water jacket canner question

[jimbo752]

Hello,
Can anyone tell me what the advantages of a water jacketed canner over one that just uses a direct flame on the bottom? I imagine you have to be careful not to overheat the pan in a non-jacketed canner or else you run the risk of forming niter? I Have a 25" by 12" inch pan that i built that would be a good starting point for this project.
thanks

[SilverLeaf]

Hello,
I imagine you have to be careful not to overheat the pan in a non-jacketed canner or else you run the risk of forming niter?

Exactly. The water jacket ensures that the syrup will never get warmer than the water. Without it, the stuff at the bottom of the canner (nearest the heat source) is prone to getting too hot and producing niter.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Plus when you get to the bottom of the bottler it wont burn or raise the temp. BUT you can boil it so you need to keep the temp under control.

[Dan W]

I built a water jacked canner for last year and it was the best thing I ever did. Set the thermostat for 185, when the water is hot, filter the hot syrup into the canner and you are ready to go. The great thing is the consistant temperature all through the canning process. Plus you can walk away from it for a while and not worry about anything.

[jimbo752]

Thanks you all for the input. I think i will make it water jacketed- its a bit more work but it sounds like it will be worth the time to do.

[adk1]

so what do you need to make one of these rigs?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dont answer him he might start building one:o

[SapZilla]

Dont answer him he might start building one:o

My lip is starting to bleed...

[adk1]

nope, definatly not this year that is for sure.

[Josh Nickles]

Opportunity is knocking...http://mapletrader.com/community/showthread.php?t=14237. I have this unit and it works awesome. I paid a lot more for mine. This is a steal. You can't mess around trying to build one for that.

[jimbo752]

A few more questions-how does the seal between the inner tank and the outer tank work on the filler spigot and the thermostat. What is the amount of water (thickness of the water jacket) needed?
thanks

[Brent]

The seal is a well on both the inner and outer walls. Same issue on the thermometer port. Not an easy weld.

The instructions with my commercial made one said to fill it to about the same height as the syrup inside. I fill mine to the top with water. I leave the water heater on for 3 weeks non-stop to prevent freezing and keep the water temperature stable. I had mine customized a bit so it does not have the "Leader Evaporator" cut into the top to allow heat and moisture to escape. I add about a pint of water a day to keep it topped up and cover it with a thermal blanket. Never have to fiddle with the thermostat once we get it set to maintain 185, BUT if you dump in a large filling of cold syrup, it will take so much heat out of the water that the element may start the water boiling ... not good. Add syrup a bit at a time to avoid that ... or take hot filtered syrup direct from the evaporator / filter.