Steel Pans

[flyzone13]

I have seen a few times people using just your standard steel pans for boiling syrup. Is that a good idea or more work than needed? I am still fairly new to this hobby and have wondered about this for awhile.

[psparr]

The heat transfer is better than stainless. At the end of the season, don't clean it, just rinse it and store it in the dry upside down.

[newmod]

I used carbon steel pans for two seasons and they worked fine. Just more maintenance. Unable to keep sweet in pan overnight. I didnt have any valves, so it was a two person operation every time we stopped boiling so we could pour it into a stainless pot. Otherwisw it worked fine. This year I am upgrading to a 2x5 hybrid

newmod

[Big_Eddy]

A mild steel pan will work just fine. I used the same one for 20+ years before I built a new evaporator with flues. Like a cast iron frying pan versus a stainless pan, there are advantages and disadvantages.

With a mild steel pan, rusting of the pan is the primary concern. Don't leave sap in the pan for extended periods of time, and store the pan high and dry over the summer. At the end of the season I would brush off any loose soot and hang it syrup side down. The thin coating of dried sugar on the inside, and the black outside protected the steel from rusting. Before each season, I would give the inside and outside a good scrub and rinse, then back into operation.

I batch boiled only, and the longest it would sit with sap in it would be overnight. Never had a rust problem. Between batches it would be brought inside and stood on end. (BTW - while standing, any remaining syrup from the last batch would collect in the bottom corner as a very thick residue - YUUUUMMMM!!!)

If you follow the block arch link below, you will see some pictures of my old pan. It is still in use at my sisters.

Mild steel is easier to work with if you are making your own and for a flat pan it makes sense if $$ are tight or welding skills are limited. Obviously, you would want to use new steel, and any mill scale or residual oil would need to be removed.

Stainless is still preferred if you can swing it.

[Sugarmaker]

Ed,
Glad to see your post.
Your the guy that gave me the info for the press brake years ago. Thanks!
Good advice on the steel pan.
They used to use Cast iron kettle in the old days!
Chris

[Big_Eddy]

We used one while I was growing up. Would keep adding sap and boiling it down for weeks. Made the darkest, tastiest syrup you could imagine.