Bearing Isolators Non-Contact vs. Contact Seals Video

Bearing Isolator Non-Contact vs. Contact Seals?

Hi, my name is Chris Solfelt with Inpro/Seal and today we're going to talk about the different types of bearing isolators that we make here. Broadly speaking those are non-contact compound Labyrinth seals and our contact bearing isolators.

Let's talk about how they're similar. First and foremost, they have the same goal which is to retain lubrication and to exclude contaminants from entering your bearing housing. This will significantly prolong the life of your equipment and the life of your bearings. Secondly, they both have the same main two components: a rotating element and a stationary element or a rotor and a stator.

Let's first talk about the non-contact seals. Our non-contact seals rely on a torturous pathway to create that ceiling interface. Anything that tries to get into the bearing housing is going to come in through this pathway and, before it can get into the housing, it's going to be expelled through the bottom of the seal out the exposure port through gravity and centrifugal force. Because it's non-contacting and totally non-wearing, it has an extremely long sealing life and makes it a great choice for the vast majority of our applications.

There are some applications that will require a contact seal. The VBMag, our contact design, operates a little bit differently. It has a stainless steel and a soft compliant face that are both precision lapped and pulled together by a magnetic force.

Although it is a contact seal, the self-lubricating material on the soft face will give it an extremely long sealing life. And, because it's liquid tight it makes it a great choice for very challenging lubrication environments like flooded conditions.

We pride ourselves on designing the right seal for the right application so please feel free to contact us or head over to our website at inpro-seal.com.