Mechanical Seal for Latex

[sealwiz]

I have tried every seal combination I know about to try and seal latex. The problem remains the same. The latex forms a coating on the seal faces that drive the faces apart and render the seal useless.

I saw on a forum that a knife edge seal is an option. Has anyone tried this type seal? Who is the mfr? What kind of success?

Thanks for any help or guidance.

 

[longeron]

What have you tried so far?

 

[Milkboy]

I have seen a Bellow Design Knife Edge seal used on Latex in the past. It was a slow speed application so the seal was also designed to run eccentric and therefore clear away the latex from the seal face interface.



-
Milkboy

 

[Onager]

John Crane make a knife edge face design.

You didn't mention what type of latex you are trying to seal. Thermosetting latex could use a double seal which would require some extensive temperature control.

Other seal types to consider are the triple lip seal designs from Flowserve and Fluidol.

 

[scalleke]

Depending on the mixture that you are using there must be a water contamination level that you can tolerate.

You should use double seals water flushed. That will give you a little water contamination, but your seal internals will get all gummed up as they are not flushed with water.

My personal favorite is to use a labyrinh lower and mechanical seal upper combination. Flush the seal cavity with water at slightly higher pressure than the pump cavity pressure and the labyrinth will be flushed clean. The upper seal will ride on the water.

Best regards.

scalleke