leader king

[jmattice]

Does anyone know if a 1984 leader king would have lead free solder? Also, what would be a good deal for this? Its a 3x8 in good condition with front and back hoods. The wood arch needs some tin work in the back, but is usable the way it is.

Thanks
John

[Bucket Head]

I doubt that it is lead-free solder becuase of its age. I thought lead-free solder did'nt come into play until the mid '90's.

Steve

[tuckermtn]

Don't know about Leader, but my 1991 Grimm was right around the time they switched to lead-free. Mine is lead-free...

you can get easy-to-use test strips at hardware store.

[jmattice]

Is this era evaporator something to stay away from? It seems like a good deal, but I don't want to have any issues. I sell syrup both retail and in bulk.

John

[tuckermtn]

most states have set "acceptable" levels of lead allowed in syrup. I know folks who make very good syrup with lead soldered pans and pass the lead level test easily.

I have tried to get lead out of my production process. The only place I have it is in my buckets. My levels when tested were lower than 1/2 of the allowable level by the state. That test was done when I had an older Grimm canner which I would guess had lead solder. So I would guess I'm better off now- ?

[DrTimPerkins]

Does anyone know if a 1984 leader king would have lead free solder? Also, what would be a good deal for this? Its a 3x8 in good condition with front and back hoods. The wood arch needs some tin work in the back, but is usable the way it is.

Leader began to switch to lead-free solder in 1991. All the manufacturers switched to lead-free solder in 1994. If there is any question, there are lead-check kits (a swab like thing) available in hardware stores that will reliably indicate whether the solder is lead or non-lead. A 1984 vintage evaporator would almost certainly be lead-soldered.

That said, it is certainly possible to make maple syrup below the lead action level in a lead-soldered evaporator as long as you don't have a lot of other sources of contamination, take some precautions, and submit a sample for lead analysis on occasion to verify things are going OK.