Self cleaning syrup pan ???

[Brent]

After a shutdown overnight I restarted boiling, half thinking I should have cleaned the syrup pan before starting.

Just before the boil started, and I could still see the bottom, I noticed all the thickest layers of nitre had lifted off the bottom and were floating around like corn flakes.

Anyone else seen this?

I am guessing that in the shutdown the sap soaked back into the nitre and under it, and then when reheated it got separated from the bottom.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Not abnormal for this to happen and helps even more if you reverse the flow as you shut down to get the thinner sap over the buildup.

[3rdgen.maple]

I think it is from the contraction of the metal when it is cooling down and then the expansion of the metal when it heats back up that breaks it up off the bottom. I have watched this pan do it everytime I boil on it. Although it does not break it all up so I still have to rotate the pan on a regular basis and still do cleanups. I had one spot about the size of a dime that burnt so make sure you do regular cleanings to get the nitre out of your pan.