gordiec said:
The shaft seal has two parts. The white ceramic seal presses into the pump body, but does not touch the motor shaft. The other half is the spring loaded carbon seal and it is installed behind impeller with the carbon face against the white ceramic seal. It slides on to and seals against the motor shaft.
You don't want to touch the face of the carbon seal (either seal really) with your fingers as the oils can damage the surface.
Ok....I came onto the forum today to specifically search for a statement regarding this somewhat prevalent theory about the fragile nature of shaft seals and these impractical cautions against touching them with our hands. I'm currently working in a small chain of pool stores in South Florida being semi retired from 30 years in the pool service and repair industry here. One of my coworkers was scaring the bejeezus out of a poor customer who was buying a new motor and seal telling him this same thing about not touching it for fear of total annihilation of the components.
So in defense of rational thinkers everywhere I've decided to use the magic of the internet to try and get to the root of this "old wive's tale." Can anyone supply me with any scientific basis for this theory or even anecdotal evidence to substantiate these claims??
Because I have a ton of evidence I have accumulated over the years that demonstrates these shaft seals are made of some really tough stuff and heartily reap the benefits of a generous smothering of lubricant saturating every square millimeter of both the ceramic and carbon surfaces.
I have performed easily over a thousand motor replacements using this method and my seals never leaked. And since I maintained a steady customer base over many years I was able to track these repairs and observe as the motors failed from old age long before the seals wore out.
I first learned this method of smothering the entire seal assembly with lube from a man named
Ed Rice. (Who also advised me to have no fear of human contact with various parts of the seals) Many in Broward County, Fla would recognize that name as the man who built up a very successful business known as Rice Pump and Motor. I remember as he grew from a small rented warehouse space to the point where he bought a piece of property on busy Powerline Road and constructed a brand new pump and motor shop directly across the street from Horner Pool Supplies.
So I figure if its good enough for old Ed then its good enough for me. I also remember hanging around his shop sometimes and hearing him rant and rave about yet another person who brought up this crazy idea about not being able to touch the seals. So I'm asking all of you dear readers the same question Ed often asked out loud: Just where does this idea come from? Anyone?
Patrick in Fla
