Pan cleaning

[farmerfletch]

Well my seasons just about over here in Schoharie County boiling down the leftover sap on the finishing pan, just wondering how everybody cleans their pans, last year I just pressure washed them down and called it good but they were still pretty scaley at the start of this season, any thoughts?


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[regor0]

Soak them overnight in vinegar, that scale will come right off. And then I pressure wash them.
I usually drain the front pan a couple times a season and let them sit in vinegar overnight. I just reuse the vinegar, but it's cheap enough you could toss it.
Never found anything easier or cheaper.

[farmerfletch]

Any dilution of the vinegar? I have a 2x10 raised flue arch so that's a lot of strait vinegar


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[Bruce L]

You can fill your pans with sap, leave it and it will turn to vinegar and take everything off for you, just plug your nose when you go back to wash the pans up

[regor0]

Found a couple of suggestions off sugarbush.info
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JP my 3x7 raised flue pan hold about 30-35 gallons and I dump in 8-10 gallons of vinegar and bring to high heat. I keep it and reuse.
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3X10 Lapiere Waterloo small/CDL oil fired
CDL 600 RO, Westfab 7" short bank filter press.
Auto Drawoff, 950 taps on vacuum Bernard double releasers. Curtis RU 300 water jacketed bottler Gast vacuum pumps.
Check out the operation http://youtu.be/4iwFPSbbcNc Buying bulk sap in Door County 303-810-5501

3% Solution gave me a tip that works great for me. I had been using vinegar in the front pan, letting soak over night, then scrub to get the niter and crud off. Now when done with a boil and have scooped out the coals, I drain the front pan down till just covering the bottom then put about 7-8 gallons of permeate in the pan. The arch is still warm enough it warms the permeate up pretty good. Next day all the niter and crud is gone, just drain and put the sweet back in. Don't have to rinse vinegar out now. I try every 3rd boil when done to drain the flue pan and add about 20 gallons of permeate in it. Let it warm up, next day brush and drain, put the sap pulled off night before back in.
End of season I fill syrup pan about 1/2 full with permeate and add about 1/2 gallon of vinegar, permeate and 2 gallons of vinegar in flue pan, lite a fire to warm it up good and let sit for 24 hours.

[MISugarDaddy]

Use a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar. Just heat it up for about an hour and then let it sit for a day, covered if possible, and it will look like new when you rinse it out.