creasole on pans

[steve J]

In the pass i had a standard 2x3 evaporator with a flat pan. I would have to clean pan once to twice during the season because of creasole build up on the bottom. This year I have a 2x4 with a blower. Am I going to have similar problem with build up or will the blower reduce this issue considerably?

[3rdgen.maple]

Steve I dont run a blower on my rig but its common practice to brush off the soot on the bottom of the pans before you light the fire every boil. I remember a couple times my dad would skip doing that when he started and I could tell the boil was lazy so I would shut it down and brush the flues out and she would be riping again. Finally after him seeing that he brushes the soot out before he lights that fire.

[concord maple]

Is it safe on the stainless to use easy off oven cleaner for outside of the pan bottom up in the flues to get the creosote out?

[red maples]

yes you can use easy off. It won't hurt stainless. I brush the flues before every fire. At the end of the season I take the flue pan off and clean it with easy off, plastic scraper, and a scrub brush, and power washer. I don't use anything abrasive beacuse it will just make it that much harder to get the build up off at the end of next season.

as far as the inside I use white vinegar dialuted with water. and it cleans up beautifully.

[Brent]

I've tried several acid and alkaline cleaners and nothing beats Easy Off. Spray it on. Try to keep it out of and wind that will dry it. let it sit for at least a half hour. I brush a little at every 15 minutes to loosen the top layer and expose the Easy Off to deeper stuff. After and hour or so it doesn't seem to do much more so flush it and repeat the process. A little warmth to keep things active. Not heat on the pans but a warmish sugar shack will get much better results than a frozen pan.

On a badly caked up flue pan I had to go through 6 or 8 cycles like this. And I did use a pressure washer between cycles.

PS I have no idea what it would do to a soldered pan.

PS-2 I have no science to back this up. Just one year's personal experience. The largest amount of soot and creosote will get on the pan in the first 10 minutes of boiling. The fire is cold and smokey and the moisture is just starting to come out of the wood. And the pans are ice cold. A perfect recipe to get the creosote deposits on the pans. Last year I preheated my pans with a big propane weed burner that I got from Lee Valley
see http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=47306&cat=2,2300,44822
I ran this burner for 15 -20 minutes before I added any wood. Did this till there was some of steam coming off the syrup pan. This past summer the pans were much cleaner and easier to clean up.

[briduhunt]

I use easy off on my soldered pans all the time. I use the Dollar Store brands as they are cheaper and do the same thing as easy off. As said by someone else spray it on and let sit for about an hour. I found if I try to rush it and try to spray off sooner it does not get it all of and I end up spraying it again. I just rinse the pans off with water from my hose and I do not use a power washer. The hose works just fine after an hour of soaking.
I have not brushed off the pans before each boil before but I will be brushing them this year, as after reading other post I have noticed a difference in the boil when I put on clean pans. I guess you live and learn.