Steamer or kettle?

[JimWagner]

A question for those who use commercial steamers like the Jiffy J-1 for their hats; for occasional use does the commercial steamer do a really better job than a kettle or is it more a matter of speed (of actually getting steam) and convenience?

In a hat shop I can definitely see why you'd want a Jiffy (or clone) - speed, safety and no range to heat a kettle. But for home use?

Just debating with myself over buying one.

 

[Stan]

I have both

Hi,

I use a Jiffy Steamer in the hat area out in the workshop. This, BTW is just a table with a couple lamps, the hot block, the steamer, a sewing machine, an ironing board and an iron.

As you say, the steamer is self contained, easy to use and quite fast. It does have one issue that the teakettle does not, though. A tendency to spit droplets of hot water out once in a while, which invariably hits my hands....

In the house, I use a teakettle. If I don't want to wander out to the workshop just to tweak a hat here and there, the kettle is just fine. I use a basic old-style kettle with no whistle - just a simple spout. I put only a few ounces of water in it, just enough to cover the bottom. We have a gas stove, so heating the kettle to get steam is actually *faster* than the Jiffy steamer is.

The kettle has another couple advantages. One is that you don't have to use distilled water. Tap water is fine, as any residue just winds up coating the inside of the kettle. You'd not want that to happen inside the Jiffy, of course, so distilled water is a must with the Jiffy. Another kettle advantage is that one can easily control the steam output rate with the stove control. The Jiffy has one output rate, and it's often times *too* much.

Oh, yeah. I forgot. I paid $100 bux for the Jiffy but the old kettle was *one* buck at a yard sale. That's another big advantage of the kettle over the steamer unit!

I used the kettle many times to completely open up a crown and then reshape it as well. Honestly, I can say that I never really needed the Jiffy steamer out in the workshop. Maybe I should have used a one-burner gas camp stove and another yard sale teakettle - maybe tack welded the kettle to the stove to make it a dedicated hat steamer!

It would have cost less. lol

later!

Stan

 

[gtdean48]

I have both as well with this neat little attachment on my kettle.

The Jiffy is much quicker to get steam going & I don't have to face the stove.
I use filtered water in the kettle, distilled in the Jiffy steamer.
The kettle is used for one hat touch ups but I get the Jiffy going if I'm doing more than one or a serious re-crease. I only bought the Jiffy because of the great price offered by fellow Lounger.

 

[GWD]

I use both too, the Jiffy steamer in my opinion puts out a "dryer steam" and much hotter than a kettle. I use a kettle for "touch ups".

 

[donnc]

Has anyone tried an espresso machine "steam wand"? (Ours has a pretty big boiler.)

 

[feltfan]

That's what I use. San Marco Type 80 leva circa 1981.
Works great and offers a lot of control by varying distance from the wand.

 

[donnc]

Cool! La San Marco rep is a couple blocks from my house, there are probably a couple of my nose prints on the window from admiring some classic machines in their display room. Ours is also a lever, two group Pavoni "Bar" series, maybe '90s.

 

[feltfan]

My hat shaping workshop:

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showpost.php?p=767243&postcount=37

 

[Stan]

Hi,

Ah, yes. So, I can come over and have a cuppa whilst you work up a hat, then?

You know, I have an extra Krupps baby espresso maker I bought for another buck at a yard sale, just to have a spare. I can dig that out from under the kitchen sink and put it on the hat workbench right next to the Jiffy steamer.

You know, in case I run out of caffeine before I finish reworking a hat! lol

I'll have to do that, then take a pix of the setup just for grins!

later!

Stan

 

[donnc]

Ah, yes. So, I can come over and have a cuppa whilst you work up a hat, then?

Sure - I don't know about feltfan, but it would be my pleasure to serve you an espresso, while I ruin your hat.

 

[Aureliano]

I've been using a Jiffy for about 2 years now. I've never used it with distilled water though... I wonder if this is really harmful...
I love it. Steam is quick, how and even.

 

[Carlisle Blues]

Mocha latte, Feltfan and a little steam on my crown if you don't mind..

 

[Stan]

I've been using a Jiffy for about 2 years now. I've never used it with distilled water though... I wonder if this is really harmful...
I love it. Steam is quick, how and even.

Hi,

That depends on what is in your water besides H2O. It's the minerals that will be left behind that cause the problem, eventually coating up the heating element until the thing barely works.

My tap water is chalybeate, which is a really fancy word that means 'rusty'. There's a lot of dissolved iron oxide in it, and whilst I use staged filters, water softeners and the like to remove the crap, some still gets through. I *have* to use distilled water in things like steam irons and clothes steamers.

later!

Stan

 

[feltfan]

Mocha latte, Feltfan and a little steam on my crown if you don't mind..

I've been asking myself what movie that still is from... So familiar,
but I just can't put my finger on it... HEY WAIT A MINUTE! That's
Phil of Philz Coffee! I'd know that hat, er, that guy anywhere.

Interesting business model you propose. I could really enjoy running
a combo cafe and hat blocking business...

 

[Aureliano]

Hi,

That depends on what is in your water besides H2O. It's the minerals that will be left behind that cause the problem, eventually coating up the heating element until the thing barely works.

My tap water is chalybeate, which is a really fancy word that means 'rusty'. There's a lot of dissolved iron oxide in it, and whilst I use staged filters, water softeners and the like to remove the crap, some still gets through. I *have* to use distilled water in things like steam irons and clothes steamers.

later!

Stan

I just bought the Jiffy cleaning solution to give ny steamer some love.
They suggest to use this thing every 6-8 months to keep it running smoothly.
I've used it a lot in these 2 years...After this I might move to distilled water.

 

[CRH]

I just bought the Jiffy cleaning solution to give ny steamer some love.
They suggest to use this thing every 6-8 months to keep it running smoothly.
I've used it a lot in these 2 years...After this I might move to distilled water.

I borrowed a Jiffy steamer at a western shop a while back to rework a "paper straw" and a felt. I found the steam quite wimpy. I wonder if the thing was dirty and clogged up. The clerk said that it didn't get much use.

 

[Aureliano]

I borrowed a Jiffy steamer at a western shop a while back to rework a "paper straw" and a felt. I found the steam quite wimpy. I wonder if the thing was dirty and clogged up. The clerk said that it didn't get much use.

Hmm... Yeah, I wonder if something was wrong with it. Mine has a great flow of steam, very hot and even. I love it. Although you can't see the steam, here's a picture of it from a thread I posted a while back on a re-blocking project I did.

 

[suitedcboy]

I have used Jiffy's on many occasions but don't own one. What I have fashioned that seems to be its equal is an aluminum foil "funnel" that I place over a good sized pot (5-6 quarts or even bigger) with a hole at the small end of about 1 1/2 inches. The larger pot has ample surface area and the steam out of the funnel has no water droplets and is hot and "dry" as steam goes. Tea kettles and other devices that make steam (vaporizers for one) spit out too much water. Some other options also don't have large enough steam volume to do a hat properly.

 

[Aureliano]

My Jiffy has never spat water. It's almost 2 years old. I wonder if the spitting was an issue of older models...[huh]

 

[Aureliano]

So, last night I used the jiffy cleaning solution.
I left it in for 3 hours as recommended. Removed the brass spout and noticed a fair amount of mineral build blocking the wholes. I washed them out with distilled water.

After the 3 hours I flushed the solution out and a lot of "rust" came out. Only after the third or fourth rinse the water came clean. I tried it after and it works even better! Problably this is how it used to perform 2 years ago.