A CONVENIENT STEAM DRYING OVEN D. L. RANDALL Albion College, Albion, Michigan
THIS article is a description of a double-walled steam oven that has proved to he very convenient for laboratory work. It is simple in construction, economi-
cal in operation, and maintains a moderately uniform temperature. The oven is made of sheet-steel of 10-gage thickness, welded together with the oxvacetvlene torch. I t is designed to 6e used on a low-pressure steam line where a uniform pressure is maintained by the automatic stokers that fire the boilers. If the available steam pressure is too high, i t may be reduced by means of a suitable reducing valve. With a pressure of five pounds the temperature of the oven is maintained between 100' and 105'C., which is suitable for drying operations. The top of the oven makes a very convenient lowtemperature hot-plate for evaporations to dryness in quantitative analysis. The upper left-hand drawing shows the front of the oven with the door hinges and latch. The steam enters a t S and the condensate drains off a t 0, which is connected through a trap to the return lines. At the bottom is an opening for admitting S - air, and a t the top two openings, one for a thermometer and the other for ventilation. With the openings at the top and bottom a current of air is drawn through the oven, increasing drying efficiency. The upper righthand drawing is a side view, showing the arrangement of the shelveswhich rest on angle irons welded on the inside of the oven. The lower drawings representverticaland horizontal sections inside the oven.
