Lasdrop Shaft Seals is the only manufacturer of BOTH mechanical face seals, and lip seals. Leveraging 40+ years of longevity in the marine industry, Lasdrop has become one of the finest manufacturers of commercial and recreational shaft seals available.

Shaft Seals

Shaft seals replace the traditional stuffing box that is prone to leakage.

Traditional Stuffing Box

The stuffing box is the seal around a boat’s propeller shaft that keeps the water out and allows the shaft to rotate freely.  It is made of a threaded sleeve and a hollow nut through which the propeller shaft passes.  The nut is filled with rings of wax-impregnated flax packing material and screwed into the sleeve. The packing compresses around the smooth shaft as the nut is tightened and a little water is allowed to leak out past the packing which serves to cool and lubricate the bearing.  While the packing adjustment nut allows the flax to be tightened to adjust for wear, over time the seal breaks down.  With repeated tightening of the nut, the stuffing box leaks and the flax packing must be replaced.

Mechanical Face Seals

Shaft Seals don’t leak, are impervious to temperature, vibration and corrosion and require minimum maintenance.  Mechanical face seals are comprised of two polished surfaces, one stationary and one rotating, which form a plane perpendicular to the shaft and sealing the fluid around the propeller shaft.

Lip Seals

Also known as rotary seals, Lip seals are ring-shaped elastomeric* seals with a lip which allows a secure fit around shafts.  They work by sealing the mating surface around a rotating shaft preventing pressurized liquid around the shaft from leaking.  Used in conjunction with a lubricant, lip seals also allow shafts to rotate more easily by reducing friction.

*Elastomeric is the rubber-like property of a polymer, so that it can regain its original shape when a load is removed from the material.