Welding a pan?

[CitySlicker]

Hi folks,

My wife and I made about two gallons last year (our first) on a 2x6 pan over cinderblocks with a homemade chimney and door.

late last season, we had a little incident where the pan wasn't properly monitored and the batch flared up. We have two problems: 1) the pan got scalded - not horribly, but still scalded. and 2) the corners of the pan actually started to melt (pan is not stainless steel - galvanized, maybe). They now drip slightly with each batch until the sugar crystallizes and acts as a natural glue.

My questions are these: 1) my father-in-law has a welding machine, and we plan on welding the pan corners to try to make them supertight again - do i need to be careful what kind of welding I use - ie, I don't want to poison my syrup! Or will the welding hold up to any heat I can put to it with the evaporator fire? 2) is it a bad idea to sandblast my pan to clean it and remove any scalding residual? I used a pressure washer already, to no effect.

sorry if these are ignorant questions...

-CitySlicker

[TF Maple]

My guess is you have English Tin pans and they are soldered, and that is what is melting. You might have lead in the solder so I would get a used stainless steel pan to replace it if it were mine. Also if it is soldered and you try to weld it, the heat will melt more solder and the whole pan will nead to be welded, not just the corners. So, again, I would look into replacing the pan. Just my opinion.

[Sugarmaker]

City Slicker,
Welcome to the trader. Lots of great maple folks her to help. If you could post a couple of pictures you will get 50 more potential solutions. Remember the maple hobby is very addictive, and secondly there is no such thing as a dumb question. I have burnt syrup pans and have fixed them too. So hopefully we can help you fix your pan or make recommendations to help you get ready for 2011!
Pans are usually quite thin and you may have dificulity welding! Unless you are good at MIG or TIG? Welding is about the base material type and thickness, the filler material being compatible, the cleanliness of the joint, the temp of the welding. I would suggest that you practice on some comparable materials.
Regards,
Chris

[brookledge]

I would think that you have english tin pans. If so then probably can solder it but as others said check for lead. If you make syrup with it you might want to check your syrup for lead(have it tested)and especially keep young kids from consuming it since they are more suseptable to lead poisoning.
If they are galvanized steel pans I would recommend you stop using them before you have any health issues.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080216095857AA7bp45
glavanized tanks or buckets when not exposed to heat or flame will not be as likely to be harmful.
Keith

[CitySlicker]

thanks for the replies, folks.

So, I can't take pictures, because I left the pan at my father-in-law's house, but I have this video that I had uploaded. You might be able to get an idea of what the pan is like - it's the large front pan that I'm talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvHA9zHFmM0

the pan is very dark black - almost like cast iron, but not nearly as heavy. It's clearly very old, but seemed to serve us well last season.

any thoughts on sand-blasting?

[CitySlicker]

Does anyone have any references for where to get my syrup tested for potential hazards like lead?

[Haynes Forest Products]

As far as welding you say your father inlaw has a welding maching...............:confused: First you cant weld on a solderd pan. You can resolder but you cant Mig Tig or stick weld it all are a form of arc welding. Now as far as resoldering YIKES your in for alot of work. CAN you crimp the corners to seal them?

[CitySlicker]

so, again, apologies for the ignorance on my part here: I have this pan (video above)... we burned it and now it leaks. Is it soldered? I'm not sure. As for the "Welding machine" - it feeds a spool of metal on a continuous feed through the welding torch. Sorry for my silly welding machine description...

can you explain to me why you can't weld over a soldered pan? I understand that the welding torch will melt the solder - but the welding will replace it won't it?

[Mark]

Trying to weld over solder on thin metal with a MIG would be like trying to do heart surgery in your back yard, it would be a disaster. If it is 304 stainless and ABSOLUTELY clean clamp a couple copper or aluminum heat sinks to it to keep it from warping and purge the back side with argon and you can weld it with a TIG welder with a lot of practice.
Other than that the best bet would be to solder it with lead free solder.

[Haynes Forest Products]

City slicker TRYING to weld over a joint that has solder WILL NOT WORK if there is any solder left in or on the joint. Trying to Arc/Tig/Mig weld over any other material other than CLEAN steel will act just like pouring cold water into a pan of boiling grease:mad:

[CitySlicker]

ok - gotcha. we will figure something out, and I'll post results.

does anyone have any advise as far as the sandblasting goes? good idea? bad idea? can't hurt? might destroy the pan? (again, picture a seasoned cast iron pan if you want to know what my pan looks like - and yes, I know it's not cast iron)

[Haynes Forest Products]

I can amagine it because my old English tin pans had a good coating of 60 years of sugar sand and baked on crud and it was just fine. Its when I had to clean, scrape and grind it down to fix it that the metal rusted out. I would get it to a good radiator shop and prey they understand your needs.

Or spend a few $$$ and get a stainless one made up and then dont do like me and burn it up and then sand blast it to get it clean:cry: