Electric steam generator 5 L

01 · WHAT YOU PLUG IT INTO

Melter, uncapper and boiler

Its main job is feeding a steam wax melter: the steam goes in, melts the old comb and the wax comes out clean, without anything touching a flame. It also serves steam-heated uncapping knives, and its hose can be connected to boilers that work on steam. It takes about 10 minutes to get going — less if you fill it with hot water.

02 · DISTILLED WATER

Not advice, it is the warranty

There is no margin here: fill it with distilled water. Tap water leaves scale on the element, the scale makes the element overheat and eventually burns it out — and faults caused by scale are not covered. It is the commonest failure on these machines and the only one that depends entirely on the person using it.

03 · DO NOT RUN IT DRY

The element burns out in minutes

Keep an eye on the level so it does not drop below the minimum while it is working: an element running dry lasts minutes. Five litres gives a little over an hour of steam, so on a long day you have to plan for refill stops. And it is never used with corrosive substances — caustic soda and the like — inside.

04 · THE COUPLING

What is not in the box

The machine comes with its reinforced, detachable coiled hose, fixed with stainless screws, but not the coupling that joins it to your melter: every boiler has its own inlet, and the connection is solved with an adaptor. Worth sorting out before the first harvest, not on the day you need to melt.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Fill it with distilled water — scale is not covered by the warranty — and never let it drop below the minimum. The connecting coupling is not included.