Why Water Quality Matters: Boosting Seal Reliability and ESG Performance in Heavy Industry

In part one of this article, we examined how water quality impacts mechanical seal performance and ESG goals.

Small Changes, Big Impact

For sustainability leaders, water is both an opportunity and a risk. While mechanical seal performance may not seem like an obvious focal point, improving water quality in your seal systems can greatly improve uptime, resource efficiency and ESG compliance.

This is where John Crane's SafeJet seal water filter system plays a critical role.

SafeJet: A Compact, Cost-Efficient Seal Protection Upgrade

SafeJet is a self-cleaning, in-line seal water filter that helps remove solids greater than 50µm—the most harmful particle size for mechanical seals and gland packing. It's built for reliability and ease of use, making it ideal for retrofit and brownfield applications.

Key features include:

• Automatic self-cleaning – with a timed flush every hour
• No moving parts – minimal maintenance and no wear components
• Compact design – installs directly into existing pipework; no brackets or baseplate needed
• Stainless steel construction – AISI 304 or 316
• Low-pressure drop – just 0.1 bar (1.45 psi) in regular operation
• Available in multiple sizes to match flow requirements

SafeJet has been field-proven for over a decade. In most cases, it requires little to no maintenance and has an extremely low part replacement rate.

Benefits for ESG and Operational Performance

Installing SafeJet enables facilities to:

• Protect mechanical seal faces from abrasive wear
• Reduce unplanned downtime and repair costs
• Lower water consumption by allowing safe throttling of flush lines
• Support water recycling by improving the quality of returned water
• Reduce post-process water treatment costs

SafeJet bridges the gap between operational reliability and environmental responsibility.

Beyond Filtration: Full Seal Water Management

For facilities seeking even greater control, additional technologies can work alongside SafeJet to drive further improvements:

Safeunit

A compact system for flow, pressure and seal condition monitoring, Safeunit is ideal for:

• Single and dual seal support
• Quench lines
• Electronic low-flow and pressure-level monitoring

Smartflow

An intelligent valve that activates only when cooling water is needed, cutting water usage by up to 99%. Ideal for temperature- and pressure-sensitive operations, Smartflow supports:

• On-demand water delivery
• Reduced seal overheating
• Extended component life

A Simple Step Toward Smarter Sustainability

Water is one of the most visible metrics in ESG reporting—and one of the most controllable. Improving seal water quality with technologies like SafeJet is an innovative, scalable way to align your operations with corporate sustainability goals while boosting equipment uptime.

Whether you're planning upgrades, troubleshooting failures, or building sustainability into new designs, our experts can help. Contact us to explore tailored solutions that protect your seals, reduce water use, and improve long-term reliability.