GLAND SEAL VS. MECHANICAL SEAL

Gland seal is a traditional contact seal, which is widely used. The gland seal has a simple structure, convenient replacement, low cost, and wide application range. The mechanical seal has a complicated mechanism and high manufacturing accuracy, but is expensive and inconvenient to maintain.

Difference between Gland Seal and Mechanical seal

1.High Reliability of Mechanical seal

The reliability of the mechanical seal is higher than that of the soft packing. The mechanical seal will show a stable seal state during long-term operation with only a small amount of leakage. According to statistical data, the leakage of mechanical seals is only one percent of soft gland seals, which shows that the reliability of mechanical seals is better.

2. Long Service Life of Mechanical seals

The mechanical seal has a long service life. It can work for more than 2 years in neutral liquid media, more than 1 year in oil media, and it can work long in the environment of chemical media for more than half a year.

3.Good Friction Performance of Mechanical seal

The frictional power of mechanical seals is low, and the wear on bearings and shaft sleeves is small. Generally speaking, the frictional power consumption of mechanical seals is less than half of the frictional consumption of soft gland seals, and the bearings and shaft sleeves will not cause wear.

4.Wide Range of Mechanical seals

The material of the mechanical seal determines that the mechanical seal can adapt to the working environment of high temperature, low temperature, high pressure and high speed. Mechanical seals have anti-corrosion ability and can be used for sealing of corrosive media and abrasive-containing media. In addition, mechanical seals have a strong anti-vibration ability and are insensitive to vibration, yaw and tilt responses.

5.High Technical Requirements of Mechanical seals

Compared with soft gland seals, mechanical seals have higher requirements for manufacturing processes and more complex design structures. Therefore, the installation and replacement of mechanical seals require operators to have enough technical skills. This characteristic of the mechanical seal determines its high selling price and the difficulty of accident handling.

When to Use Gland Seals

Gland seal can be used for sealing of rotary, reciprocating and helical motion, and axial movement of the rotary motion axis is allowed. The disadvantage is that the sealing performance is slightly worse, the shaft is not allowed to have a large radial runout, the power consumption is large, the shaft is worn, and the service life is short. Gland seal is mainly used for low-viscosity liquid pumps such as clean water pumps. It is not suitable for flammable, explosive, precious or toxic liquids. Gland seals can be used in rotating conditions in addition to pumps. The gland sealing structure is simple, the operation and maintenance are convenient, and the cost is low. The disadvantages are high power consumption, poor sealing reliability, and easy wear on the shaft during use. For the no leakage needs of many factories today, gland seal cannot meet this requirement. The gland seal has a wide range of adaptability and greater randomness, but for the factory, frequent replacement or maintenance will cause great losses to the factory.

When to Use a Mechanical seal

Mechanical seals have good tightness, stable performance, low leakage, low frictional power consumption, long service life, low shaft wear, and IT can meet a variety of working conditions. It is widely used in petrochemical and other departments. Under normal circumstances, there is no need for frequent maintenance, and the vibration resistance is good. It is not sensitive to the vibration, deflection of the rotating shaft and the deflection of the seal cavity. The mechanical seal has a wide range of applications. The mechanical seal can be used for sealing at low temperature, high temperature, vacuum, high pressure, different speeds, and various corrosive media and media containing abrasive particles.