Question 399General Subjects - Assistant Engineer

The correct answer is A) use a packing hook. To safely remove the piston rod packing from the steam end of a reciprocating pump, a packing hook should be used. This is the proper and safest method, as it allows the packing to be carefully extracted without damaging the piston rod or other pump components. The other options are incorrect - B) would be unsafe as it could cause the packing to be blown out forcefully, C) would require disassembly of the steam chest which is unnecessary, and D) is incorrect as reciprocating pumps typically use piston rod packing, not O-rings.