Caged tanks

[maple flats]

I did not find a SS tank for my new bush, still looking. In the meantime, for 2012 season I will be buying some caged tanks. I found some that had iodine water sanitizer in them. Have any of you had experience cleaning such out to use for sap? Others I found had Orange juice or apple juice concentrate in them and others had a chlorine water sanitiser. Which if any of these would be good to get for sap. For this year I need 3 such tanks in the woods, one roadside and one in the truck as a haul tank. Each is about 300 gal (297 according to seller). If none of these are suitable, what kind of caged tanks (original use) are good?
Dave

[Brent]

I think one of the most common uses of these containers is syrup concentrate for bottlers like coca cola and pepsi. The ones I got all smelled strongly of that syrup. If you can find a bottler nearby, you should be able to get some from there, and you know they will be safe. Cleaning them is a bit of a pain. The holes in the top are too small to even see around inside let alone clean them. I cut bigger holes about 2' x 3' so I can get the pressure washer in. A gutter cleaner attachment on the pressure washer allows cleaning of the inside top. Lots of air and time and the syrup smell goes away. Never had a hint of aftertaste in the sap or our syrup. We've used them for 4 years now with no sign of deterioration. We have 3 in the bush with releasers sitting on top and 3 more near the sugar shack for the RO.

[MilesTeg]

I tried to use a 15 gal iodine tank a couple of years ago to haul with. We only had 43 taps at the time so it was a good sized for us. Anyways we cleaned that thing for 3 weeks and couldn't get the smell out of it and we didn't dare to put sap in it. I know 2 years ago Lowville farmers co-op had the 500 gal cage tanks for sale for $50 i don't know if thats something they still carry. I forgot what they said they had in them but i know it was ok to use for sap.

[Father & Son]

I would steer clear of anything that wasn't a food product. Brent refered to soda bottling companies, the ones I have tried have switched from cage tanks to plastic lined cardboard containers. I've been looking for some time now and alot of places will no longer resell cage tanks. I did find a place in Cleveland that will put a new plastic tank in a recycled cage for about $225 that they will certify as food grade. The only other option I have is buying new poly tanks or horizontal leg tanks.

Jim

[maple flats]

I tried to use a 15 gal iodine tank a couple of years ago to haul with. We only had 43 taps at the time so it was a good sized for us. Anyways we cleaned that thing for 3 weeks and couldn't get the smell out of it and we didn't dare to put sap in it. I know 2 years ago Lowville farmers co-op had the 500 gal cage tanks for sale for $50 i don't know if thats something they still carry. I forgot what they said they had in them but i know it was ok to use for sap.
That was my fear for the iodine.
What about juice concentrate tanks, thouight please?
Dave

[Bucket Head]

Dave,

I would stay away from any that did'nt have a food product in them. My collection cage tank had molassas in it originally. The others I have had oils in them, like vegetable oil. Lots, and lots of hot water cleaned them up. You want ones that, after their cleaned up good, only have a very slight smell of the original product- or better yet, just the smell of the plastic tank itself. I've also had plastic barrels that had concentrates in them, juice or soda syrup, and they cleaned up allright. They had a slight odor but it did not effect anything.

Steve

[SadSams]

Dave, I wouldn't hesitate with juice consentrate. We have I think 6 cage tanks. All were bought at local auctions and had lables on them that stated it had contained water soluable adhesive. They had been cleaned already but we washed again anyways. Their was no odors so we bid on them. Picked them up for $35 each.

[Greenwich Maple Man]

I have used them for years and they work great for me. They can be a pain to clean(worked on that today) but for the money they work great. I would believe that any that are food grade should work fine.

[danno]

Dave, what size SS r u looking for? I saw a couple the other day in Syracuse and they are always popping up locally on craigslist.

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

I know someone who uses iodine 15 gal. tanks for sap. He also gave me 4 of these tanks, and he said he used them for 2 seasons already, but he never complained about them. the thing with iodine is, that it's a sterilizer any way. I think if you wash them out enough, bleach them, and let them soak and scrub, they should be okay. Ill let you guys know how they turn out this coming season, but they should be fine because they were previously used for sap handling.

[maple flats]

Danno, I'd like 800 gal- 1000 gal this season. Then next year another of the same amount. One problem is I'm looking for something 48" tall max or I'll need a sap ladder. Would rather not.

[danno]

Dave, I'll let you know if I stumble on one. The one I saw the other day was probably 300 gal.

[SevenCreeksSap]

Dave, I wouldn't hesitate with juice consentrate. We have I think 6 cage tanks. All were bought at local auctions and had lables on them that stated it had contained water soluable adhesive. They had been cleaned already but we washed again anyways. Their was no odors so we bid on them. Picked them up for $35 each.


I ran across some that have had one filling of starch in them, which the guy told me is a water soluble adhesive and was used for glue in printing (?) since starch is a plant product and so is sap, would these be okay to use? the guy did say the plastic is not rated as food grade. has anyone used tanks with starch in them and is it safe. $100 per tank but I only need one right now and not finding much else.

[jmayerl]

I have four totes that had printing starch in them. They were already cleaned when I bought them but I still scrubed them out, then put a bleach/water solution in and drove around for a day. Used them all last year with no problems. rinse them out often during season because if you have to scrub its a PITA!