Burnt Evaporator Pan

[Backyarder]

I've been mapling for about 5 years and never had this happen before. Any suggestions would be great:

I've got a half-pint type evaporator with a single stainless steel 2' x 4' pan. Today an experiment in creating maple ash was conducted in the pan - not by me (i.e. - a really, really hot fire evaporated all sap out of the pan and cooked a black ash to the bottom of the pan). :cry: The bottom of the pan is now warped, but not so much that the edges are out of true (it still sits flat on the arch). The warping creates a kind of ripple in the bottom of the pan so it isn't a smooth, level surface in the center of the pan bottom anymore.

Here's the question: is this pan completely shot, or will it at least make syrup for the rest of the season?

I'm using acid to clean the ash out (seems to be working), but am really concerned about whether the warp is going to mean all my tapping and sap are going to be a waste this year.

Backyarder
50 Taps
Southwestern Pennsylvania

[sugaring42long]

Backyarder, it happens to everyone sooner or later. If its a welded pan just clean it up and run with it. If its soldered you may have some leaks but they can be repaired. Theres lots of warped discolored stainless pans out there making syrup year after year.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

If it isn't leaking, your good to go for many more years. Just make sure you triple wash the pan to get all of the acid out of it. The ripple effect shouldn't hurt much of anything. Might have to run the level slightly higher, but if the pan sits good, sounds like you came out in pretty good shape.

Clean her up and let her rip!!!!!! :D

[howden86]

i used a brass wire brush on a drill to help remove the burnt crud along with soaking. i used my pans but just ran deeper and bought new ones for the next year.

[emericksmaple]

I agree with Brandon if it is not leaking then you are good to go. And may I welcome you into the brunt pan sugaring club!! My father says the you are not a sugarmaker unless you burn a pan once or twice!!

[Backyarder]

Thanks to all. I guess I've been initiated. Very glad the pan still works, :D really didn't want to scrap the season when it had only just begun.

Chip


Backyarder
50 Taps
Southwestern Pennsylvania

[mapleman3]

I burnt up about 3-4 gallons worth at 1 time on my 2x6 last year, puckered the bottom a bit had some good burnt crap in some spots.... it's clean as a whistle now and the puckers won't hurt as long as I don't run it down to 1/4 " so the normal 3/4 to 1" should be fine... like they said welcome to the club :lol:

[RUSTYBUCKET]

We've also paid our dues to the burnt pan club. It was the second year we had the evaporator. Cleaned everything up and its still boiling away, three years later.

My neighbor burned a batch last week. We're going to give it to a guy who makes his own BBQ sauce..... maple BBQ sauce, sounds good to me.


Russ

[DougM]

Same here, last Saturday was something like this:
Michael: We have a lot of steam in here all of a sudden...
Doug: (sniff, sniff) What's burning?
Michael: What's up with the front pans?
Doug: AHHHHHHHHH!!! It's all burning in the pan!!! Shut off the gas!!! Get water!!!
Or something like that...

Better than last year when the building was on fire, anyway. Then we spent a lot of time with wire brushes and an angle grinder with a brush on it. Guess that's a good reason to keep a jug of pan cleaner around.

[SUGARSMITH]

ther are 2 types of syrup makers ; those that have burnt a pan and those who will !!!!

[mapleman3]

Doug, one thing good though, with your new setup, it shuts down fast and you didn't burn up nearly as much that time as you would have if it was wood 8O

[DougM]

After we were done hanging our heads for a while that's pretty much what we were saying. It could have been worse, that's for sure.

[Mike]

A question for WF Mason...... Can you Plasma cut the bottom out of a warped pan and reweld a new bottom on?????? Thanks...Mike

[mapleman3]

uh oh... mike you didn't? not your new evap?? boiling air cuz no sap???

[Mike]

:lol: .....No not yet Jim....Just curious....Seeing how people have burnt there pans you would think it would be cheaper to weld a new skin on the pan...I hear the plasma cutters do a great job cutting.....Something to think about :idea: :idea: ..........No sap yet........Ill finish taping tomorrow........Water does sound like a good idea but with the cost of oil ill wait, maybe next year but ill wait.. :lol: :lol: .......Later..Mike

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

UGGGGGGGh. I left around 9 on Thurs night and my dad wanted to boil about another hour. He was washing up things and not paying attention and there went 2 to 3 gallons of syrup. I love him a ton and he is a tremendous helper, but he is too stubborn. Guess it taught him a good lesson. He flooded the front pan and plugged off the back pan and ruined everything in the front pan even though only a little bit of it scorched. Since he flooded the entire pan, oh well. He always has known more than me in pretty much everything, so he has a hard time listening when I tell him something even though he knows I know about 10 times more than what he does when it comes to syruping.

