Defoamer

[chefchap]

Hi all

Anyone know of a local place in cumberland county or close by that would sell defoamer??
Also how much do u add? and do u add it when it is in the foaming stage?
Thank you

[Groves]

You mean a place that sells olive oil?

[500592]

Check on the maine maple producer website for the dealer near you I got the powder and just a pinch in the flue pan when it starts to foam and it is gone almost immediately.

[PerryW]

I use corn oil. Just add a few drops when you are worried that the pans will boil over.

[jmp]

Use a stick of butter. Just run it along edge of pans and no more foam. Instant.

[wiam]

Use a stick of butter. Just run it along edge of pans and no more foam. Instant.

If you sell syrup DO NOT USE BUTTER. There are many with a milk allergy and not many would suspect it in syrup.

[MaineMapleDave]

I actually use just the tiniest spritz from a can of Pam--works a charm.

[MapleME]

Chef, Paris Farmers union in Portland (outer Washington ave) has some supplies. I picked up a small bottle of it today actually and it was the only one I saw. Give them a call. They are really the only game in town for syrup stuff near us. Otherwise you gotta head to vassal borough . The defamer I got was made by leader.

[adk1]

I only use the defoarmer from Leader. Stuff works awesome and is pretty inexpensive. I would only recomend that.

[MapleME]

How does one use that bottle of leader defoamer by the way? Assume you are using this in your syrup pan only??/ or?

First year with dual pans and a bigger rig, figured I needed to have it handy for the small cost...with that said, unsure how to use it,.

[adk1]

truthfully, u should never use it in your syrup pan. I use it in my flue pans only, as I have never seen anyones syrup pans get to the point where they needed to use it. My first boil I used the defoamer twice and that was in about 2.5 hours of boiling

[PerryW]

truthfully, u should never use it in your syrup pan. I use it in my flue pans only, as I have never seen anyones syrup pans get to the point where they needed to use it. My first boil I used the defoamer twice and that was in about 2.5 hours of boiling

If you don't have to use defoamer in your syrup pan, then you need better wood. I try to avoid defoamer when a take-off is imminent, but it would be impossible for me to boil without defoaming the front pan. . Not sure if this video link works but, here's my front pan in operation:



http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y235/perryW/?action=view&current=HPSyrupBoil2Small.mp4

[jmp]

Very good advice William. I would have never thought of that. Checked out the label and thankfully the wife buys dairy free margarine and that is what I used.

[adk1]

wow, that boil is ripping. Honestly, havent been doing this long enough, but from what I have seen in my last 10 years at this I have never seen a front pan boil that much.

[MapleME]

Perry, thanks for the advice. GREAT boil there in your syrup pan! Holy CROW!

So how many drops does it take to knock down a foam up like that?

[PerryW]

adk1,

It usually takes a couple hours of running to get things hot enough to get everything hot enough to boil like that, but after that, I HAVE to add defoamer or else I make a big mess when the front pan boils over. and with NO blower!

Here are some things to make the front pan boil faster:
1) Use real dry wood
2) split the wood into smaller pieces
3) Don't throw the wood in too far.
4) Reduce the draft to keep the heat closer to the front pan

[MapleME]

Perry, I also gotta ask ya how deep your running that syrup pan? 2"?

[adk1]

#1 and #2 taken care of. I also burn 50% hardwood of oak and maple and I ahve a blower. I havent boiled more than 2.5 hours yet so I guess I wouldnt know on my own rig at my location. I ahve seen several other operations ranging from 2x6 to 6x16 and have never seen anone add defoamer to the syrup pan. Notsaying that that is wrong or anything, just stating my experience as to what I have witnessed.

[MapleME]

#1 and #2 taken care of. I also burn 50% hardwood of oak and maple and I ahve a blower. I havent boiled more than 2.5 hours yet so I guess I wouldnt know on my own rig at my location. I ahve seen several other operations ranging from 2x6 to 6x16 and have never seen anone add defoamer to the syrup pan. Notsaying that that is wrong or anything, just stating my experience as to what I have witnessed.

So that begs the question, are they using defoamer in the flue pan? The defoamer I don't think will do anything for the bubbles that are formed with raw sap- that is what the skimmer is for. The syrup pan is really where this problem occurs, or on your finisher. I have been using butter in my finisher for this reason for the past 5 years, but I never sell any of it so its no biggie. Trying to think why they would use the defoamer in the flue pan.

[PerryW]

yes, front pan about 2" deep. Back pan is 1" deep.

[adk1]

I had my flue pan ripping so much the other night it almost foamed up over the sides. Once you add a drop of the defoamer, it subsides and boils harder. Foam is not good anywhere in the evap as it lessens the evaporation.

[MapleME]

Foam is not good anywhere in the evap as it lessens the evaporation.

LOL thanks! Aint my first rodeo :lol:

Glad your having good luck by the way. You will find each time you boil, you tweak something new and get more efficient each time.

[chefchap]

Thanks for all the info guys got some at Paris farmers union
Ty

[collinsmapleman2012]

defoamer is for the front pan. you only need a drop or two to stop the foam. what happens is the sap gets close to syrup and foams, so you need the defoamer. in the old days they used to hang a piece of pork fat over the kettle so that when it got hot it would drip and stop the foam. if you put a few drops in the syrup pan and it doesnt do anything, then put a squirt in the flue pan. but if you keep adding it in the flue pan, you could be overusing it and either wasting $ or could give your syrup an off flavor.

[Sandy]

Lots of good advice. Using Mason 2X4, been trying to convince hubby to let me split wood smaller to get a hotter burn. We started off using wood-stove size splits, but I noticed boil slowed down dramatically every time we added wood to arch. How small should we split? Hope to have a boil like yours Perry!

[PerryW]

for a 2x4, I would split the wood to be no more than 4 inches in any dimension.

Only open one door at a time, and chuck the wood in quick and close it.

Don't throw the wood in too far, keep it up near the door.

I

[lobster1]

Just a couple drops of olive oil works great.

[Springfield Acer]

I like unscented PAM but you can't let the can get cold or it won't spray. Just a quick shot and it works well also.