using CLR to clean pans?

[dano2840]

i saw a commercial for CLR this morning and they showed it cleaning a coffee pot and glass planes and other dish where, its environmentally friendly, so i got to thinking could you use it to clean the evaporator pans?

[Haynes Forest Products]

dano: some pans I wouldnt use them on anything but stainless without lead solder. On English tin you will have rust. Rust isnt always a bad thing if its thin and its completly oxodized. You dont want to remove it and show new raw metal.

[dano2840]

so ive got to scrub the hard way to get this years sugar sand off? darn, i just drained the pans this morning and am going to clean 'er tomarrow.

[Haynes Forest Products]

Dan Why not Milkstone cleaner or vinagar I put about 6 gallons of vinagar and water to bring up to the scum line and reheat and then let sit overnight. ITS GONE YIPPIE

[dano2840]

if ive got sand and crap 5" up the side of the pan then what? will it boil up like syrup does and clean that off, or should i even bring it to a boil? are you using like 6part water to 1 part vinigar?

[maple flats]

I use straight white vinegar, no water or very little water, fill it to the highest you need to get clean. Do not boil, just warm it to where it feels comfortably warm to the touch. Let it set about an hour or 2 and drain/rinse. The sides will be clean, if anything does not come loose easily on the bottom, put another gal in or use some you drew off and repeat. For tough burned areas you might need to let set overnight. Then it will be easy, use a soft brush if needed. Rinse completely and leave it dry.

[dano2840]

this is safe for tin pans? and how many gals of vinigar do you put in? you have the same size 3x8 i just drained mine and it takes like 25 gall to fill the thing does this mean i need to buy 25 gal of vinigar?

[PerryW]

I use food grade acid made by Leader. I use a half quart in my back pan full of water, start a fire and warm it up to about 180 deg and the scale peels right off in 30 minutes.

The front pan is more difficult, but with the help of scotch bright pads is takes an hour or two of scrubbing.

[Haynes Forest Products]

NO you can dillute it and let it do its thing the longer it sits the more it will disolve and hold in suspension. I use a brand new yes brand new toilet brush nice long handle and it will scrub the hard crud when its still hot.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Dano,

The longer you let it set, the better it will clean. If you have that much gunk, let it set for 4 or 5 days or even a week and it should come right off or at least a lot easier than the same day you heated up the cleaning solution whether it is vinegar, milkstone remover or pan acid.

[dano2840]

how much should i dillute it though? 4part water 1 part vinigar? just need the percentage vinegar to water

[3rdgen.maple]

Danno does not really matter. When I want to do a quick cleanup between boils I use straight WHITE vinegar. End of the year cleanup I put a gallon in the flue pan and a gallon in the syrup pan. Fill both with water above the scum line and let it sit for a couple days. Dissolves just about all of the crap with very little scrubbing. You have a bigger evaporator so don't be afraid of it and put a couple gallon in each then fill with water past the scum line.

[markcasper]

Last year I had lots of sap that went bad at the end. I was very happy with filling the pans, let them sit for a month or so and the old sap cleaned the pans tremendously!

[Haynes Forest Products]

Markcasper That method works great but you need to keep an eye out for the police with Cadaver dogs in your area thats when its time to rinse it out

[Uncle Tucker]

I am letting sap sit this year. I didn’t plan on it but I had a baby girl 2 weeks ago and I haven’t been to the sap house since. Boy I could use a good night sleep and 2 days to clean up the sap house. I cant wait to see how this works compared to pan cleaner.

[dano2840]

well i gues i will put 3 in the back and 3 gall up front and fill with water

[3rdgen.maple]

Go for it Dano it will should work out good for you.