Aluminum evaporator pan?

[parrothead600]

My current evaporator pan is a mild steel pan that is probably 50+ years old. I have been using it for the past 18 years. This year, it started leaking and it is beyond repair. I would like to get a stainless steel pan to replace it, but I have a hard time trying to justify the cost. I only do this for a hobby. I normally end up with less than 8 gallons of syrup in a year which I save for my own use and give to friends for Christmas.
I currently have access to a large sheet of aluminum, which I believe is 12 guage. Is there reason that I would not want to have a pan made out of aluminum?

[saphead]

Aluminum is a neurotoxin and shouldn't be used in any type of food processing !!

[regor0]

Sell the sheet of aluminum and buy a sheet of stainless. 12g aluminum for 20 to 22g stainless should close to equal in price give or take a few bucks.


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[ecolbeck]

Aluminum is a neurotoxin and shouldn't be used in any type of food processing !!

Aluminum is a neurotoxin but I think that conclusion is a little overblown. Can you site a source?

I wonder if the main problem is that aluminum welding is challenging and the cost savings would be minimal compared to stainless?

[ecolbeck]

I should add that aluminum is reactive to acids and sap can be somewhat acidic.

[Woody77]

That's funny I just ate green beans and gravy made in aluminum pots in my kitchen. Pots that I got out of a restuarant.
If you'd have asked if you could have used copper , English tin , stainless, glass you'll still get some crazy warning. Look up the pros and cons online and do what works best for you.
By the way stainless has nickel migration. Nickel is not good in the system. Found that out doing research on making apple cider vinegar. Nothing is truly safe so grab some scissors and stretch. Lol.

[Russell Lampron]

You didn't say what size pan you are using but if it's a popular size you may be able to find a used pan at a place like Bascom's that will fit your needs. Buy a welded stainless pan and it will last a lifetime.

[parrothead600]

My current pan size is 22" x 48". I build my own arch to fit the pan. I may modify the arch to accept a 24"x48" pan, since that seems to be a popular size. I may go the route of a new or used pan, I just have a hard time spending the $$$ when I know that I will never see any return.

[Russell Lampron]

My current pan size is 22" x 48". I build my own arch to fit the pan. I may modify the arch to accept a 24"x48" pan, since that seems to be a popular size. I may go the route of a new or used pan, I just have a hard time spending the $$$ when I know that I will never see any return.

Maple equipment for the most part holds it's value over time and in some cases it even goes up. You will more than likely be able to sell the pan that you buy for the same as what you paid for it and in some cases you may even get more. There's always someone looking for pans and evaporators in that size range and the cost of new goes up every year so used will bring good money.

[n8hutch]

Maple equipment for the most part holds it's value over time and in some cases it even goes up. You will more than likely be able to sell the pan that you buy for the same as what you paid for it and in some cases you may even get more. There's always someone looking for pans and evaporators in that size range and the cost of new goes up every year so used will bring good money.

I know it has been said before but there should be a "like" button on here, I was thinking the exact same thing.

I am as cheap as they come, and I admittedly spent time and money thinking/trying to build my own pans and arch but after a spell figured out how skilled the guys are that make this gear , so I bought some new and used equipment in the end.

If you figure your time and effort into making something lots of time to could have just done something that your good at for extra money and buy yourself something nice. And it will have resale value.

[Super Sapper]

If aluminum was a good pan choice and less expensive than stainless there would be pans already out there and available. I am not aware of any aluminum pans being made for whatever reason so I would shy away from using it.

[Sugar Bear]

Aluminum is a neurotoxin and shouldn't be used in any type of food processing !!

Neurotoxin is a big word and relatively meaningless by itself and should be put into perspective rather then just randomly used as a "fear" word.

A neurotoxin is a substance that destroys or corrupts nervous tissues. Although we try to frequently pretend otherwise, Alcohol ( the kind we are allowed by law to drink for our own fun and enjoyment is a classified Neurotoxin ) But it should be because the evidence is overwhelming that it destroys and corrupts nervous tissues. Prohibition, while it was far more crazy, was designed to prevent things like the "Affordable Care Act", more so then anything else.

The effects of neurotoxins in aluminum getting into food and into the human body are far more ambiguous. There is absolutely no evidence at all that shows aluminum causes Alzheimers and unfortunately ( wish it were otherwise ) none that shows maple syrup cures Alzheimers.

The melting point of aluminum is about 200 degrees lower then steel so I would save the aluminum for making a metal roof over one of your collection barrels and get some good stainless steel for a evaporating pan.

Cheers ...

to a "little bit" of some Fresh Maple Syrup.

[BAP]

Neurotoxin is a big word and relatively meaningless by itself and should be put into perspective rather then just randomly used as a "fear" word.

A neurotoxin is a substance that destroys or corrupts nervous tissues. Although we try to frequently pretend otherwise, Alcohol ( the kind we are allowed by law to drink for our own fun and enjoyment is a classified Neurotoxin ) But it should be because the evidence is overwhelming that it destroys and corrupts nervous tissues. Prohibition, while it was far more crazy, was designed to prevent things like the "Affordable Care Act", more so then anything else.

The effects of neurotoxins in aluminum getting into food and into the human body are far more ambiguous. There is absolutely no evidence at all that shows aluminum causes Alzheimers and unfortunately ( wish it were otherwise ) none that shows maple syrup cures Alzheimers.

The melting point of aluminum is about 200 degrees lower then steel so I would save the aluminum for making a metal roof over one of your collection barrels and get some good stainless steel for a evaporating pan.

