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#Post#: 4281--------------------------------------------------
Homemade steam digester
By: Shawn Hughes Date: August 30, 2014, 5:11 pm
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Hi!
I'm working on the preplan stage of a project.
It's basically a rotating sealed chamber with ledges inside it.
You put stuff in there, add some caustic solution, close the
lid, add heat (around 100-130 F) and rotate slowly.
This breaks down whatever you put in there somewhat, but then
you're supposed to add steam.
I know zero about steam except everyone I know is terrified of
it.
My digester will probably be about 6" in diameter and 1' in
length. Currently I plan to make it out of a cast iron flanged
tee.
Problem number one: I need to figure out how to make a steam
joint that will interface the steam generator to the rotating
washer.
Problem number two: I need what the literature is calling 'dry
steam' at about 30-40 psi. I am betting that's superheated
steam, right?
What is a stupid simple, easy to operate plan for a generator
that will provide this for up to 12 hours?
I want to make it as inexpensively as possible, while putting
some wide safety margins in the design.
Or, maybe you know what a digester is, and there's a way to
build the steam component into it?
I am very handy with tools and prototyping and problem solving,
but I have zero depth in steam.
Thanks!
Shawn
#Post#: 4290--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homemade steam digester
By: Shawn Hughes Date: August 30, 2014, 8:48 pm
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Hi!
Thanks!
Well, I solved problem one. They sell rotating unions on eBay,
and not too expensive.
A digester is the forerunner of the modern pressure cooker and
autoclave. Digesters are used to clean animal corpses, they pull
everything out of bones to allow them to be ground, it can be
used in making gelatin, it breaks soybeans down, it can make
tough meat edible, they are used in the pulp industry to break
down the various fibers, rendering lard; not a terribly great
deal of uses, but especially handy if you need one... ;D
#Post#: 4300--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homemade steam digester
By: lynx wind Date: August 31, 2014, 1:25 pm
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Super heated steam is slippery stuff. Any rotating union will
leak. I would recommend a helical coil firmly attached with the
rotating drum. Maybe bend a coil around a suitably sized piece
of PVC about 10" long with 3/8" copper. Weld a fitting on the
open end with a copper brazing rod and fit a cap. Before firing
fill with a couple ounces of water. Cap tightly - flare
fittings are best.
Rotate the drum in the direction that will keep the water toward
the cap. Fire at the middle, perhaps with a can of sterno. As
the copper heats the water will eject as superheated steam into
your digester. The pressure will get very high and you may want
a safety valve on the digester. I would recommend a 125 psi
safety valve (no higher). Fit the safety valve on the digester
- not the copper tube.
Allow the system to cool before opening. Adjust the amount of
water as needed. Water expands 1700 times when converted to
steam.
#Post#: 4303--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homemade steam digester
By: sut Date: August 31, 2014, 1:50 pm
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This book in pdf form should answer any question you may come up
with or need to know I would pay attention to chapter 6.5 safety
valves! The book is 795 pages of great stuff any operator needs
to know
HTML http://www.unionmillwright.com/STEAM_PLANT_OPERATION.pdf
#Post#: 4306--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homemade steam digester
By: Shawn Hughes Date: August 31, 2014, 3:32 pm
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Hey, CG - have you seen this?
hbd.org/brewery/library/SteInjCS1295.html
HTML http://hbd.org/brewery/library/SteInjCS1295.html
Sut,
Thanks! No offense, but I really don't want steam to be a focus
of my life. I just want a wooden block I plug in on one side,
and steam comes out automagically on the other. I have too sunny
a disposition to be like all the boiler ops I've met over the
years. ;D
That's why right now, I am looking at dental and jewelry
steamers. They're small. I also found on that giant auction site
where a company puts a pressure adjusting valve on a common
looking pressure cooker and markets it as an autoclave to tattoo
techs.
I wonder if that's the right kind of steam for digesting, too?
lynx wind -
That's FASCINATING! Since it's only a few ounces, how much would
it supply before running dry? Or, would the wash water in the
digester want to run back down into the coil, refilling it? How
would you know to turn the heat off when it was empty.
That is some damn good thinking out of the box!
Shawn
#Post#: 4318--------------------------------------------------
Re: Homemade steam digester
By: Shawn Hughes Date: September 2, 2014, 9:27 pm
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I was doing some more research on steam joints when I found a
gif of basically the thing I am making with a rotary steam joint
attached:
HTML http://www.sgk-p.co.jp/app3_rj.dp.gif
I don't know enough to know if I will need to remove liquid
during the process, but it's nice to see someone already thought
it out!
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