Lead pans

[hicks road]

I have a older evaporator and was wondering if anybody knew how to tell if it was soldered with lead or not other than sending the pan away and getting it tested????

[DrTimPerkins]

You can purchase a lead-check test swab kit in most hardware stores. Simple to use. Just make sure you get one for surfaces, not for liquids. If it was made prior to 1994, it is probably lead-soldered.

[flying squirrel maple]

Hopefully someone can give me some help, found what I think is a good deal on Craigslist ? Talked to the fella he said they were soldered 2x8 small brothers lightning raised flue set for 1200. What should I be concerned about while boiling, I'm guessing most pans back in the day were lead soldered??

[Potters3]

Before buying the pans, fill them with water and see how bad they leak. Older pans can have pin holes or bad seams better to find out before you buy them. It can get exspensive to have fixed. I boiled for 15 years with a raised small bros set 4x14, loved them they worked great, only issue we ever had was debri getting caught up where the sap comes into the float box in back.

[flying squirrel maple]

Thanks for the info, the guy says the do not leak but we'll see. Anything I have to worry about when we are boiling with soldered pans?

[flying squirrel maple]

And does the price sound ok?

[Potters3]

If they do not leak and are not English tin, hopefully they are Stainless steel soldered pans, sounds fair to me,
Never boil them dry, and keep them cleaned out of niter and sugar sand. same as a welded pan today

[flying squirrel maple]

Thanks hopefully they don't leak, gettin tired of the all night boils. 😫

[bees1st]

If they are lead soldered ,don't scrub the solder when you clean them. The coating in that area will help seal the lead in, and keep it from leaching into the sap when the pans sit idle with sap in them.