40 gallon stainless barrels , do they need to be full to seal proper??

[mrnorthshore]

Hi everyone, I am looking at switching over to 40 gallon drums and just want to find out if they need to be full all the way or can I fill them with just say 30 gallons on a slow day and still be able to get a good seal? I have never used barrels before just 5 gallon plastic jugs. Thanks, Paul

[wiam]

Best case is to fill them with 180* syrup put bung in and I lay them down to make sure they seal and sterilize top. I have had times when I have filled over 2 days and made sure syrup was hot and not had a problem. If It is a drum I am going to save for myself I will use it sooner than one that was filled all at once. If you are taking to a packer most will pull the bung out and test so hot packing just become unimportant. Also I use mostly small 16/17 gallon drums as that is what I can fill most days.

[lew]

I partially fill barrels all the time. at the end of the day there may be only 10 allons to put in a barrel. What I do is put the syrup in the barrel, tighten the bung, then roll it around on its side to get the whole barrel hot. Next time I boiil, I just open the barrel and fill. Never have had a problem. ON times when the grade has changed between what is in the barrel and what we make the next boil, I jst start a new barrel and the partial barrel is set to the side. If I don't make any more of that grade, Iusually pack it sooner just to get it out of the way.

[mrnorthshore]

Thanks so much, one more thing that i can mark off the list of the unknown. Thanks again