burnt on above sap line

[eustis22]

Last newbie question for a while.....I have 2-3 inches of baked/burnt on sap in my pan above my sap line ( I kept the depth to 1-2 inches at all times).....a) how did it get there? Did I overboil at some point? 2) How do I get it off? Stainless steel cleaner and elbow grease?

[Ausable]

Last newbie question for a while.....I have 2-3 inches of baked/burnt on sap in my pan above my sap line ( I kept the depth to 1-2 inches at all times).....a) how did it get there? Did I overboil at some point? 2) How do I get it off? Stainless steel cleaner and elbow grease?

Probably had the sap foam up on you when You were boiling - I would imagine it would really show up on stainless. It happens on my steel rig too. I usually clean mine with just a dish washing pad and hot water. At the end of the boiling season you might try something else. No where near as bad as a scorched pan - now that is lots of fun. Foam ups are common - and the foam has a lot of sugar in it and is really messy.......

[Maplehobbyist]

a) It gets there because sap splashes up there from the boil. Since it's not submerged in sap it gets to a higher temp and burns. I think everybody is faced with this to some degree.

b) I put some hot water in and scrubbed with a scotch-brite pad but that didn't remove the worst of it, so I'm soaking the pan in water: It's currently frozen solid so it may not really be helping all that much. You could try firing it up to heat the water. Not sure about the stainless cleaner, never used it, so I have no experience to relate. My guess is that elbow grease will be involved at some point no matter what method you use.

[RileySugarbush]

It happens when the sap splashes up on the hot sides of the pan. You might get less if you run deeper. Don't worry about it. You can clean it but it will come back. Save the work and just boil again.

[spencer11]

well if the pan is dropped down in the fire you should run them deep as possible. mine from last year had about an inch wide black strip all the way around the pan. it dosent effect tast at all. its burned sugar. it happens to everyone with steam table pans in the fire. dont worry about it. i couldnt get mine off but i didnt try hard either.

spencer

[C.Wilcox]

I agree with ignoring it during the season. After the season you can scrub it off pretty quickly by scraping off the big chunks and then using wet/dry sandpaper on the rest. Start at 220 until it's all gone and then move up to a 400 to give your pan back a bit of polish. It's how I cleaned mine after each season.

[eustis22]

well, ok..I'll deepen it up......thanks, guys. I appreciate your patience

[Cider Hill Maple Farm]

All the guys are right Eustis, the ring around the collar will happen. My pan gets it as well, but by keeping everything clean as possible will produce a better product. With the aide of a defoamer you can keep the foam down and skim often. Just a drop or two of the foam agent will do until you add more sap and then the foam starts up again, don't add to much or you might get the lard in the mouth feeling. The first couple of years we let it go without anything but you will make a darker product because we didn't clean up after a boil. Most of us have small rigs so we can dump off whats in the pans into buckets and do a cleanup. I'll say it for myself but I can't speak for others I'm still learning everyday, I'm still a rookie (With a whole bunch of research and goof ups). I started with a turkey fryer,now I have a custom evap. that I built, next a RO then a bigger evap. where does one stop? Hope this helped, keep on and learn the addiction!

Shawn

[Brent]

Try Easy-Off oven cleaner. Spray on, let it sit (warm) for a half hour or so.
Work real well on creosote on the bottom of the pan too !

Then try to raise the pan so no part of the sides is exposed to the flame. If the sides that are not covered with sap are exposed to flame,
it will scorch again and you'll get the "here we go again feeling" If it gets bad, you'll get a burnt flavor in the syrup and you can't get rid of that.

[sugar ED]

Leader has an SS pan cleaner (It's an acid ) ,Safe/made for food grade SS . Use as directed - 1.) (mixed with water) warm /heat pan ,2.) using rubber gloves with scott brite pan ,very little scrubbing ! 3.)when done add baking soda ,drain and rince, I do step ( 3.) at least two times ,than rince well with water .
The acid dos'nt do a thing till heated !!! and must cover all the area you want clean (fill to top).
Mine looks like new when done!

[smokeyamber]

A simple food safe cleaner is just white vinegar, I learned here on the forum that it works real nice on sugar sand on the pans too. I use it between long boils to prevent scorching due to the build-up. Just fill the pan with a slightly diluted mix and let it sit overnight when you are done boiling, the niter coating just wipes right off the next day. I would not user anything as caustic as easy-off inside a pan.

Another even more low impact method I used one season was to leave the pans outside under an overhang of my garage. First right side up, then upside down for the whole summer. Everything came off and then I sterilized them with vinegar and a cleaning test boil. Doesn't get any easier than that :evil:

[Maple Ridge]

Both vinager or Leader pan cleaner will work. By carefull on the scrubbing. When you put scratches in your pans, it gives places for niter to collect. Now I use maple pro pan cleaner from my local supplier. I have also heard of people using a product for cleaning stainless milk tanks that you can get a a farm product store.