Cleaning bottom/fire-side of pan?

[Openwater]

I've boiled 3 times on my new shiny pan and made the mistake of tipping it up to look at the bottom - black with soot/lampblack.
Does anyone ever clean off the bottom of their pan mid-season, or just keep boiling and clean at the end of the season? Or don't clean it at all?

[NhShaun]

I would definitely clean it at the end of the season, it will slow down your boil a tad if left to build up too thick. I tend to scrape mine with a 4 inch putty knife a few times during the season. It's kind of a pain reaching up in there because all the soot falls on your arm, but that's still better than draining and removing the pans to do it.

[buckeye gold]

Brush mine almost every day before i start with a wire grill brush that fits between the flues. You won't get the shiny creosote but you'll get the soot

[tcross]

on my 2.5x8 rig, i brush my flues 4-5 times a year. it's a real PITA but it does help the boil rate. drain the pan into 5 gal buckets, raise up flue pan up off the rails and brush. i also go through 2-3 brushes a year, cuz the only ones i can find that fit my flues are cheaply made. however, at times i feel it doesn't help it for more than the first boil, maybe 2. i do clean my syrup pans more often as they don't have as much heating ability as the flue pan.

[Jigrod]

What do you guys use for the end of season cleaning on the outside bottom of your pan to get the black creosote off? I tried oven cleaner last spring with less than great results. Ended up scraping most with a razor blade. Just wondering if there is an easier way. Thanks.

[tcross]

i just scrape it off with my brush and if need be use a wooden scrapper. if it's real bad, i have a flat piece of copper pipe that works. however, i don't get too concerned with making it shiny. it's just going to get sooted up the first time you have a fire in it.

[Openwater]

Besides slowing down the boil, does the black stuff cause any other problems? Will it create hot spots or increase risk of burning/scorching sugar sand/niter build-up?

[ecolbeck]

Besides slowing down the boil, does the black stuff cause any other problems? Will it create hot spots or increase risk of burning/scorching sugar sand/niter build-up?

I’m wondering exactly how much of a difference the creosote/soot makes in inhibiting heat transfer. Probably not an issue that’s pulling in grant money at UVM. I brush the flues every boil. Is it really worth the effort?

[Rockfallsmaple]

I have a flat pan, so no flues to clean. I coat the bottom of the pan with Dawn dishwashing detergent before boiling, every washes off with water. It works great. It's an old boy scout trick.

[therealtreehugger]

I have occasionally used a rake to reach in farther, upside down to scrape off the majority of it. I have a flat pan. I believe the hotter your fire, the less build up you get, too. I did notice a difference, even if only for the first boil after a “cleaning”.

[LMP Maple]

I have used a mr clean magic erasure or the knock off to clean the bottom of my pans. They have worked great for me and get the syrup pan bottom back to a sparkle. I would NOT use this on the inside of the pans at any time for many reasons but they seem to work well for me on the bottom sides of the pans only. I generally take the front pan off when I switch sides but I have a small evaporator so this is fairly easy to do. I give the raised flues as good a treatment as I can at the end of the season. During the season I don't bother with them.

[bmbmkr]

I second the copper pipe. Read about that here on the forum years ago. Take a half inch piece of copper water pipe and squeeze the end flat in a vise or just pound it flat with a hammer, then bend it a bit. Use a file to dress it up. I have a raised flue, and made another scraper out of a piece of 3/4". It fits perfectly up in the flues. I just brush em during the season, and scrape them at the end.

[maple flats]

If you're talking about the syrup pan (flat bottom) I never worried about it. A proper fire keeps it fairly clean, but not bright. If you are asking about the flue pan (bottom up and down all across the width of the pan) I cleaned using a flue pan brush every day or 2. Leaving build up on that will slow the boil. A flue pan fireside brush will go up between the flues and remove most of the buildup.