I want to build a simple steam machine for steaming wood to bend.
To do this I must place the wood into a sealed PVC pipe and pump steam into it. The PVC pipe part is the easiest part. Producing steam in a simple and economic way is where I need help.
I was thinking of simply using the element from an electric kettle, but these use quite a lot of electricity – the wood must be steamed for at least an hour. I also looked at a clothing steamer, but these seem too weak.
'Pumping' the steam into the PVC pipe is not a problem, as long as the pipe is higher than the steam source, so there is no need for forced induction.
Has anyone built something like this before?
Would anyone know a way of building a simple and cheap steam making machine?
Best Answer
The container doesn't have to be a PVC pipe. Wood boxes were the traditional solution, and still seem to be more common among woodworkers than the PVC approach.
There are steam generators available from woodworking stores which are a bit more effective than an electric kettle. They may or may not be significantly more energy-efficient; boiling water takes the same amount of energy no matter how you do it, so the only question is how much energy gets lost to the environment rather than going into the water and being kept in the steam.