Was in the process of searching for Constant Level Oilers and happened upon a web site that may have offered an alternative to this(magnetic seals). Having no experiences with this type of seals and before making any investments either way I would appreciate if anyone can lend any insight as to their experiences with magnetic seals.

We are in the process of moving away form OEM lip seals on our pumps and reducers to either labyrinth or magnetic seals. We have a few magnetic ones running with mixed results. One used on a reducer leaked, but after an investigation, it was determined the configuration was wrong. The manufacturer made some modifications and replaced the defective one. Since, we have had good luck. We have not settled on a manufacturer, but are putting seals from each in service to evaluate.

Hope this helps some,

Gary B

Any paper or standard on seal selection & application?

Josh,

I believe that you are asking for any information that I may have on magnet seals. I was able to get the most detailed information from Isomag.com this is a good site. As for the applications I would like to apply these seals to all critical equipment as far as possible. The applications would include reducers,bearings,& pumps.

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Gary,

Gary,

Any comparison between magnetic seals & mechanical seals? Can we retrofit to existing equipment? Btw, what do guys mean by reducers?

Though magnetic seals that replace lip seals in machines have sealing surfaces similar to mechanical seals, they are not interchangable. Magnetic seals are designed to directly fit in the locations where OEM lip seals are. They are used to keep oil or grease in the machine and contaminants and water out. As for reducers, they are speed reducers or increasers usually installed between drive and driven machines.

Hope this helps,

Gary B

Any guide on seal selection & application to understand the total picture?

How effective are these magnetic seals? If we use them, guarantee no contaminants & water ingress into machines? Can we then avoid testing for these in lube oil analysis?

Ok, here we use the term gearbox.

From the lack of response to my inquire it appears that there is little experience with these seals. These seals on paper seem in fact to be a cure all to many lubrication conditions such as the elimination of breathers and pop offs(in some cases), also making the need for constant level oilers obsolete since there should be no oil loss.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ron Robles,

quote:

Originally posted by Ron Robles:
From the lack of response to my inquire it appears that there is little experience with these seals. These seals on paper seem in fact to be a cure all to many lubrication conditions such as the elimination of breathers and pop offs(in some cases), also making the need for constant level oilers obsolete since there should be no oil loss.

Constant level oilers have been around and usefull since the 1930's. Some of the best units have not changed much since then. Oil-Rite corporation (920) 682-6173 x 138 offers a true constant level oiler in that it still functions as you are refilling it. Others, Trico-Mfg, Lube Devices, Lube Site, etc. offer competitive units that work as well. If you would like further info on any of these products please feel free to e-mail me. sbeauchamp@xactfluid.com

But we are looking for ways to keep oil or grease in the machine and contaminants and water out, aren't we?

Ron,
We have recently fitted magnetic seals. There were teething problems. They used the tightness of their 'O' rings to drive the shaft mounted part of the seal. The 'o'rings were beefed up and the seals operated successfully, however, on one pump's bearing we were losing oil through the stem of the oiler bottle. The oil was defying gravity. The answer was that the small flip cover of the oil fill fitting was a total air seal, which along with the magnetic seal being so good, as the oil heated and the pressure built up in the cavity, the pressure could only escape through the stem of the oiler. It took a while to figure out with the solution being to slightly bend the cover of the flip cap.
Regards,

Another way to deal with the pressure created by the unit heating is to use an expansion chamber. They are expandable bladders that fill when the air heats. Using these helps make a sealed unit helping keep moisture and other contaminants out.

Gary B

Ron,
I have been using ISOMag seals for some time with good success. You have to remember few items:
- these seals do not withstand any higer pressure, I think 10 psi would be pushing your luck,
- if you have shaft fixed through thrust bearing it can be used. Don't use on motor rotors using sleeve bearings,
- it very important to install these seals right. It has to be square with shaft otherwise it'll not seal.

Hello all,

I'd like to bring up a previous discussion on ISOmag seals. Does anyone have experience with long term use? For instance, wearing of the o-ring, longevity of the seal, and frequency of replacement? Any feedback on use in steam turbines?

Thanks

Alex, do we need to modify the bearing housing for the installtion? we have issue on water(leaked steam) ingressing bearing box. the gap between seal and bearing housings is like 10mm.

You'll have to provideexisting housing and shaft geometry to your ISOMag seal vendor and they'll advice. In my case we did not make any modifications.