"Our gearboxes operate in a humid environment. Is there any way we can effectively protect against moisture ingress?"
Common sense is the key to success. The following seven steps should help:
1. Educate maintenance staff to avoid direct jetting of water at ingression points such as shaft seals and breathers, etc.
2. If water spray is inevitable, use passive shields and deflectors to avoid direct water spray on shafts, dipsticks, fill-caps, breathers, etc.
3. Use high-performance seals that suffer less wear and offer better protection against contaminants.
4. Regularly inspect and maintain gaskets on fill-caps, hatches, etc.
5. Replace dipsticks with level indicators.
6. Keep hatches closed tight.
7. Replace a basic vent breather with a desiccant breather, which dehydrates incoming air, or an expansion chamber, which allows the system to breathe without ingesting external air.
