burnt help

[1951oliver88]

my first year with this setup. i have made around 20 gallons so far switched the drawoff side once but was a pain getting my float working correctly because i think the whole rig is just out of level. decided to drain the front pan today and clean to discover burnt buildup in the center channels especially and sugar sand on the outside. right now the pan has 2 gallons of vinegar in it soaking. the sugar sand comes right off but the rest is suborn. i have a couple questions-

1. will the vinegar be enough? i have read that you shouldnt scrub with anything that will scratch. is there anything stronger to use?

2. what caused this? do i need to clean more often maybe before every boil. am i boiling to hard i have been running a blower and 1-1/2" in the pan. maybe i need to run deeper with the blower. should i not fill the firebox as full? the float between the two pans does not work very well so its hard to regulate but we have been pretty vigilante.

any advice would be helpful

[sapman]

Sugar sand buildup is not good. I wasn't vigilant enough last week, and got a couple little burn spots. Had to use some steel wool to get it all off. I used permeate recirculating to remove everything else. Just need to do it more often. The vinegar trick may be fine, but do it more often, I'd say. Don't think you can boil too hard, and that depth should be fine.

[PerryW]

my first year with this setup. i have made around 20 gallons so far switched the drawoff side once but was a pain getting my float working correctly because i think the whole rig is just out of level. decided to drain the front pan today and clean to discover burnt buildup in the center channels especially and sugar sand on the outside. right now the pan has 2 gallons of vinegar in it soaking. the sugar sand comes right off but the rest is suborn. i have a couple questions-

1. will the vinegar be enough? i have read that you shouldnt scrub with anything that will scratch. is there anything stronger to use?

2. what caused this? do i need to clean more often maybe before every boil. am i boiling to hard i have been running a blower and 1-1/2" in the pan. maybe i need to run deeper with the blower. should i not fill the firebox as full? the float between the two pans does not work very well so its hard to regulate but we have been pretty vigilante.

any advice would be helpful

1) I get a few burn spots each season, but usually only a couple the size of a quarter of silver dollar. I'm not sure vinegar really works on the burnt spots, though the acid does dissolve the nitre. I use scotch bright pads on my front pan, but I burnt it years ago so the mirror finish is no longer an issue. You could try a non-abrasive version of a scowering pad? DO whatever you would do to clean a regular stainless steel pan in your kitchen.

2) You may want to run at 2" deep and maybe try reversing the flow on each boil. I can produce put 120-130 gallons of syrup without any pan cleaining, but I reverse the flow on each boiling session to reduce nitre buildup. I wouldn't slow your firing rate. It will just take longer to develop syrup which will allow more time for nitre to buildup.