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View Full Version : Badgerland 2/4 doesnt drawoff completely



Vtmbz
02-17-2021, 05:34 PM
I had an old Leader 2/4 pan that developed a divot on one side and i noticed that niter would always settle there and burn, so I bought a nice new pan from Badgerland. last year was the first year boiling on it

In general i have no complaints except for a big one, and that is that it wont drain well due to the way it is built.
the passages and drains are not flat on the bottom, but set up 1/4" so that now the entire channel settles out niter. it seems like maybe the syrup floats over the bottom 1/4" and that lets niter stick there. Before you ask, I run a level pan.

i dont imagine this is a surprise to some people, but how do you deal with it. my leader pan did not need daily cleaning, but this one does.
21964
Here is a photo of the new pan with the round channel above the bottom. i dont think carving into that is a good idea!

ecolbeck
02-17-2021, 08:16 PM
If niter is burning does that mean you need to clean the pan more often?

raptorfan85
02-17-2021, 08:27 PM
I use smoky lake pans, who also make badgerland, with the same opening between the channels. I've never had a problem like you are describing. All my niter buildup is mostly by the draw off. How much are you boiling in a day? You say you're doing daily cleanings, but you should be able to get at least several hundred gallons boiled before cleaning... and that's a lot of boiling on a 2x4.

Vtmbz
02-17-2021, 08:49 PM
early in the season i could boil for a week but at the end the buildup in the second channel was a complete coating daily. i never experienced anything like it in the leader pan. my best days were five gallons of syrup a day. it was a bad year for niter.

in the old pan i had a low spot like a washboiler dent, and that did the same thing in that one spot, but never an even coat. that made me think the flow was over the low spot resulting in a deposit.

n8hutch
02-22-2021, 07:48 PM
My smokey lake pans have the same round passage between channels, i don't However get the niter build up that you are describing, i have a 30"×30" syrup pan, i can normally make about 50 gallons early season, and 20 or so later in the season before it need a quick cleaning. Usually my niter forms from the draw off point and will continue to format further away from drawoff point until I clean it, maybe you are batching a little to much instead of having lots of smaller draws?

Pdiamond
02-22-2021, 10:08 PM
Vtmbz - Have you talked with the folks at Smoky Lake about the problem. They may be able to help as they make the pan.