Cheers ...

to a "little bit" of some Fresh Maple Syrup.
Well said Sugar Bear.

[berkshires]

The whole issue of aluminum being a nueutotoxin is a red herring. The fact is that aluminum, unlike stainless, very quickly oxidizes, forming a thin surface on the pan. Boiling something acidic (especially for hours and hours!) leaches this aluminum off the surface. You can taste it, and you can see it, if you're cooking something light colored. I once accidentally boiled chick-peas for a long time in an aluminum pot, and they came out grey and tasting metallic. But I've tasted it in tomato sauce too. I sure don't want this in my syrup, and I don't think anyone else does either.

Here's a link, if you're curious to start learning more: https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/6390-is-aluminum-cookware-safe

Cheers,

Gabe

[DrTimPerkins]

Aluminum was approved for only very limited uses (filter support...essentially non-contact uses) in maple sap collection and processing during a review of construction materials by a maple industry study group in the early-2000s (which arose out of the lead crisis). As I recall, it was universally rejected by maple manufacturers at that time as unsuitable for contact with sap/syrup. I agreed with that conclusion at the time, and agree with that recommendation still, primarily because, as Gabe suggests, it can cause a metallic off-flavor in syrup. Seems to be something you'd want to avoid.

[buck3m]

We boiled on large, homemade aluminum pans for years with great success. If there were any disadvantages, we didn't notice.

People routinely cook in aluminum cookware. I think the evidence that it is harmful is weak. I think extremely few, if any, could taste the difference in syrup in a blind taste test.

We now boil in Amish stainless pans, made with lead-free solder. I looked it up, the melting point of solder is about 361 degrees, and the melting point of aluminum is 1,221 degrees.

[ecolbeck]

Aluminum was approved for only very limited uses (filter support...essentially non-contact uses) in maple sap collection and processing during a review of construction materials by a maple industry study group in the early-2000s (which arose out of the lead crisis). As I recall, it was universally rejected by maple manufacturers at that time as unsuitable for contact with sap/syrup. I agreed with that conclusion at the time, and agree with that recommendation still, primarily because, as Gabe suggests, it can cause a metallic off-flavor in syrup. Seems to be something you'd want to avoid.

Interesting. I have some aluminum buckets that came with the evaporator I bought. I had thought that sap contact with aluminum would be preferred to galvanized steel. Is this not the case as far as the industry is concerned?

[DrTimPerkins]

Interesting. I have some aluminum buckets that came with the evaporator I bought. I had thought that sap contact with aluminum would be preferred to galvanized steel. Is this not the case as far as the industry is concerned?

Galvanized steel was on the "Unacceptable" list for buckets. Aluminum is listed as "OK = Acceptable" for spouts and buckets. Note that this is for new construction. There are certainly lots of galvanized steel buckets out there. It is a material that is generally not used in food manufacturing equipment these days, although you might occasionally find a few things made with it.

[DrTimPerkins]

People routinely cook in aluminum cookware. I think the evidence that it is harmful is weak.

I agree. Aluminum is used fairly commonly for cookware, but it is not recommended for acidic foods due to the possible off-flavor issues. I agree also that the evidence aluminum is harmful is not strong....unless it's an aluminum bat contacting your head perhaps.

[Sugar Bear]

I know there are a lot of people a whole lot smarter then me, on this forum. I did have dinner the other night ( thanks to my wife who is a chemical engineer graduate from Yale ) with a lead engineer for the design and implementation of the escape capsule for the soon to be crew of 4 that will soon fly on the Orion space Vehicle.

So through regular osmosis from my wife's college friends and maple trader I am able to acquire a bit of good practice.

We want to choose steel for our evaporation pans over aluminum, ESPECIALLY on the homemade arches ... 24 x 7 x 365 and 366 on leap years. Don't brain cramp it.

As for other uses of the Aluminum ... it works well enough for me as a heat shield. I use a 4 by 4 sheet of it between the spruce/hemlock siding on the back wall of my sugar shack and my smoke stack. There was only about a 2 inch gap there between the stack and siding and "flame on" was a perpetual threat until I placed the 4 x 4 sheet between the two and up against the wood siding. The aluminum quickly disperses ( like a cooling fin ) the heat outward away from the closest contact point with the heat coming off the stack. It thereby reduces the risk of "Flame On" with the wood siding to near 0 as far as 3 years of "research" have shown. VERY EFFECTIVE!

Key detail : Notice I said the aluminum went against the siding and does not contact the stack directly.

I also using another sheet of aluminum for a roof over a collection barrel with bungs that are subject to seepage with rainfall.

[30AcreWoods]

On the nerdy side of things :) As discussed, aluminum is a lot more reactive than stainless in certain environments, and thus can oxidize and/or pit and cause poor outcomes for things like syrup. Aluminum also has a much lower melting point and becomes soft at much lower temperatures, and with some folks using forced air and gas and oil, long days of boiling at high temps can cause the aluminum to fatigue much quicker. For larger pans, the stainless steel is stronger than aluminum (although, as the airline industry will attest, aluminum has a much better strength-weight ratio, but we aren't really worried about that) and is thus less likely to deform when it gets hot with those forced air systems, etc. If you want a great radiator to distribute heat quickly and keep your sugar house from burning down, use aluminum. If you want a physically strong and chemically stable material to make high quality syrup, use stainless steel.

Now, if someone could invent a water jacket system (not copper coils) to sheath our arches and stacks to preheat the incoming concentrate...