Mechanical Seal - Installation Procedure

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Mechanical seals are devices that provide a seal at the point where a spinning shaft enters or exits. It's usually utilised to keep one high-pressure fluid from leaking into a lower-pressure fluid.

A mechanical seal is a highly useful tool. Every centrifugal pump must be able to accommodate a spinning shaft while keeping fluid or gas contained in the pump's "wet end." Mechanical seals are made up of a rotary seal face with a driving mechanism that rotates at the same speed as the pump shaft, a stationary seal face that mates with the rotary and is held in place by a gland or, in some pump models, an integral stuffing box cover, and a tension assembly that keeps the rotary face firmly positioned against the stationary face, preventing, excluding, and containing contamination.

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Mechanical Seal Installation Procedure

Procedures for Installing Mechanical Seals:

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• Mechanical seals are precision-engineered assemblies incorporating finely lapped seal faces and seats. They must therefore be handled with care and will not give optimum performance unless installed carefully and according to instructions.

• Where mechanical seals are to be re-used ensure seal components are kept in their appropriate sets.

• Do not mix old and new seal faces on the same seal.

• Remove any sharp corners and burrs that may damage any elastometers such as o rings or lip seals.

• Ensure that all seal component installation bores and housings are thoroughly cleaned before installation.

• The seal faces and seats must be handled with care and cleaned thoroughly before installation.

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• Ensure that seal faces are undamaged and that the o rings, Squad rings (position 30) and L-Cups (position 32) are not cut, swollen or cracked. It is recommended that new Squad rings are installed each time that the static seal faces are removed from the rotor case and that new L-Cups are installed each time that the rotary seal faces are removed from the rotors.

• All elastometric components should be lightly lubricated with a suitable lubricant before installing, but ensure there is no excessive amount of lubricant especially around the seal face area.

• When cleaning seal faces with solvent based cleaner, avoid getting solvent onto rubber components.

• Ensure static seal faces are mounted squarely in the rotorcase and the rotary seal faces are mounted squarely in the rotors.

• Do not use any excessive force to install a mechanical seal. If it is difficult to position and assemble the seal then something is wrong.

• If you drop or damage a seal, do not install it before an inspection has been carried out.

• WARNING - Do not run a mechanical seal dry.

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