Which Type of Industrial Seal you Should Use?

Which is the best and most effective sealing technology for your pump or agitator application? Mechanical seals vs. pump packing? 

In past companies or manufacturers didn’t want to switch to mechanical Shaft Seals because of the complicated installation and need to completely dismantle the equipment. The invention of cartridge and split mechanical seals effectively eliminated those dilemmas, but many operations have stayed with pump packing out of sheer habit in situations in which shaft seals would provide a better return. In this blog, we will make clear for you.

 

When Mechanical Seals Are the Clear-Cut Choice

For many types of equipment, applications, or conditions, using a mechanical seal is really the only effective sealing option. This decision focuses on the safety or environmental issues associated with leakage. 

A mechanical seal, and more specifically a double mechanical seal, should always be used when the pumped fluid presents a safety, health, or environmental hazard. Packing cannot be 100% leak free. Even when leakage isn’t visible, harmful vapors could be escaping. This is also true for single mechanical seals. It involves process like cut gaskets, these can be Gasket Materials.

 

These are some factors to weigh when looking to replace packing with a mechanical seal :-

• Reliability & the Cost of Downtime
  
  If reliability is a primary factor, the clear choice is mechanical seals. And although the initial investment is considerably higher than pump packing, it will pay off long term. The decision to go with a mechanical seal comes with a level of commitment to achieve a true return-on-investment. A good seal vendor will help you select the correct seal design, make sure you have the most effective installation/support setup for the conditions, ensure that the equipment is in the proper condition to support the mechanical seal, and outline the regular maintenance schedule like sheet rubber and Flaxible graphite These commitments will ensure that the seal investment will pay off for many years.

 

• Leakage/Loss of Valued Product
  
  While compression packing doesn’t necessarily need to leak, typically there will be some leakage. Depending on the application and the fluid being sealed, this may be considerable. And due to the typically lower lifespan of packing, the leakage associated with failure will occur more frequently. In some instances, this is not an issue. However, it is often a safety issue due to the type of product or the volume of leakage (and/or lack of maintenance staff to routinely clean up the mess).In some cases, our customers find that the savings in lost product actually pays for the cost of the new mechanical seal very quickly. We recommend measuring the loss of product for a single pump for a week (including the clean-up maintenance labor)…then calculating for the year, multiplied by similar pumps across your operation. The results are often eye-opening and often make for an easy return-on-investment conclusion for moving to mechanical seals.