Thanks Shea. Did you find one set up that worked best for your box? I've been happy with results...haven't done much testing. I'm looking to tighten things up here, especially if easy improvements are possible.
My personal setup is more of a chamber at this point. Welded stainless with 9kw of steam generation.
The quickest improvements to a basic wooden box is moving away from wood on the interior. The wood absorbs the latent heat that would otherwise go into the part. Using aluminum flashing, stainless stove pipe or schedule 80 PVC are all easy upgrades to make the inside of the box impermeable. Also insulation of any kind improves efficiency.
I have 2 more style of boxes I need to build to test then hope to use that info to make a more informed box design. The goal is not temperature inside the box but better energy transfer to the part.
Thanks Shea. I need to test the temperature of the parts and make some of those upgrades. I know you're busy...thanks for sharing (here and your substack)
Since steam (convection) is the source of heat, we’re likely limited by the boiling point of water (which is why it takes time to get past “the stall” when smoking a brisket - all the energy goes into cooking off the moisture in the meat).
I’d expect that the benefit of more steam is consistency in maintaining that 212* temp. It would be interesting to get multiple temperature readings from different positions in the steam box to see if multiple steamers fills the chamber better.
I believe 212 is the highest. Insulated may* make a difference in winter with my rig. And as far as the box...something better may help transfer the heat into the work pieces. Possibly. I wonder if I should drill a hole into a chair post and measure that temperature?
Love doing experiments like this. I’ve been doing quite a few the last 2 years using thermometer probes bored into workpiece samples.
Thanks Shea. Did you find one set up that worked best for your box? I've been happy with results...haven't done much testing. I'm looking to tighten things up here, especially if easy improvements are possible.
My personal setup is more of a chamber at this point. Welded stainless with 9kw of steam generation.
The quickest improvements to a basic wooden box is moving away from wood on the interior. The wood absorbs the latent heat that would otherwise go into the part. Using aluminum flashing, stainless stove pipe or schedule 80 PVC are all easy upgrades to make the inside of the box impermeable. Also insulation of any kind improves efficiency.
I have 2 more style of boxes I need to build to test then hope to use that info to make a more informed box design. The goal is not temperature inside the box but better energy transfer to the part.
Thanks Shea. I need to test the temperature of the parts and make some of those upgrades. I know you're busy...thanks for sharing (here and your substack)
Even insulated, can it get hotter than 212?
Since steam (convection) is the source of heat, we’re likely limited by the boiling point of water (which is why it takes time to get past “the stall” when smoking a brisket - all the energy goes into cooking off the moisture in the meat).
I’d expect that the benefit of more steam is consistency in maintaining that 212* temp. It would be interesting to get multiple temperature readings from different positions in the steam box to see if multiple steamers fills the chamber better.
Thanks Alex. There's visibly much more steam with the double steamers going. I'll try a few different spots...
I believe 212 is the highest. Insulated may* make a difference in winter with my rig. And as far as the box...something better may help transfer the heat into the work pieces. Possibly. I wonder if I should drill a hole into a chair post and measure that temperature?