Let my pan go nasty

[Woodsrover]

For the second year in a row I let my last bit of sap sit in the pan after my last boil. And let it sit. And let it sit. Even more than last year. 7 weeks.

March 7th was my last boils and I cleaned my pan out today, April 29th. The sap was full on nasty, moldy, ropey and brown. Stuck a hose in the float box and a 1" drain hose on the outlet. Let the water run as I scrubbed it with a brush. The fermented sap has melted all the niter and stuck on minerals and the pan came sparkling clean with no vinegar and not a lot of harsh scrubbing. My only mistake was not leaving the sap deep enough to take all the stuff above the boil line. Next year I'll leave 4" or so in the pan.

Won't even have to take the pans off the arch I don't think. Just flush out once more with clean water, suck out the drop flues with a suction gun and let it sit until next year.

[Mel]

We usually let ours sit until mid-summer. It works!

[buckeye gold]

I fill mine to within about 3" of the top, but I have a small pan. I powerwash it after draining and I do very little scrubbing.

[motowbrowne]

Same here. Works great.

[ennismaple]

We fill ours to 1/4" from the top in both the flue pan and the syrup pan and leave it until you get the dry heaves from the stench - normally early June. It takes almost 400 gallons. It does polish the stainless up very nicely.

[maple flats]

I think I'll try that, next year. I just don't think of it at the right time.

[DrTimPerkins]

Works great...especially if you don't have to be in the sugarhouse much for a few months OR if you have an exceptionally poor sense of smell. We fill our pans right to the top and let it sit most of the summer. For those with older soldered pans...don't let it go TOO long or the (acetic) acid can eat right through the seams.

[Ghs57]

I'll let mine soak as long as I can, usually into July. I filled it within an inch of the top, which is what I usually do. It takes about 100 gallons of sap, which at the time was spoiled and disgusting. It's really bad now, but it seems the worse it smells, the better it works. Usually, warmer weather speeds it up. Funny, but this year we really haven't had any since the season ended (we had nicer weather during the season). Last year most of the scale came off easy, but there were a few spots that wouldn't give up. So, hoping it works on everything this year. I want to keep my pan "scratch-free" if I can.

[bill m]

I have been doing it this way for years, works great. I bought new pans this year, Leader max flue and revolution syrup pans, and they said not to let sap ferment in them. Did not say why, maybe to sell more pan acid? Now I don't have any sap available to do this and I really didn't want to use acid.

[tcross]

i think i'll also try that next year... sick of scrubbing. the only reason i haven't, is i HATE the cleaning process and would rather get it done and over with as soon as possible and not have to do it in the middle of the summer. but if it works that well, and only minor scrubbing is necessary, then it is probably worth doing in the summer! Question though... does it get off the slimy defoamer residue that sticks to the sides? Vinegar sure doesn't!

[Robert K]

I was taught by mentors who have passed on, and they said leave it be until the heat of summer. I usually empty the pans in July and nothing covered in sap or whatever you call it by then has ever caused a problem. A rinse with a water hose is all that’s needed. And then another couple rinses for good measure. Sure leaves the pans looking shiny :cool:

[SeanD]

That sounds so tempting, but I don't think I could part with that much sap for cleaning.

I've taken to filling the back pan with permeate and the front pan with the acid flush from the wash cycle on the RO. Still trying new methods every year. The bottoms of the pans are good, but above the liquid line is some serious scale. Any idea on the PH levels of pan acid vs. vinegar vs. acid wash vs. July sap that sat?

[buckeye gold]

Sean, it can be the last sap of the season that is going buddy and not fit for syrup. Maybe leave a little sweet to help jump start the fermentation

[Woodsrover]

That sounds so tempting, but I don't think I could part with that much sap for cleaning.

Collect for an extra day or two past what you would normally boil and use that. Use the warm cloudy buddy stuff.

[Bruce L]

Sean, it can be the last sap of the season that is going buddy and not fit for syrup. Maybe leave a little sweet to help jump start the fermentation

I have found that the sweetened sap doesn’t work as well,use all raw sap. Sean,use the sap that you wouldn’t boil at the end,gone sudsy,smelly,etc. I used to use sap all the time,flue pan alone took 300 gallons to fill to the top. Nowadays Leader said not to leave liquid in the steam away,so I keep the last 500 gallons of distillate from the steam away,fill everything up ,add vinegar,get everything well heated up,then let sit for a day and pressure wash off. Doesn’t do quite as well as rotting sap,but probably 90% as well

[SeanD]

Yeah, it's funny how things end here. They just end. I've never gotten the buddy sap people talk about. Things seem to stop before I get to that point. The last sap of the season is cloudy and the tanks get funky, but it's usually because it's warm out and the tanks have been cooking in the sun. I'm always able to make good syrup with it. My last boil this year was Dark with notes of Very Dark flavors and a bunch of years ago, it was a true Amber. After that everything pretty much dries up. Some taps will dribble a bit if there is a cold night, but generally everything just kind of stops, definitely not enough to fill the pans. On the upside it makes it easy to know when to call it quits. I never have to wonder when to pull taps. The trees just say that's it.

[bill m]

I have found that the sweetened sap doesn’t work as well,use all raw sap. Sean,use the sap that you wouldn’t boil at the end,gone sudsy,smelly,etc. I used to use sap all the time,flue pan alone took 300 gallons to fill to the top. Nowadays Leader said not to leave liquid in the steam away,so I keep the last 500 gallons of distillate from the steam away,fill everything up ,add vinegar,get everything well heated up,then let sit for a day and pressure wash off. Doesn’t do quite as well as rotting sap,but probably 90% as well
How much vinegar do you use?

[Bruce L]

How much vinegar do you use?
Dumped in 3 gallons in the flue pan,2 in steam away and 2 in syrup pan I believe.