Dogfish858,
The condensation is one of my prime worries, if I get condensation on the barrels while they are being steamed I am afraid that they will have streaks on them. I was originally going to just hang the barrels vertically inside a four inch PVC pipe with the steam coming in from the bottom, but I got concerned that possibly the bottom side would get more steam than the top end and the finish would look uneven.
I am now wondering if it wouldn't be better to suspend the barrels horizontally and have the steam come in from both ends at the same time and maybe have drip holes in the middle on the bottom side. What do you think? Bob