Hot packing drums

[PATheron]

How do you guys hotpack your syrup drums(30) gal if you dont make a whole drum in a evening. I know that if you put the last gals in hot itll stay good for a while but is that an allright fix if you keep it in the drums for quite a while? Say if you want to keep it drummed for a year, will you have to run the whole 30 gals to proper temp to do that? Also once you open it to jug it should you jug the whole works once its open? Theron

[Fred Henderson]

I ahve had the same ? in my mind but I am dealing with 15 gal drums. Somewhere in here I read that it was OK to put 8 gallons in tonight and finish it off the next night. That the last hot will make it seal OK. I will be anxious to see what the experts say.

[mountainvan]

I only put it in a drum if I know I'm making enough syrup to fill it that day. My main concern is sugar yeast getting into the syrup. As for emptying them, sometimes I work on a barrel for a week or more. There's almost always some mold on top after a while. The last couple of gals I take out that the mold is on, I refilter before bottling. Then clean the drum and boil the filter.

[fred]

i used to fill several drums a day. but now i put it in a drum of the same grade. and if by May i will not need it untill fall i will heat the whole drum and repack it .mcmaster-carr and grainger have barrel heaters that wrap around the barrel they are not cheap but saves transfering into a pan.as far as canning out of a drum, i keep 50-100 gal canned all the time depending on time of the year. most times i can a whole case of the size im low on until it is empty. while im set up to can and have help i go till the shelves are full. it is going to sell so i try to stay effcient so as to take less time in the long run and keep it more enjoyable

[sapman]

Fred,
Do the barrel heaters heat the syrup inside to 180 degrees? I didn't imagine they would. A beekeeper friend of mine uses them to warm his honey for bottling that way.

Tim

[maplecrest]

when filling drums, depending on grade change,end of day ect. i will stop filling a drum at 3/4. and then when grade is right finish filling the last 1/4 with hot syrup of that grade. keep syrup for a year. bottle out as fast as i can hoping grade does not darken over time. what is left over as new season starts is wholesaled out

[fred]

[QUOTE=sapman;37470]Fred,
Do the barrel heaters heat the syrup inside to 180 degrees?

they heat from the outside, wrap around the drum. nice for preheating one batch while canning another
the heat is adjustable too!

[ennismaple]

If we can't fill a drum we try to leave it about 1/2 full and then fill it to the top the next day. If the drum's clean to start it's not a problem. I'd recommend you use that drum first when you re-fill later in the season jsut to be safe.

[802maple]

I have said this before. The main thing that you have to worry about is whether the drum is clean and the barrel is completely full when you finally do fill it, whether it is hot enough or not. If you make your syrup to the right density and don't allow any airspace when it is full you can drum cold syrup and it will not spoil.When I put up a cold drum I tip the barrel so that no airspace is left. I have drummed 1000's of gallons this way and kept it in storage for more than a year and I can't remember any loss due to spoilage.

[brookledge]

I use kegs for bulk and only hot pack them,for me I make one to two per day so it is no problem to fill them at 190 and seal them.
I have also seen drums that where so pushed out from fermented syrup that the barrel looked like it was about to explode.
Keith

[802maple]

I buy hundreds of barrels a year and the ones that ferment 9 times out of ten are low density and most of the others are dirty barrels. Every barrel at a packer is opened and not repacked. True some like Bascom have refrigerated storage, but ones like Maple Grove don't refrigeration and about the only barrels they have a problem are low density.

[PATheron]

802- Im going to try to keep what Im doing as easy as possable while Im boiling. I have access to all the drums I want. First, all syrup proper density. Second as Im making syrup fill the CLEAN barrells best I can, if I cant fill one one day no prob just make sure the next boil I top it off completely full with as much hot syrup as possable and tip it on its side. Syrup good this way for quite a while. Sound good? I dont want to fill one jug till after season. Im working alone and have to keep it simple. Then when im done if I sell it bulk im done and if I keep it to jug I should be good for a year? Ill probly do some of both. Thanks Theron

[bison1973]

I'm interested in packing my syrup in drums such as these. What sizes do they come in and where do you get them?

[PATheron]

Bison- Im getting mine from a local producer. I think they are basically 30 gallons. "There is also a 15 gal size I believe as well. My understanding is the 30 gallon ones have a 40$ deposit. I dont know if that is a standard or just the local deal. Theron

[Amber Gold]

First year packing in drums (55-gal) and figure I'll pack at least one, if not two. I only have a 2.5x8 so during the week when I boil I'll be producing less than 5 gallons a night. I was thinking of packing in 5-gal jugs during the week and once I got 8 of them stacked up I'd dump those into the drum cold and hot pack the remaining 15 gallons with a full days boil on the weekend. Does this sound like a reasonable approach to packing drums? From what I've read in this post it sounds like the important parts are the correct density, filling it all the way up, and hot packing the top. Thoughts??

