How to make a steam system- help please

[Chela]

CBEE

My boiler holds 10 litres and it has two elements in it one for low and one for medium heat, so i could regulate the heating as the water  level drops.

My only question now is what can i use as a seal for the lid ?

The lid is just that... a sheet metal pressed lid with a handle and two holes which i can affix an outlet pipe on one hole  and the pressure blow off valve on the other hole, there are no clamps or seal to hold the lid down and pressure in - the clamps i can make but i will still need to make a seal to ensure pressure can be built up - just don't know what i can use ?....perhaps silicone ??

Chela

[Yarra_Valley]

Merry Christmas all! :).

Are you sure the urn can withstand a build-up of pressure. Pressure cookers are of heavier construction than standard cookware, that's why they can. If it has a lower pressure threshold than the blow-off valve, then it will literally blow its top off. Bad for the ceiling, and worse for you if you're standing next to it. Also, under pressure, maybe water could find its way into the element electrics, which could be even worse for the ceiling.

After celebrating Christmas in Thailand, I have quite the hangover :(. Its to do with the heat I think. Ok, maybe a little to do with dodgy Thai beer and red wine ;).

James.

[Chela]

Way to go James....must be the heat, couldn't possibly be the beer and wine ;) at least that would be my story too and i would be sticking to it lol

Silly i know, but it didn't occur to me that the urn may have a problem with the pressure but then again i'm not sure that there would be that much pressure given that the steam is escaping and not being bottled up - perhaps someone who is using one of these could shed some light on how much pressure it could generate ????

Cheers

Chela

[Yarra_Valley]

Silly i know, but it didn't occur to me that the urn may have a problem with the pressure but then again i'm not sure that there would be that much pressure given that the steam is escaping and not being bottled up.

Yeah, you might be right there. Running just a steam knife, I very much doubt there would be enough build-up of pressure to do any real damage. Running a steam knife, plus extractor coil and a reducer, you might have a little more back pressure and it might be a bit more of an issue.

I like the pressure cooker, because I can put it on a gas stove (even a mini one) and therefore don't need to be near mains power to do an extraction. Don't know if that will be an issue for you.

I'm teaching English in Thailand. I had some of my very cute yet very vocal kinder kids this afternoon, wasn't that fun with a pounding headache!

James.

[CBEE]

Your lid may not need a seal and clamps to generate enough steam to run a knife or something small. Look how much steam a tea kettle makes and it has the same type of lid. Running more than a knife may be a problem and it sounds to me like your boiler was not made for more than that. If it had no original seal and no way to clamp the lid to create pressure then it was never designed to hold real pressure of any kind in my book. Even with the blow off valve you may be asking for trouble if this thing is just made out of sheetmetal. Even small pressure cookers are made of fairly hefty material as stated in one of the above posts.

[Chela]

CBEE,

Now you have got me thinking again... :(

Chela