Oven with excess steam treatment device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION To achieve these and other objects the invention consists in an oven for cooking foodstuffs including an airtight enclosure having an opening closed by a door with condensed water capture means for collecting in the lower part of said enclosure water condensing in said enclosure and discharging same into discharge pipes, an excess steam circuit for capturing excess steam escaping from said enclosure and feeding the captured steam to treatment means including steam condenser means to convert it into liquid condensates, means for collecting said liquid condensates and for removing them in discharge pipes, said treatment means including at least one heater adapted to heat steam passing through it in the excess steam circuit on the upstream side or on the downstream side of the steam condenser means.
The heater can advantageously be adapted to heat the steam passing through it to a temperature between 300.
degree.
C.
and 500.
degree.
C.
In one embodiment of the invention the excess steam circuit includes an upper orifice in the upper part of the enclosure connected to an excess steam pipe to convey excess steam taken from the upper part of the enclosure to a connection orifice in a condensation box in the lower part of the oven.
In another embodiment of the invention the excess steam circuit includes a lower orifice in the lower part of the enclosure to collect excess steam and water condensing in the lower part of the enclosure, this lower orifice being connected to an excess steam pipe to convey the steam and the water collected to a connection orifice in a condensation box in the lower part of the oven and containing water maintained at a predetermined level.
The steam condenser means can advantageously include a condensation box with two compartments one on top of the other and separated by an apertured intermediate wall, with means for feeding water into the lower compartment and for maintaining it at a predetermined level.
The upper compartment includes the orifice connected to the excess steam pipe and contains members having thermal inertia and forming chicanes, for example a pile of volcanic rocks