Stuffing box hose replacement

[Bill Shreeves]

I'm replacing the stuffing box with a new one and the HD hose kit from CD.  The new hose is a 6" long Buck Algonquin and I think longer than needed however, I'm not sure how short to cut it. The old hose, much thinner than the new hose, allowed about a 1/4" between the end of the shaft log and the aft end of the stuffing box.  If I cut the new hose down to 4" long, I'll have about 3/8" between the shaft log and the stuffing box.  That hose is, as most know, is very thick and stiff and I was wondering if it should be longer which may permit a little more flexibility?  I haven't been able to find anything online regarding the length for the stuffing box hose or space between the log of box. That may be because its just not that critical so, I thought I'd ask.

[Ken Juul]

If you have room, you may want to make the hose longer than the original.  That will move the stuffing box to a different part of the shaft to minimize any more wear on the shaft.

[Bill Shreeves]

Thanks Ken.  Great suggestion if I need to replace my stuffing box again.  Everything from the damper plate back is new.  The former bronze shaft had a fair amount of wear at the cutlass bearing and the old coupling wouldn't come off so, I decided to fix the wear and coupling went with a new shaft.