Question on Pump Gland Packing Material

The best thing to do here is to pick up the telephone, and discuss the issue with the pump manufacturers and with various seal manufacturers to see what these people can come up with. After all, they will have met the problem many times before.

...and solved it.

Stuffing boxes are generally unsuitable for flammable, toxic, or precious fluids. This is because stuffing boxes are ordinarily designed to leak at small rates such as a few drops per minute.

I agree with Tornado. Any jet fuel pump should have a mechanical seal. Stuffing boxes and packing should be used on clod, non-flammable service only

Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for a massive fire at a later date.

Was this pump used in another (non-flammable) service earlier ?

Tell us where this airport is located (so that we can avoid it in our travels)

I am agree with your Ans.

...the consequence of which is potentially a serious materials containment problem that could impact on the safety of the facility and everyone in and near it.

Make the call.

I see a new pump in your future....don't fool around with highly flammable liquids and mickey mouse patches that were never intended to be there in the 1st place

May I know where are you from? My friend in Mumbai India is mfr. of all types of gaskets for various types of pumps, but it may not be feasible to supply single gasket for export.

If everything us up to specifications and clean with proper procedures on installation a mechanical seal should be the answer. If your personnel cannot achieve results have the manufacturing rep provide on site assistance. All packing require some leakage for lubrication and cooling so avoid this non solution for safety reasons. There are no shortage of quality mechanical seals available. Just some seem better in certain circumstances than others.

Hi, PTFE gland packing is one answer. I'm sure there are others, but the PTFE will do the job for most fuels and needs minimal maintentanence. Gerry D.