If I sell bulk it won't be until fall, but hoping to retail/wholesale it all so I want to make sure it stays good.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I think the more you transfer cold sap into, out of, over too, and back into the bigger chance you have of introducing bacteria to the final drum. I know 1 drum is easy to load on the truck and diliver but if its full of mould what will they say. If you need to hot pack alot in a drum and you dont have a large finisher how about storing all week and then clean the evaporator and heat it all and hot pack it all. starting the next weeks boil with clean and sweet pans aint all bad.

[brookledge]

Josh
I would look to use something else smaller. You say you will make less than 5 gal per day. So it will take you about 2 weeks to make enough to fill it.
The biggest reason is the grade. If you start filling it with Lt. A and then it starts to get dark on you it will lower the grade. So unless you don't care about that, it sounds like 5 gal containers are your best size for you.
I know that lately syrup is basicly the same no matter what the grade. But that could change and if you mix grades and end up lowering some it could result in alot of $ lost.
I learned that the hard way when I was a kid. I thought it was cool that I filled a syrup drum from Coombs in Vt. ended up losing money because of that.
Keith

[fred]

KEEP IT SIMPLE.fill drums as you make syrup. get 3 drums twards the end of the season and fill accordingly by the day.proper density will keep in a cold pack just keep it out of the sun.

[mapleman3]

I just bought a 75 quart stainless stock pot. that way I can add all the days syrup to it, heat up and flter straight into the drum HOT. I'll heat it to 200 then through the filter press.

Those will be on the heavy sap flow days. some smaller days will go to the caaner to bottle.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Mapleman: now you need to thread a ball valve into that pot and pull from there with the press. I stir the filteraid as it sucks the pot empty. Is the pot SS or Aluminum?

[Amber Gold]

I'm going to make enough syrup that I don't want to back in 5 gal drums, but during the week I'm only going to make 5 gallons a night, so I was trying to find a way I could boil during the week and just pack in something larger. Don't you drop a grade when you reheat and hotpack again? Once it's in the drum I'll be heating it back up again to bottle so I'd be losing two grades from the start. Is it OK to hot pack a drum in 5 gallon batches? I'd be able to fill most of a drum in a week or so.

I did consider grade change and thought about putting anything that was Grade A dark amber or lighter in one drum so when I reheated it it should stay at a Grade A. I wasn't sure how I'd handle the other drum.

Depending on how things were selling I figured I'd keep two 5 gallon drums each of Grade A light amber and medium amber and once I got that covered everything else would go into drums. What happens if I end the year with a drum that's partially filled? How long should I expect it to keep? Keeping it out of the sun isn't a problem becuase it'll be in the sugarhouse.

[Haynes Forest Products]

I think if your going to be making the plans for the future I would look at hot packing from the filter press thru a valve. That way as the syrup is pumped in hot with a closed system you dont get airborne bacteria. Funnels and open drums are the curse. When you hot pack the drum will suck in when the sap cools so if you hook up the filter press and fill it will just fill the void without letting air in.

[brookledge]

josh
Personaly I only hot pack the whole container as I go. I use kegs and fill between 1 and 2 per day. I know some have said they fill their drums as they go. But for me hot packing is not a problem and Then I know I can keep it indefinately. As for the length of time you can have an open drum with out refrigerating it, I'd say mold would start to grow in a few weeks if the syrup was at room temp. I'd check with someone like Jerry(802maple) and see what his thoughts are on this. The last thing you want is a barrel that spoils on you.
Keith

[mapleman3]

Haynes, Yes it's SS, My filter press does fine sucking it up the tubing. I did see a stainless bulkhead fitting I could drill into it if I want but it does fine.

[Amber Gold]

Thanks Keith...good idea about Jerry. I'll send him a PM to check this thread out and get his input on it.

Hot packing is best and trying to find a way to pack all my syrup with what I have for containers and not have anything go bad. I may have a great retail/wholesale business for my first year and all these concerns may be for naught...

[NH Maplemaker]

When I'm putting up bulk, I go from the evaporator to the coffee/urn caner. Keep it at temp until I have 5gal. Then run it Thu filter press into 5gal stainless soda containers. Also just before I put syrup in the container, I rinse container out with 185/190 degree water! Seem to work fine.

Jim L.