A Guide to Gland Packing,

Selection of Gland Packing,

Standard sizes
Marine Machinery, Engines & Controls / By Chief Engineer Mohit
Sanguri / Marine Engineering

How to Select Gland Packing

for Different Applications
The selection of gland packing is a very important part of the
marine engineer’s job. An incorrectly selected gland packing
would soon fail in service and lead to leakages. As a number of
packings are available, the field of selection is very wide. There
is no single gland packing that can handle all kinds of fluid or
which is suitable for all types of valves and applications. A valve
is only good if its sealing is good and a leaking sealing
arrangement amounts to a leaking valve with all its associated
faults. Not only is it displeasure to the eyes it is also a work,
health, and fire hazard. Gland packings are made of the
combination of the materials discussed earlier and are
manufactured in plaited, braided, twisted, jacketed, corrugated
foil, foil wrapped deformable core, and full foil form. It is
prudent to consult the manufacturer’s manual about the type of
gland packing to be used. The gland manufacturers also give a
list of applications where their gland packing can be used; these
should be consulted before use.

Gland Packing Details

How to Cut Gland Packing
The gland packing should be cut with a sharp knife to avoid
fraying of the edges. Do not use scissors or hack saw blade etc.
A heavy duty engineer’s knife or a sharpened ordinary knife
would do.

There are two methods of cutting the gland packing, the first
one is straight or at 90 degrees i.e. Butt joint and the second
one is at 45 degrees i.e. skive joint. The taper method gives
better sealing but is more difficult and skill oriented and the
angle on both the ends should match properly or otherwise it
would lead to more leakages. In places where there is an
accessibility problem it is best to cut the gland packing straight.

How to Remove Gland

Packings
Removing a gland packing can be very tough sometimes,
especially if it is old and well set, you need to have specially
contoured tools which the marine engineer learns well to make
with experience. There are also gland packing extractors
available in the market, which look like a cork screw used to
open the wine bottles but are flexible. They just have to be
twisted to get a grip and then the packings can be pulled out.
The problem comes when the old packings have lost their
properties and the packing comes outs in fibers. Sometimes in
sea water pumps when the packings are not coming out, a little
opening of the sea water suction valve would push out the
packing with ease due to the water pressure. But it should be
done very cautiously as you can flood the bilges and you must
shut it promptly.

Packing Removal Tools

Standard sizes of Gland
packings
In case the instruction manual is not available, then the correct
size of the packing can be determined from a simple method.
Simply measure the inner diameter of the bore of the stuffing
box and subtract from it the outside diameter of the shaft. The
figure obtained must be divided by 2 to get your gland packing
size. But generally the following sizes of the gland packings are
recommended for the different shaft sizes as follows:
 1. For shafts of size 16 to 28 mm diameter the gland packing
of size 8 mm is used.
2. For shafts of size 30 to 46 mm diameter the gland packing
of size 10 mm is used
3. For shafts of size 50 to 75 mm diameter the gland packing
of size 12.5 mm is used
4. For shafts of size 75 to 120 mm diameter the gland
packing of size 16 mm is used
5. For shafts of size 125 to 300 mm diameter the gland
packing of size 19 mm is used
But the above is only a guide line and it varies from
manufacturer to manufacturer.

How to Measure the length of

the Packing Required
For measuring the gland packing size the following methods
can be used.

1. Take the reference of the old removed packing and cut

accordingly.
2. Put the new gland packing on the shaft circumferentially
or on a template and then mark and then cut the required
length.
3. The most accurate is to measure the size of the shaft and
calculate its perimeter or circumference. For example if the
shaft is of 50 millimeters diameter then the circumference
is given by the formula P = Pi x Diameter. That would
make the perimeter 157.07 millimeters. This measured
length can be cut from the gland packing reel considering
 a 2 mm clearance in packing which would swell in
presence of sea water.

How Much Gap is to be Kept?

Some types of packing swell a little on contact with water. This
must be considered and an appropriate clearance should be
provided. Otherwise it would seize the shaft leading to
overheating and burning of the packing, as well as increasing
the load on the shaft and the motor. In some cases the shafts
have even broken due to excessively tightened packing.

Also sometimes the packings do not go in the stuffing box

spaces easily and they have to be hammered to make them a
little thinner thus elongating them in return. This factor must
also be considered in giving some gap. However the hammered
and thinned packings would again gain their width after being
compressed. As a rule hammering should be avoided as it
damages the gland packings and should only be resorted to in
an emergency, when the correct size packing is not available.

How to Insert the Gland

Packing
The following are the cautions and the instructions while
installing new gland packings.

1. After the gland packings have been removed the spaces

must be thoroughly cleaned with compressed air to
ascertain than no residues of the old packing remain
inside.
2. The shaft must be carefully inspected for any abrasions
and pitting marks and if any must be removed with 300
grit emery paper. In case it is not possible to smooth the
surface, the sleeve must be changed at the next possible
opportunity.
3. Gland packing once used must not be reused and never
try to reverse a gland packing as the old packing must
have lost its properties in service.
4. The packings must be selected as per the service required.
5. The correct size of the packing should be referred from
the instruction manual or measured.
6. Cut the gland packing to the correct size and give a little
clearance if using natural fibers like hemp and jute which
would swell in contact with water.
7. Fit each packing one by one with lots of lubricant and do
not forget to stagger the same by 90 degrees each.
8. Compress with the gland to ascertain that it goes inside
evenly.
9. Check that the shaft is free to rotate after the insertion of
the gland packings.
10. Slightly tighten the gland till a little resistance is felt
in the turning of the shaft by hand.
11. After the tightening slackens the nuts and finger
tighten. The tightening must be done during the running
in process.
12. Remember that a gland packing is not supposed to
completely prevent leakage of the fluid, a small leakage of
about ten drops a minute is required for lubrication and
cooling.
Running in of the Gland
Packing
After the gland packing has been inserted in the pumps (both
reciprocating and rotary) the pump must be allowed to run with
a moderate leakage for ten minutes and after that start
tightening the nuts one turn every five minutes. Keep
monitoring the temperature of the gland and if it is getting too
hot slacken the same amount. After another five minutes
tighten again and monitor the temperature. Please remember
that a little leakage of about ten drops a minute is required for
the lubrication and the cooling of the gland packings. Do not
attempt to stop the leakage entirely because it would look all
right for ten or fifteen minutes, but the moment you turn your
back and are busy with some other work, the gland packings
would burn triggering all the smoke alarms in that area and the
leakage would flood your bilges. It must also be noted that over
tightening the gland also leads to premature wearing of the
shaft sleeves.

Conclusion
Gland packings are used extensively in the marine field yet they
are one of those things that engineers take for granted.
Normally engineers just check the size and put the first packing
they come across if it is of the same color. This negligent
attitude results in leakage and scored shafts. It is also due to
the fact that training material is not available to the junior
engineers when they join this field and by the time they come
up the ranks they are used to the idea of wrong working
practice. In this article the subject has been discussed in brief
and it is hoped that it would be useful to the new marine
engineers as well as the practicing marine engineers.