured by the antique packing.

FWIW, I used the Gore packing material this season, and it certainly seems to work as advertised and as FF describes.* Once I got everything adjusted correctly I had no drips and, according to the IR gun, the shaft and packing gland never goes above 105 degrees. Which is probably little above ambient temp in the engine room on the Chesapeake in the summer when the air temps are in the 90s and the water temps in the mid/upper 70s.

I don't know that we've quite beat this one to death yet.* But, I finally got "Moon Dance" out for the Spring shakedown run yesterday and checked the stuffing box & shaft temps again.* 81 degrees.* Which, in the cold spring water sounds about right to me.* Just a few degrees above ambient. Certainly acceptable anyhow.

No drips from the stuffing box.* Plenty of leaks elsewhere, all from the decks and above, but none from the stuffing box.* Maybe I can Gore pack my leaky decks, fittings and windows.*





*

[Bendit]

We have a PSS system in Pioneer (came with the boat) and it has been trouble free for 6 years - BUT I'd rather have a conventional stuffing box!