help please about cleaning our pans

[unclejohn]

We are hobby producer in mid Missouri off to a good start. we cook in batches whenever the sap flows. so far we have 10 gallons syrup from about 350 gallons sap after 2 boils. the niter is starting to build up on the pan floor in some places. manual scrubbing with brillo or the green abrasive pad can only get so much off before im exhausted. how much heat is lost if i dont get all the niter? any recommendations for using a chemical to remove niter? thanks in advance. john in missouri

[jmayerl]

Get some milk stone remover from a farm store if the niter has built up heavily. Dilute it with a few gallons of water and bring it up to a simmer with a small fire.let sit overnight and rinse out the pan good as new.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Don't forget the old stand by Vinegar. I would dump in a few gallons straight and let it sit. Warm it up and it will work faster. Niter can be a problem because it will keep building up and will lead to scorching. If it gets to thick it will burn.

[markcasper]

In addition to the milk stone remover, use some baking soda on a smooth cloth or old t shirt, the reaction helps to loosen it.

[MISugarDaddy]

Don't use anything abrasive trying to clean your pan or else you will scratch the bottom and cause the niter to buildup faster. Follow the suggestions others have said previously and you will get good results.
Gary

[blissville maples]

Once softened up try a putty knife or paint scraper, sometimes it will take it right off without putting alot of force down.

[maple flats]

While I have used part of a gallon of milkstone remover, a little at a time over the last 14 years, I'm still on my first gallon. My go to cleaner is white vinegar. I use it every time I detect niter building up. My test for it is to gently pull a plastic spatula across the bottom of the channels, if there is a drag, I clean. My syrup pan is 3' x 3' and I start by draining the pan into my draw off tank. Then I put just 1 gal of white vinegar in the pan. I then use a weed burner torch under the bottom, moving it around and heat it only until it starts to look like steam coming off the pan. (it is not steam because the temp is still only slighter warmer that comfortable to put my hand in). Then I let it set a few minutes, and then I use a rather soft brush or a white scrub pad (white ones are softer than the green ones). If the niter does not come right off, I warm it again and let it set for 20-30 minutes That usually does the trick. Once the pan comes clean, I use a little baking soda (about 2-3 teaspoonsful)dissolved in a SS pot with about a qt or so of warm water. I then wash the entire inside of the pan with it. Then I follow that with a triple rinse with permeate. If you don't have permeate, use any good potable water, then final rinse with distilled water.
On very rare occasions this doesn't do a total job, then if I have time I repeat and let it set for a couple of hours up to a day with another gallon of white vinegar and repeat all of the steps, if I don't have the time to wait, that is when I use the milkstone remover. I might need that 1 or 2x a season, some seasons I never need it. At any rate, follow the baking soda/triple rinse after that too.
The best time to remove the niter is when you first detect it forming if you can, the longer you boil with niter sticking on the bottom the harder it becomes to remove.
At time, during a boil I find sugarsand starting to stick, that is when I reverse the flow, but with a flat pan, reversing is not really an option, but you might get some results if you start adding new sap where the niter is the worst based on the boiling characteristics.

[bowhunter]

I also have a 1/2 pint and although I do get some niter build-up during the season, I've never seen any ill effects during the season. I process about 1,200 gallons of sap each season. I've used vinegar to clean the pan after the season ends and it works pretty well. The easiest way I've found to clean the pan is to fill it with sap almost to the top and cover it with some scrap plywood and let it sit 6-8 weeks. This gives the sap time to ferment and convert to vinegar. When it's ready most of the niter is soft and floating in the pan. I just empty the pan and hose it out. I can then remove any residue with a soft plastic scrubber and rinse it out. It's ready for next season. I probably spend more time cleaning the black deposits off the bottom after the season than I do working to clean out the niter.

[SeanD]

Ditto on the vinegar. I don't even bother with heating it. I ALWAYS have niter build up, so I drain the front pan and pour vinegar in after almost every boil. I don't have to do it as much at the beginning of the season. When I drain the vinegar, I pour it right back into the jugs it came from. I use the same vinegar all season. I lose about a pint each time I clean. I rinse well with water and I'm good to go.

Tip: When I drain the front pan of the sweet I run it through a paper pre-filter. It doesn't catch everything, but it catches a lot and anything I get out in that step, extends my boil the next time. I guess if you batch boil, you won't need this, but it helps for those on continuous flow.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I have horrendous sugar sand and niter build up. After boiling 2,000 gallons worth of sap concentrate I have a 1/4" so niter flake and sand with a good portion of the finish pan 36x18 covered in brown to black buildup. I drain the pan and switch it out with a clean one. I have to soak the pan in straight Vinegar for 24 hrs and still need to scrub it out. Heck I get niter build up 4" up the sides of the pan. Anytime you hold minerals in solution it has less ability to dissolve more down the road. I reuse it for a few cleanings but its cheap. Heat really helps along with Permeate.
Every 5 days I do a complete rig drain and fill with permeate and Vinegar soak. I fire it up and let it sit over night.

Now if you really want to get things done quick get yourself a bucket shop vac and suck everything from your finish pan and let it sit over night while you soak your pan. Rinse pan spotless and pour contents thru a filter back into the pan. Total time spent cleaning your pan..............about 15 minuets. No I don't have a source for food grade shop vacs but if you dedicated it for this use only its only incidental contact with the vac hose and food grade bucket.

[SeanD]

Ok, I can't complain about niter, now. That's pretty bad.

[Haynes Forest Products]

At the end of the day it will look like you poured a box of cornflakes in the 2nd finish pan.

[markcasper]

This last year I let the pans sit with sour old sap most of the summer. Never used any acid in the flue pan, it sparkles!

[Brian]

Every night when I get done. I run spring water through my front pan and it cleans the niter right out. If you don't have water like that, some people recirculate water with a tank and a submersible pump through their front pan. Permeate works great.

[Brian]

I let The water run through the front pan all night.

[Kbrooks80]

Use 50% Vinegar 50% water. Bring the pan to a boil for 30 minutes. The niter will lift right off the bottom.

[RileySugarbush]

Milkstone Remover is fast, vinegar works well too, as already stated.

If you NEED to scrape, don't use a steel putty knife of abrasive pad unless your stainless is already scratched or brushed from previous "events" If you want to preserve the shiny surface, a good metal scraper can be made of a piece of copper water pipe, hammered flat and filed to a chisel edge. The copper is softer than the stainless but harder than the niter so it works well and is less likely to scratch your pan.