Also known as grease seals, rotary shaft seals, or fluid seals, oil seals play a pivotal role in mechanical equipment. They are often overlooked because they are a small part of the machine, but when these oil seals fail, the consequences can be huge, like seal leakages that are costly to fix.

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From assembly machines to car engines, oil seals prevent any harmful damage from occurring, which is why you must choose the right oil seal with the highest quality. There are many kinds of oil seals, all of which have several uses.

This article will guide you through the most common factors you should look for when buying oil seals to help you choose the right one for the machinery you’re working on.

11 Factors to Consider When Buying Oil Seals

Improper installation and poor-quality oil seals are some of the reasons that pieces of machinery get damaged. When choosing an oil seal, consider the following factors.

1. Temperature

The temperature range of the seal elastomer should match the temperature range of where you’ll install the seal. For example, high-temperature and high-pressure environments need more durable rubber, like Viton. If the oil seal is exposed to extreme temperatures outside of the elastomer’s range, the sealing lip may harden, break, and crack.

2. Material

The oil seal’s material matters, as it can determine how well it performs depending on its use. Sealing elements can come in leather, silicone, synthetic rubber, Viton, nitrile, and polyacrylate. Nitrile is good for general purposes, as it’s flexible and resistant against oils, hot water, and gasoline. However, it doesn’t do well in extremely high temperatures. Meanwhile, silicone oil seals lessen wear and tear by absorbing lubricants. They have a wide temperature range and high thermal resistance, too.

3. Pressure

Understanding the compression requirements of your components is important. Most ordinary oil seals are designed for very low-pressure applications (about 8 psi or less). If the intended application has high pressure, you should consider choosing an oil seal ideal for high pressure or changing to a pressure-free structure.

4. Shaft speed

The oil seal shouldn’t suffer from spiraling or abrasions. As such, you should consider the maximum allowable shaft speed, runout, type of oil seal material, type of fluid being sealed, and housing bore and shaft concentricity before buying an oil seal.

5. Shaft and bore tolerances

Close shaft and bore tolerances should be present if you want the best seal performance. It would be best to consider the shaft’s vibration, eccentricity, and end play.

6. Concentricity

You must align bore and shaft centers because misalignment can shorten the oil seal’s life cycle due to the excessive wear concentrated on only one side of the sealing lip.

7. Runout

It would be best if you kept runout to a minimum. When the center of rotation moves, it’s usually caused by a shaft whip or bearing wobble. When you add misalignment, then you’ll face a greater problem. Contrary to common practice, installing flexible couplings won’t correct misalignment, which is why you need the right oil seal to prevent all these issues from arising.

8. Quality

The quality of the oil seal affects its service life. The higher the quality, the longer the lifespan, reducing wear and tear and increasing your ROI through lower maintenance costs. While wear and tear issues are inevitable, you should mitigate them by using materials that last long. Here, the first step to ensuring quality oil seals is purchasing from a reputable oil seal supplier.

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9. Shaft hardness

When shafts have a Rockwell (RC) hardness of 30 or more, you can expect the oil seal to have a longer seal life. For shafts exposed to more abrasive contamination, your oil seal should handle RC 60.

10. Shaft surface finish

You can tell that you have effective sealing if the shaft surface finish is in excellent condition. Sealing performance is greatly influenced by the spiral lead and the direction of the finish tool marks.

You’ll get the best sealing results when the shafts are ground or polished with concentric (no spiral lead) finish marks. If the shaft can’t help but have spiral finish leads, they should lead toward the fluid when the shaft rotates.

11. Lubricant

Oil or lubricants play a significant role in improving the oil seal’s performance. You should choose a lubricant compatible with the seal lip elastomer material and the right viscosity for the application. Incompatible lubrication can result in the wearing out of the oil seal.

An example of a lubricant you can use is Permatex Anti-Seize Lubricant, a highly refined blend of graphite, aluminum, and copper lubricants.

Choose the Correct Oil Seal for Your Needs

Basic Things you Should Know About Oil Seals – Part 2

Oil seals are used in various industries for enhancing performance of moving parts. In the last post, we have discussed some general things about oil seals. In this post, we will discuss a few more crucial information related to oil seals.

Endless Options of Customization
Besides standard oil seals available, manufacturers offers the customization options as well. You can customize oil seals in any material (listed in the previous post), shapes, sizes, case design, spring position, spring tension, primary and secondary lip geometry, and so on. Also, oil seals can be customized to incorporate specific characteristics like:

• Bend resistance
• Electrical insulation
• EMI shielding
• Protects from electromagnetic (EMI) interference.
• Flame retardant
• Heat dissipating and heat reflective
• Resistance to abrasion, acids, alkalies, corrosion, oil, salts and so on.

Handling of Oil Seals
Oil seals must be handled and stored carefully to prevent oil leakage along with assuring expected performance when used in applications. The following rules must be strictly followed when storing, handling and transporting oil seals.

• Store the seals in a room that is air conditioned (Room temperature max 30℃)
• Avoid storing oil seals under direct exposure to sunlight. Always store them in sealed  containers which protects them from dust, solvents, and other contaminants.
• When transporting oil seals, do not stack it to avoid excessive impact. There are chances of deformation in such conditions.
• Use only kerosene to clean the seals. Other corrosive fluids and industrial cleaners are not recommended.

A Brief Discussion on Oil Seal Lubrication
When the oil seals are located near the lubricated bearings they get sufficient lubrication from the bearings. If these seals are used for sealing water, still they receive enough lubrication. In non-lubricating applications, additional efforts must be made to lubricate the seal. Dual seals are typically used for such applications, because they are pre-packed with grease between the sealing edges. While using dual seals, extra care must be taken during their mounting, in order to avoid the pressure build up due to the grease. Thus, lubrication is very important for oil seals, during the operation and in assembly, because it helps avoid friction losses, and ensures proper heat dissipation between greased edges.

Usually, these seals are supplied with an instruction manual, which has information on handling, installation, and troubleshooting tips among others. Hence, it is crucial for the user to read and understand the guidelines before using them in application.

With these basic understanding of oil seals, you would surely make a wise purchasing decision. It is always better to clear your doubts and queries from the manufacturer for making an informed purchase. SSP Manufacturing, Inc. is one of the leading manufacturers of oil seals in custom specifications.

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