Thoughts of a steel pan ?

[lisbon_ny]

thinking about building a set of steel pans what evryones thoughts ????

[RileySugarbush]

many people have good success with them. I think the biggest issue is protecting them from corrosion in the off season.

[spencer11]

i was thinking about doing this. i have heard it is okay and i have heard it is not. so if you are selling your syrup i would use something like aluminum or stainless or copper. dont use galvanized. if you are just doing it as a hobby and are not going to sell it it might be okay. just clean all the oil off and maybe even put some cooking oil on it and keep it dry and let it sugar over with syrup and dont clean that off. its kind of like why cast iron cooking stuff dosent rust. in my opinion i wouldnt do it. just my .02

spencer

[Bucket Head]

Plain mild steel would be fine. My first pan was made of steel. Galvanized is a no-no, and aluminun is'nt reccomended. No maple equipment is made of aluminum other than some buckets and some spouts, and they do not get heat applied to them like the pans.

Steve

[lisbon_ny]

i was thinking i would use some kind of food safe oil as in cooking oil to rub them with un the off season

[spencer11]

why isnt aluminum recomended? it seems like a good alternative to stainless. i was thinking about making some aluminum pans. i believe it has better heat transfer than stainless? steel is also pretty cheap but i dont think any inspector will let you use it if you are selling it commercially. just my .02

spener

[Ausable]

[QUOTE=lisbon_ny;172122]thinking about building a set of steel pans what evryones thoughts ????[/QUOTE

Hi Lisbon - Did batch boiling for several years - First Pan was Galvanized and made a lot of syrup for a lot of years without incident, Next batch pan was made from steel and I liked it -- but - heavy. Now my pans are a flow thru setup - all steel - and I really like it. What i did with the steel pans first time I used them - was to give them a good cleaning - rinse with hot water - dry with paper towels and light coat of olive oil. Later - before a test boil - wiped out the olive oil and did my boil. Did the olive oil coat for a couple of years at the end of season would wipe out and do a water boil prior boiling first sap and now it has a nice glaze from making syrup so I skip the olive oil. Couple of things though - I'm a Back-Yarder and only make 8-15 gallons of Syrup that I give to Family and Friends. When You start selling it - Things get different,
On Aluminum - You cannot let Maple Syrup set in it for any length of time - the sugars go to work on the aluminum and start to break it down. It would be safe enough to boil in - but when done your would have to remove the syrup and give the aluminum a good cleaning. One year I was using a 3 gallon aluminum pot to finish up the syrup - at the end of season when we really start washing all our gear - I tossed a couple of dirty felt filters in my aluminum pot and set it on a shelf as I was doing my clean-up with the intention of dealing with the filters and pot later. In the Spring - while in the Sugar Shack I happen to see the Aluminum Pot up on the shelf and "Oh S--t" ---- Got my favorite pot down and it now had a large hole in the bottom from the syrup laden filters. Haven't used Aluminum since - cause - sure as heck I could do it again. -----Mike--

[Brent]

why isnt aluminum recomended? it seems like a good alternative to stainless. i was thinking about making some aluminum pans. i believe it has better heat transfer than stainless? steel is also pretty cheap but i dont think any inspector will let you use it if you are selling it commercially. just my .02

spener


bin there, done that. Aluminum pot on a turkey frier. Hole in one !!! Forget it.

[spencer11]

i think that happend to my turkey frier to, just didnt know it. LOL.

spencer

[sandman6921]

I use a steel pan that I made. Works fine, although I am in the process of making a SS rig. Just go to the local pharmacy and buy a bottle of mineral oil to wipe your pan down with after the season. Mineral oil won't turn rancid like cooking oils do.

[lisbon_ny]

hey thanks for all the thoughts and all that was talked about i have thought of as well but # 1 i know i can weld steel #2 i KNOW i can not TIG WELD stainless from experiance (last year) #3 i know i cant afford a set of pans #4 its just a hobby i love and it is expencive hobby again thanks to all

[packrat]

I have a 27 in by 57 in steel flat bottom with 5 dividers. I rinse it out and turn it upside down over some warm coals in evaporator and leave it alone till next year. I missed syruping due to illness last year and looked at my pan and it looks good enough to boil in this year.