Boiling with hydrometer

[11-Nick]

When I leave the SS hydrometer tube standing upright in the pan when I boil, there is a pretty ferocious boil that goes on under it's base. Is that hurting anything on the bottom of the pan in that area?
Thanks! Happy boiling!

[Woody77]

I get the same thing on the bottem of my pan when I run the skimmer around it.I assume it has to do with heat transfer.I would think that it could possibly burn the sugar between the base n pan but if it helps the boiling process and it hasn't warped the pan then go for it. I actually considered using little pieces of 3/4" or 1" copper pipe on the bottem inside the pan to see if it would increase the evaporation rate. Good luck .

[11-Nick]

It would be interesting to see if it would increase the boil with no ill effects. If you do that, please post your findings.

[Woody77]

I spent an hour cutting little pieces of copper pipe tonight .I'll fire up at 8am tomorrow. ill let you know what happens . can't hurt to try right.

[11-Nick]

It seems that the water portion of the small amount of sap hiding between a plate and the pan could vaporize, leaving behind only sugar, and maybe a touch of air. (Air dissolved in liquids separates out as the liquid warms). If there's only sugar and air in there, I would say there's a reasonable risk of scalding and warping.
I don't know that, but have been thinking about it since posting that question.