: this is about recirculation

: I usually have the kettle and tube on the same surface, end of tube w/ rag
: inside hanging over end of surface w/ a small bucket below to catch the
: condensate. So to fill up I just lift the tube and pour in some water(I
: actually usually just carry the whole works to the laundry sink and put
: the tap in the tube end).

: I'm not an experienced woodworker and maybe my wood is dirty, but the thing I
: noticed right away was the discoloration of the condensate. Quite frankly
: if its not my dirty boards, for cleanliness (will it eventually stain new
: wood??), safety(will there be a long term combustible buildup in the
: kettle bottom??, and longevity of the kettle I cannot imagine that
: redraining a stained condensate back into the kettle is an acceptable
: technique.

you know the one thing i didn;t do is raise the strip off the bottom of the fabric tube. this means the wood comes in contact w/ hot liquid water and maybe (probably)that'd be enough to cause discoloration of the condensate.

so maybe ignore previous post(or experiment) and make sure the strip is slightly elevated from the bottom of the tube or steamer so that liquid water does not come into contact w/ the wood .

thats if recirulating the water is something you desire.

-mick