Cleaning galvanized buckets and spiles?

[John c]

I realize there is debate about weather these are safe or not, but that is not what this thread is about. I just bought a stack of them for the sake of nostalgia and I simply want to know the best way to clean galvanized buckets and spiles to be used for collecting sap.
Thanks!

[Shawn]

We still used some of those buckets and put out around 120 of them like around the house and at neighbor's house. To clean them what I have done every year is soak them in white vinegar and then scrub them and wash them out good and let dry. With my spiles I boil each year for about an hour and they have been going for years now with us and that is how we first started with buckets. Some of the old timers still say the best syrup was out of the buckets and yes the nostalgia still lives on.

[John c]

Thanks for the reply. Another question concerning the spiles...some of them have some rust on them. Are they still ok to clean and use?

[John c]

Thanks for the reply. Another question concerning the spiles...some of them have some rust on them. Are they still ok to clean and use?
None of you "ole timers" have any input on this?

[n8hutch]

If it was me & I wasn't concerned about a galvanized bucket , I certainly wouldn't worry about a little rust, half the galvanized buckets hanging on trees out there I would be willing to bet have some rust in the bottom.

[sugarsand]

Our metal spouts were getting in pretty tough shape, some light rust and crud, into a small electric cement mixer along with some fine sand. I let them run for a few hours and they shinned up good, just to be rinsed then boiled afterwards.

sugarsand

[BreezyHill]

You do realize if the rust is there then the galvanizing is coming off and going...somewhere.

You might want to take this as a sign that it is time to change your equipment.

I would save a few for a display and scrape the rest or sell on ebay as historical antiques and reinvest your capital.

Ben

[GV2]

I read on this forum and then purchased a food grade "Camcote" epoxy from https://www.bbhoneyfarms.com. It is used by bee keepers. I coated the bottom of one of my leaking older buckets and it did a great job solving that problem. As instructed, I put it on in a few very thin coats, covering the whole bottom and up the sides. I would think this might offer some protection against rust too, and a small can could probably do 30 to 50 buckets.

[smokeyamber]

I may try the camcote idea on some of my older buckets, the other trick used by old timers is simply to pour some melted canning wax in the bottom of a leaking bucket and swirl it around to coat the bottom. It would also seal over rust as well...

I am slowly switching over to plastic buckets ( frosting buckets are a nice size to hang on a tap ) to replace the worst buckets. I still enjoy the sound on the hillside after emptying the buckets on a good running day.... :cool: