Causes of Seal Leakage & Potential Solutions

Over time, seals age and develop wear or sustain damage, causing seal leakage. A common issue, seal leakage or failure, can often be resolved quickly and efficiently. However, if ignored, seal leakages and failures can damage your application. Learn about symptoms and reasons of seal failure and potential solutions.

Seal Failure Symptoms

There are several indicators that your mechanical seal is experiencing failure. To determine the cause, your application should be evaluated for performance challenges contributing to seal leakage. If your system has:

• A cracked or broken mating ring
• A scored and grooved carbon washer
• Short seal life within a treated system
• Uneven wear on the primary ring
• Rapid carbon wear and hard, brittle bellows
• Dissolved appearance and soft, sticky bellows
• Intense wear or broken retainer drive tabs
• Broken flexible bellows
• Worn out shaft

Your mechanical seal application is most likely experiencing some leakage or failure. Addressing the reasons for failure can provide solutions that may mitigate performance issues leading to continued part failures or, left unanswered, significant damages to your application.

Reasons for Failure

Many factors can play a part in seal failure. When investigating possible reasons for failure, some issues are as minor as improper seal installation, coupling misalignment, or a system that requires cleaning. A range of other possible causes for seal leakage include the following:

• Seal overheating due to dry operation, then met with cool liquid, creating thermal cracks
• High temperature and treatment level, leading to shortened seal life
• Pump running dry, leading to extreme temperature levels and damaging bellows
• Bellows incompatible with the material being pumped, leading to deterioration
• Excessive vibration or coupling misalignment, causing loss of lubrication at the seal face
• If the shaft is not straight, experiencing radial movement or end play causes premature shaft wear

Generally, the causes of seal leakage can be addressed quickly with a number of potential solutions, like high-quality replacement parts. Confronting mechanical seal failures promptly allows your application to face minimal downtime before continuing operations.

Seal Leakage Corrective Action

Varied solutions can address and solve the challenges causing seal leakage. Solving failures in mechanical seal applications usually requires a part or pump replacement or component realignment. In addition to proper cleaning and flushing of a system, potential solutions to seal leakage include:

• Ensure the chamber has adequate liquid before starting pump operations, and when encountering high temperatures, verify proper flushing at seal faces
• Consider abrasive separator installation
• Check installation, review instructions, and certify the application has been appropriately assembled
• Incorporate seal chamber cooling, utilize EPDM or Viton® elastomers, high-temperature carbon, Ni-Resist, or tungsten carbide mating rings
• Realign pump and motor applications, ensure suitable flushing at seal faces
• Replace shaft and bearings

More significant challenges may need more comprehensive solutions. When more advanced fixes are required, Springer Parts can assist in determining an appropriate solution for your mechanical seal application.

Quality Replacement Components and Engineering Guidance for Seal Failure

Springer Parts offers a range of replacement parts and kits to address mechanical seal failure and leakages. Simplifying the repair process, replacement parts and kits from Springer saves time and resources in finding compatible mechanical seal components. Additionally, Springer Parts can offer application guidance with solutions to challenging seal failures. Springer Parts advises recommendations for pump applications and replacement parts with temperature difficulties and can provide more appropriate seal recommendations that address the needs of your application.

Think Springer Parts for Your Seal Leakage Replacements

With a variety of cost-effective mechanical seal solutions, Springer Parts aims to provide quality products and technical expertise to solve seal leakage and failure. Our vast inventory includes pump products and repair kits, replacement components for mechanical seals, and pump applications that meet or exceed performance requirements for OEMs. Contact Springer Parts for more information or request a quote today.