Dads, gotta love them even if they cost you a pan of syrup. I came out earlier that evening and he was on the phone and the temp was up to 14. 8O He normally won't leave it for a minute or two, but you know, it is so easy to get lax! :(

No damage to pan other than maybe a pucker the size of a quarter so he said. He spent about 2.5 hours the next evening using his elbow grease scrubbing the pan as he said he wanted to make sure he got rid of all the burnt flavor! :lol: :lol:

[Brian]

Brandon, I think we have the same father :D . You decribed my father to a tee.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Sure hate to make syrup without him, he is a wonderful dad. He brought home a 24" x 30" stainless pan he found at work when I was 13 or 14 and had a desire to make syrup and he has been helping me ever since.

Another funny thing is that the first year I started making syrup I dug a big hole about 2 feet deep and filled it will wood and set the pan on top of it. I didn't know any better and it did work great. Never heard of anyone else trying it, but it did work good. One night my dad was determined he knew more than I did since I was only 13 or 14 and he made me fill the pan full of sap and the fire pit full of wood. I tried to convince him it wouldn't work and the next morning, well you guess it. The pan was aproximately 6" deep and held aprox 15 gallon of sap. It was a good technique if you know how much wood to put in the pit, but it didn't work with the pit full of wood! :lol: :lol:

[sweetwoodmaple]

Brandon - at least you have a helper. My wife can help some, but our kids are small, so...

I leave my evaporator run unattended 8O 8O while I collect and pump sap in my woods. (10-15 minutes since my sugarbush is close)

I give the analogy that it's like leaving a nuclear reactor operate unattended. You can do it, but it has extreme consequences if something goes wrong.

At some point, I'll come back from the woods and my rig will be melted into a puddle. :cry: 8O

Can't wait till my kids can help!

Brian

[sweetwoodmaple]

P.S. On the plasma cutting issue, not sure that would work so well depending on the original construction of the pan. My D&G is folded to make each partition in the syrup pan. So, you would have to somehow plasma cut each one of those along with the parimeter. Then, figure out how to Tig down in there to put the new piece in and get it sealed up without puckering from heat it in the process. Even Tig can overheat thin stainless if you aren't careful. IMHO...Further ahead either leaving it alone if it doesn't leak or buying a new one.

[dads hobby]

HI Brian

I know how you feel i have the same problem but i have to travel 7 miles to collect my water. My oldest daughter is 9 and not very interested but my son who is the yougest at 3 is too interested and gets into everything

[mapleman3]

Wow Brandon, sorry to hear about that, you'll have to check the pan to make sure it's ok, prolly is though. dad's do like to help, mine is the back pan watcher, and lets me kn ow when it's going to foam over and also checks the thermometer, But you are still lucky, I really don't have anyone to boil with except when the neighbors kid comes and helps.just can't get the family to hang around that long.Playstation is more interesting

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Brian,

You should be ok leaving the evaporator for 10 to 15 minutes as long as the syrup is around 5 on you thermometer. Definitely wouldn't leave it if it was above 6 at all.

As far as my pan, no damage there. Was a fairly high liquid level, just too much heat to make cream or candy with. :lol: :lol: :lol:

[sweetwoodmaple]

Yeah, it's the "watched pot never boils" situation. When I stand around waiting for 7 degrees, it seems to take forever.

But, when I leave to go to the woods, I come back and it is 9 or 10!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Mine will go from 7 to 14 in less than 5 minutes sometimes! :?

[wanabe]

Well Im saddened to say I joined the club tonight about 3 to 4 gallons of syrup up in smoke. I had to flood the front pan to about 4 inches to get the crap thin enough to get it out a 1 inch draw off valve. What a mess, well I got the the pan empty after it cooled down and have a lot of scrubbing to do in the morning. About a 15 inch circle in 3 out of 4 chambers black on the bottom. I heard the pan pop a couple of times and thought it was all over. Well all said and done one divider warped a little and a couple of small wripples in the bottom but it will be ready in no time. Well I better rest my elbow for the morning Jeff

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

For you new guys, you sure can stay away from this club easier if you run the level around at least an inch. I know it is tempting to be daring and run it down to even 1/4" to 1/2", but the more level in the front pan, the harder it is to scorch the pan. It can still be done easy, but it is still more difficult.

[themapleking]

There's an old saying. Your not a sugar maker until you burn a pan :oops:
If you burn it enough and warp it good you'll increase your draw off speed :wink:
Eaiser to good through the valleys than over the hills :?

[gmcooper]

Round here over the past 15 years or so there have been a few spots on the syrup pan. I've managed while drawing off syrup got the corner of the channel opposite the draw. Wife did about the same thing, waited a little to late to start drawing off and scorched in front of draw. My brother in-law was helping one day years ago during Maple Sunday with the sugar house packed I went out side to visit with friends for a minute when a visitor comes out saying the pan is smoking.

Happy scrubbing
Mark

[Mike]

Try some bulk tank milk niter cleaner..Wear rubber gloves .... A fiend of mine told me about it. It works real good, and its cheaper than the stuff the dealers sell you...