What is a Bearing Isolator Video

What is a Bearing Isolator?

Hi I'm Jason Putnam with Inpro/Seal and I'm here to answer the question "what is a bearing isolator?"

A bearing isolator is a seal installed in a bearing housing that protects against contamination Ingress and lubrication loss significantly increasing the reliability of your rotating equipment. Simply put, it keeps lubrication in and it keeps everything else out. Inpro/Seal l invented the original bearing isolator in 1977 to replace traditional lip seals which are still used in industrial rotating equipment today.

Lip seals are an ineffective sealing solution, but they wear at the point of contact or groove the shaft, opening up a gap that allows contaminants to enter and lubrication to escape. These are two of the main causes of bearing failure, and it's why we invented the bearing isolator.

The Inpro/Seal bearing isolator is a two-part dynamic compound Labyrinth seal consisting of a rotor and a stator. The stator is typically pressed to fit into the housing while the rotor rotates with the shaft. Contaminants trying to enter the bearing housing are caught within the labyrinth paths and the internal chamber and expelled through the expulsion port at the six o'clock down position using centrifugal force and gravity. Lubrication trying to escape is caught within the design of the seal and returns to the bearing housing using the drain port.

The Inpro/Seal bearing isolator is a non-contacting design meaning it does not use contact as a sealing mechanism. Instead, it uses the interface between the rotor and the stator. This means that there are no wearing parts allowing the seal to last the lifetime of your equipment.

Now you know what a bearing isolator is and what it does. Inpro/Seal has been providing permanent bearing protection to rotating equipment for over 45 years.

For more information on bearing isolators or where to apply them visit www.inpro-seal.com.