Another question after 4 years of boiling?

[valleyman]

After every boil I lift the pans out and clean off tons of soot as well as cleaning the working side with H2O and vineagar to clean the carmelized scorch line. Next I put the pans back on the arch til next boil.

What cleanup workflow do my fellow steam pan boilers follow?

Since I'm doing back to back boiling this weekend, I'm thinking just clean the burnt sugarline off and start boiling again and not worrying about the soot on the undersides.

Thanks in advance

[noreast maple]

I would do just oppisite for one reason only, that being if you clean the soot side, even only brushing them it will get a better boil.

[Ausable]

Look - Nothing wrong with keeping everything clean - especially if it makes you happy. I'm in my 70's and I really like making Maple Syrup - but my pans are connected and made from steel and I could not imagine cleaning the bottom of them after every boil as I normally do most of the work by myself. As far as the inside sections - I have plugs installed in my dividers between boils and normally leave my pans sweetened and covered till I start another boil. LOL - If I was still a young guy or gal and still had all that energy I would probably be doing the same thing and more. I do clean them at the end of the Season and again at the start of the new season and also if I run into some kind of problem. LOL - Now I have to think about my next move and see if it is worth burning up my energy reserve if I still have sap to gather or fuel to haul into the shack. The main thing is to have Fun, Make good Maple Syrup and Live to do it again next year. Have a great Sugarin Season - Whaever You do. ---------Mike------

[happy thoughts]

This is my second year with steam pans. Last year I cleaned both sides after every boil and made a total mess of my kitchen every time. This year I have only cleaned the inside after each boil to remove the burnt sugar and any niter on the bottom so I don't get hot spots. I use Barkeepers Friend which makes quick work of it all and is specifically made for use on SS.

So far I've only boiled twice this year but didn't notice much difference in boil rate on the second boil with sooty bottoms. I figure the pans will get sooty again in a few minutes so bottom cleaning didn't seem worth the extra work and mess. Last year I used the old scout trick and soaped the pan bottoms well. That helped with cleanup but forgot to do that this year.

[Run Forest Run!]

Happy Thoughts, what is this "old scout" soaping trick that you mentioned? What type of soap and how much do you use?

[happy thoughts]

Happy Thoughts, what is this "old scout" soaping trick that you mentioned? What type of soap and how much do you use?

Just plain old bar soap. Soap them up good but just be careful not to get any on the inside. They'll still get sooty but it comes off a lot easier. I've also read you can slather them with liquid dish detergent but haven't tried that. For end of season cleanup, oven cleaner works well assuming your pans are SS.

[maple flats]

I'd just brush the fire side and clean the inside. I would think a film of soap might clean off easier (we taught boy scouts to do that) but I think it would slow the boil. You don't really care if the bottom is black (in fact black will take on more heat) as long as there is not an insulating layer of soot.

[Run Forest Run!]

Just plain old bar soap. Soap them up good but just be careful not to get any on the inside. They'll still get sooty but it comes off a lot easier. I've also read you can slather them with liquid dish detergent but haven't tried that. For end of season cleanup, oven cleaner works well assuming your pans are SS.

Thanks, I'll definitely give that a try. I have two new SS steam trays to use this year and I'd like to keep them looking nice.

[happy thoughts]

I'd just brush the fire side and clean the inside. I would think a film of soap might clean off easier (we taught boy scouts to do that) but I think it would slow the boil. You don't really care if the bottom is black (in fact black will take on more heat) as long as there is not an insulating layer of soot.

I didn't notice a difference in boil rate soap vs no soap. You can't really get a very thick layer of soap from a bar. But this year I didn't bother because I agree it makes more sense to just keep the inside clean and brush off any thick soot. It certainly saves a lot of work and mess :)

[Sweet Shady Lane]

This is my sixth year watching sap boil, All i did was to take a grill brush to the fire side of my steam pans clean them as good as i could, and then when i was done used easyoff oven cleaner on the fire side to clean my pans, i never did much with the syrup side untill i was done for the year

[emo]

After I finish a boil, I wipe out the inside of the pans with a wash cloth and the hose to get most of the remaining sugar/sap off the top side of the pans, then flip them over and hose the soot off the bottom. The bottoms look black, but you can see the bottom of the pan in parts. If I start getting burn build up on the inside, I use a drill and with a wire brush head to clean off the build up.

[Sapster]

I have two 32"x32"x9" stainless pans. After each use, I clean the inside and outside with 3M Scotch Brite and a bucket of hot water and dishwashing soap. The dishwashing soap really dissolves the soot, but some of the hard caked-on stuff remains on the underside. At the end of the season I do this again and also use a cordless drill with a disk-shaped wire wheel for the caked-on soot. With a little work, the pans are shiny stainless for storage.

The soot on the bottom of the pan should increase the radiative heat from the fire that is absorbed by the pan, but I think the soot builds up pretty quickly on the bottom of a clean pan - so this shouldn't be an issue.

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