Four States Gasket and Rubber, Inc

Like any service oriented business, fluid sealing companies, which include your local gasket shops, work hard to provide great customer service, professional fluid sealing advice and “right-now” gasket fabrication. Taken as a whole service package, this is one of the top advantages of having a great working relationship with your local gasket shop.

The variety of fluid sealing problems that customers bring into a gasket shop cover a wide range of gasket materials, shapes, sizes and applications. On a regular basis a customer will walk in and ask if we can make them a gasket for a piece of equipment immediately. When asked about the dimensions or for more information on the gasket they need they’ll say something like, “you know,” “it is a round gasket with holes in it.” Since there are many gaskets that are round with holes in them, that description doesn’t help. Everyone ends up frustrated.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need a gasket made, before you walk into your local gasket shop it helps if you have the information needed to fabricate or select the right gasket for you. A simple way to gather the info needed is to follow The S.T.A.M.P. method.

The S.T.A.M.P. Method

S. – Size. What are the physical dimensions of the gasket you require. If the gasket is an odd shape, bringing in a sample is helpful. In addition, knowing what thickness of! material you need would help too.

T. – Temperature. What is the minimum and maximum temperatures the gasket will have to withstand.

A. – Application. What type of equipment will the gasket go on. I.E., pumps, valves, mixers, vessels, engines, dehydrators, etc.

M. – Media What are you trying seal? If you guess at this one your gasket provider will be guessing as to what will work for you.

P. – Pressure. What is the operating pressure you expect the gasket to hold up to?

S. – Speed. This applies to rotating equipment. What is the shaft speed in fpm?

If you have the answers to the above applicable questions for your needs, your gasket provider has everything they’ll need to supply you with the right gasket for the job.

Over the years, metal gaskets have become one of the most popular style gaskets to be used.  Once properly installed they hold up under some of the toughest applications across a variety of industries.  They perform consistently well earning both maintenance and operating personals confidence.  Of course, all of this is determined by the proper handling of the gasket prior to installation.   Quite often when a metal gasket fails, it fails somewhere between after being purchased and at the job site before installation.

A result of Careless handling

After hearing about and actually seeing a number of “broken” gaskets here are the top 3 ways you can destroy your spiral wound gasket before you get a chance to use them

1. Through them in the back of your pick up right after you purchase them. This always seems to surprise people when they show up at their job site and the gasket windings are all over the back of the truck looking like a giant slinky.
2. Loosely package them for a long journey in a makeshift card board box. Yep, they can only take a certain amount of bouncing, pounding, and jostling around before the windings come undone.  Surprise!
3. Lastly and I’m sure it’s not the least, bang them around your shop or work site. Even though these gaskets are made out of metal, they weren’t meant to be carelessly handled.  I recently received a call from a somewhat panicked mechanic whose last metal gasket sprung.   Miss handling the gasket in the shop was the culprit.

Avoid handling spiral wound gaskets like I mention above and you stand a great chance of actually using them as intended.

What work practice have you implemented to avoid damaging spiral wound gaskets before you get a chance to install them?