[Jewelry making - Article 00145] - Re: [Orchid] Compact Steamers?

[Jay Whaley]

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Orchidians,

    My experience with steamers for years has just been with the big
    boiler-type units. Drain out the rusty water from the boiler every
    morning, then fill with distilled water, turn on and wait 30 min. or
    more to reach temp. They work fantastic for cleaning, lots of
    pressure even for extended steam-blasting. No water marks on
    finished jewelry. Down side: eventual replacement of gaskets in
    water-level viewing glass to avoid leaking, eventual heating element
    breakdown, or boiler failure over time. Definately worth the $1200
    cost for a production shop, though. 

    Recently, I got a very slightly used Steam Dragon steamer for $400
    from a local supplier. I was hesitant, knowing it was rated for only
    65 psi (against the boiler-type steamers 80 psi), and couldn't steam
    for extended periods without pressure fall-off, but the price was
    affordable for my new studio. 

    I was pleasantly surprised! The heat up, from time to turn on to
    good-to-steam was about 10 min. or less, and the steam pressure was
    impressive! Plenty of pressure and steam to fully clean a complex
    piece after polishing. No boiler filled with pressurized hot water.
    (Water is injected into an empty super- heated "boiler" as needed,
    which comes out as steam, I understand) I mounted mine above my
    utility sink on a shelf (the unit is quite light, compared to a
    bigger machine) and I drilled a hole through the shelf to put my
    added-on 3 ft. of copper tubing through into my sink. I insulated the
    tubing length to avoid being burned by the hot tube, and now it works
    great. A press on the foot pedal gets an instant extended shot of
    high powered steam into my sink. The machine feeds itself from a
    plastic tube inserted into a gallon of distilled water. Easy to
    check the water level on the gallon jug. So simple, and safe! 

    Oh, and don't forget those long handled, plastic- tipped tweezers! 

Jay Whaley
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