in this issue
Sealing Horizontal Agitators and Mixers
Sealing High Temperature Process Products
Alternative Sealing Technology
Sealing Horizontal Agitators and Mixers
Taming the shock loads
Controlling stuffing box leakage in horizontal agitators or mixers is a common problem.
In most cases mixer shaft deflection (shock loads) are high, making it almost impossible task to seal, control or minimize leakage. As such, it is a common sight to see horizontal mixers leaking excessive water all over the floor.
Conventional stuffing box sealing methods: rope packing cannot withstand these shock loads. Standard shaft deflection loads are high enough to crush the rope packing unevenly making it impossible to control leakage regardless whether gland adjustments are made, or additional rings are added. Complete re-packing of the stuffing box is usually required. In addition, should the shaft be damaged conventional rope packing will not adapt to these areas of wear.
Fluid Sealing Service has successfully sealed up horizontal agitators and mixers for the last five years using a proven method of eliminating or minimizing the above problems. Using the RainsFlo Engineered High Performance Sealing System, gland forces are transmitted directly to the stuffing box base as well as along the shaft/sleeve.
This sealing system is also capable of absorbing the shock loads, it will seal shaft wear areas by using Force Transfer, no need for flush because it is self-lubricating and also transfers heat away from the shaft.
The RainsFlo system is economical and comparable to a quality braided packing and provides long term reliability.
Sealing High Temperature Process Products
High Temperature Metal Bellows Seal Assured Sealing Integrity
Fluid Sealing Service has used UTEX's MBT bellows seal in sealing up heat transfer fluids with great success. It was selected because it fits most popular ANSI and API pumps without stuffing box modifications.
The MBT seal incorporates a superior nestled ripple bellows design that assures sealing integrity. This is a long lasting seal because it comes standard with high quality alloys and state-of-the-art sealing technology. The flexible graphite secondary seal in the rotating unit remains static and eliminates any shaft or sleeve fretting.
We chose this seal because the welded bellows core provides 360-degree face loading. It also has a special design front hub and face insert that minimizes distortion due to pressure and temperatures. We have seen many seals fail in these applications because this pressure and temperature distortions cannot be controlled.
Also, the integrally balance MBT metal bellows mechanical seal remains clean while running because of the rotating bellows which generates a centrifugal force to expel abrasives.
We recommend using this seal in heat transfer fluids, tower bottoms, chemicals, paint, ink and fuel oil.
An Alternative Sealing Technology
Injectable Packing Compounds Add To The Choices For Shaft Sealing Strategies
Injectable packing sealant compounds are a relatively new technology that adds to the choices for shaft sealing strategies in many applications. The compounds are highly lubricated fiber-reinforced composites that are designed to be injected into the stuffing box area by hand or using the flush water port and a
high-pressure hydraulic injection gun.
The injected material moves over itself molecularly under laminar flow conditions as the shaft moves, providing a sealing continuum in the stuffing box and ensuring leak-free operation without additional heat generation. This eliminates the need for lubricating and cooling flush water.
Fluid Sealing Service has converted many mechanically sealed pumps over to injectable sealants that have provided the owners with better reliability, improved plant and equipment maintenance at reduced costs. The operating costs of wasted water and product is eliminated because the highly lubricious Universal Packing requires no cooling or flush water and it will run leak-free.
If you have any experience with injectable packings, no matter what brand you've tried, they all exhibit similar failures. Extrusion of the compound into the process stream or onto the floor is a recurring problem. Once extrusion begins to occur, leaks develop from a lack of stuffing box integrity.
Your injectable packing vendor lead you to believe that you would be able to reinject a leaking stuffing box with added compound while the process was running to stop developing leaks, but reinjection would seldom correct the leak path. Once an extrusion path was developed, it provided a way out for any additional material forced into the stuffing box, perpetuating the initial failure.
Fluid Sealing Service's PLE Sealing System has a proven sealing record in pumps, air-locks, refiners, pulpers, blenders and many other stuffing box applications. Combined with our injectable packing, the PLE Seal Set utilizes two conical wedges to simultaneously seal the Shaft Compression Ring to the shaft and expand the Bore Expansion Ring to the bore. This cuts off all leak paths and you won't experience extrusion problems. Leading edge materials offer excellent wear life, low friction and tight seal edges.
Our PLE Sealing System offers a 100% Performance Guarantee --- no other injectable packing vendor offers such a guarantee --- they can't --- because they have extrusion problems.
Of course, not all applications are necessarily candidates for any one sealing technology. Some situations require more complex mechanical sealing systems. In others conventional braided packing is the best answer. Many applications, however, will work extremely well with our PLE Sealing System.
Call Fluid Sealing Service today, we can help you bring down costs and improve equipment reliability and efficiencies.
It's no secret that a broken pipe can be a real disaster. Now Fluid Sealing Service offers you the secret to avoiding costly downtime caused by cracked or broken pipes, conduits, and storage tanks.
UTEX Industries ChemPatchTM pipe repair kits are the quick action answer for emergency and permanent repair jobs. Each kit come complete and ready to use, with no mixing and no mess. The secret is tough fiberglass cloth impreganated with a proprietary resin. Simply open the package, activating the resin, then wrap the ChemPatch material around the broken pipe section. In only 30 minutes, the resin is cured and the repair is complete.
ChemPatch pipe repair kits can be used for PVC, metal, rubber, fiberglass, and plastic pipes. Kits are available for both shut-down pipes and pipes under pressure, ranging from 1/2" in diameter and up.
The ChemPatch Fiberglass repair kit offers 1,001 uses for home, marine, farm, business, and industrial repair applications. Like the pipe repair kit, the self-contained repair patch is convenient and easy to use, requiring no mixing or measuring. The ChemPatch Fiberglass repair kit even sets on wet surfaces. Use it to repair pipes, conduits, tanks, boats, auto and truck bodies, industrial containers, and more.
Split Seal - The EzeSeal Mechanical Split Seal is the latest in mechanical seal design by Utex. Provides long lasting reliability and can be maintained at a remarkably low cost.
Zero Maintenance Seal - A Truly New Concept In Cartridge Mechanical Seals, No Flush design. This patent pending cartridge seal is not a modification or a duplicate of any seal on the market.
Utex’s Thermex™, Style 482, takes advantage of the latest technology in exfoliated graphite material to provide a high-temperature, high-pressure gasket tape. The manufacturing process of this unique tape provides a high-strength, sure-sealing gasket tape which resists blowout in high-temperature flanges and also resists galvanic corrosion with stainless flanges.
Dual Coaxial Gas Seal
Utex Industries has developed a dual coaxial gas seal with all the benefits of a double seal.
The new seal design achieves one of the shortest axial sealing lengths by utilizing two unique seal faces on the same plane and same axis.