Evaporator Use/Care/Storage with weekly boiling

[bryankloos]

Hi All,

I boiled my first batch a couple days ago, and while everything went very well, I now have a few questions for those more familiar with weekly evaporator use.

I started with about 60 gallons or RO concentrate, boiled off 4 gallons of syrup before I was out of concentrate. I let the warmer drain empty (still leaves about 4 gallons in the warmer once below the outlet pipe) and immediately drained the rest of the concentrate from the warmer and then filled the warmer with clean permeate.
I took the concentrate drained from the warmer and added it to the divided pan so it could reach a boil before everything cooled off.
I then moved the evaporator back into my garage (steady 40F at this time of year) and will wait for the next batch to start over.

Is this the correct method for closing down the evap? Leave the sweet in the evap, ensuring it reached a boil to kill any bugs, and then wait until the next boil assuming it will be 7 days away?

Is 7 days with sweet in the pan too long?
If so, should I drain the pan and freeze the sweet?

All help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bryan

[ecolbeck]

A sweetened pan should be treated like any perishable food. If it is kept “refrigerated” close to 32 degrees, then it will likely keep for a week. If temps are likely to be much above that, then a midweek boil to keep bacteria at bay is required.

[bigschuss]

(steady 40F at this time of year) and will wait for the next batch to start over.

Is this the correct method for closing down the evap? Leave the sweet in the evap, ensuring it reached a boil to kill any bugs, and then wait until the next boil assuming it will be 7 days away?

Is 7 days with sweet in the pan too long?
If so, should I drain the pan and freeze the sweet?

All help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bryan

If your daily average is about 40 and you've got 7 days until your next boil IMHO you run the risk of losing the sweet. It really depends on your daily temperatures. If there's any doubt, I'd remove the sweet and store it until your next boil.

[bryankloos]

Fair enough. I’ll either boil sooner or drain and store the sweet.
Assuming I’m not going to drain in future when I expect to only be a few days between boils, what’s the best method for cleaning the scum buildup on the pan edges? I’m assuming it’s best to keep it out of the sweet??