Building my steamer-BTUs

Hummy

Hummy

Canoe Dude
I''m working on my steamer, I'll be using the double wall chimney pipe design simply because I got a bunch of it for free. I'm looking for input for the gas burner and the water/steam vessel. I have an LP gas blast can heater that I can modify but that sucker burns very hot. I have a friend who will give me a turkey cooker burner which is quite a bit less hotter than the blast can. I'm thinking about modifying an old 20 or 30 lb. LP tank for the vessel, or maybe an old 20-30 quart canning pressure cooker, but not sure at the moment. Thanx!
 
2ed on the turkey burner, and I like the LP tank idea, I wore out the 5 gal gas can I had used.

And I've mentioned this before, but the far-and-way best system I've ever seen/heard of was Alex Comb's up at Stewart River. He uses a hot water heater for the heat source and water tank, (can't remember if it's gas or elec) but it's all plumbed in hard; water, energy and steam out. Turn it on and in minutes stream is coming out the box.

Dan
 
I use a 30# alum. LP tank I use to use a steel LP tank but I had a lot of trouble with rust getting on the wood. I have a 220 volt hot water heating element to heat the water. Also I use a alum. beer keg with a turkey gas burner works great. I like the LP tank for use in the shop because of the fumes from the gas burner.
 
Whatever equipment gets used be sure the couplings are loose so there is no pressure buildup. A little bit of pressure can go a long way toward blowing up your shop and canoe.

R.C.
 
My first steam generator was built in a 5 gallon bucked with two 120 V, 750 Watt dishwasher heating elements. They mount easily (in a grounded bucket), and can be carefully formed. With the four terminals exposed, I could heat with both connected parallel for 1500 W, one element for 750 w, or two in series for 375 W. I could get all the steam I needed for my double-wall flue pipe "steam box". The bucket rusted out years ago.
 
Gary, I really like the beer keg idea, my buddy had mentioned the same thing regarding rust...
 
Actually Crosscuts, I was going to install a CR pressure relief valve in the tank, its adjustable from 0-100 psi, which I feel is sufficient for my use. I think a bit of pressure may be good in the steam box...
 
Last edited:
My steamer is a steel propane tank with a hole drilled near the bottom into which was welded a 2" pipe coupler. The pipe coupler takes either a 110v or 220v hot water heater element, depending on where I am. The top of the tank has a T fitting - the right angle outlet goes to the steambox (wood, PVC, poly, etc.); the top outlet gets stuffed with a rag, allowing refilling and acting as a pressure release. The advantage of an electric steamer is it can be used indoors in winter.

Not sure why anyone would get rust on the wood with a similar setup - steam is the genesis of distilled (ie purified) water. If you are getting staining on your wood while using a proper steamer, something else is going on.
 
I like that idea a lot Dan. How many watts is the 110 element and how long does it heat to build enough steam. I have 220 homeruns upstairs and I could pull a pair down and install a 220 outlet but for the amount of use I anticipate, I'd like to go 110 because I'm lazy...
 
Hummy said:
How many watts is the 110 element and how long does it heat to build enough steam.
Click to expand...

Can't tell you the wattage - it's all covered with electrical tape.... :rolleyes: Probably whatever was the highest available in the local hardware that would fit in the allocated space.

Time to generate steam is entirely dependant on how much water you are starting with.
 
I use an old electric hot plate for heat and a pressure cooker with a 2" hole and a length of 2" schedule 40 PVC into the steam box. Works just fine, real simple, nothing fancy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top