Boiling today- foam?

[Tomahawk]

Since we got over 2 feet of snow last weekend and because it was like 60 degrees all week, my trees ran faster Dick Cheney from a quail hunt.

So, I have too, too much sap, so I started boiling today.

Question: i'm getting more foam than usual. some of my "spectators" are saying that they think there is sugar in the foam, so leave it.

Others say, skim it off, it's no good. But these guys don't know what the F they're talking about.

What do you guys suggest I do with the foam?

Thanks.

(PS - I heard the milk solution but I don't wanna add any milk just yet)

[NH Maplemaker]

Tomahawk,Most dealer sell a defoamer which is excepted by all!!!!
Check with the maple guys , bet they carry it. Years ago we would use butter or milk and evan pork fat! But not any more as we see to the public and bulk to dealers! With the defoamer when foam come up you just drip a very small drop into the foam and away it goes!!

Jim L.

[maplehound]

Tom,
Sounds to me like the foam your talking about isn't the kind that comes from boiling sap but from the impurities in the sap. Is it white thick foam that ussually rests in the ends or corners? If so sccop it out. I don't think it hurts anything but jsut looks bad and I always try to remove it. As the season goes on it will probably turn to a darker color and I feel it doesn't do anyone any good. ( just my thoughts though)
Ron

[mountainvan]

I have foam filling the flue pan half up everytime I fire, woodfired. the others are on the money for what I know. in a pinch canola oil in the spray can will knock it down. the foam does have sap/sugar in it so I let it drain out of the scoop, I use the preferated one. by the way vegetarians?vegans do'nt eat syrup with milk/butter as a defoamer, if they know.

[maple flats]

I use the commercial defoamer and it works well. I also skim regularly as needed which removes many impurities, the filtering gets the rest. By the way, if any of you cater to a kosher clientelle i believe the defoamer is kosher as well if you check the bottle it will say.

[brookledge]

Keep the foam down and you will get a harder boil and more evaporation.When the flue pan is full of foam it is harder for the steam to escape. If you skim it discard it as it is only the minerals that are being released.
Keith

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Speaking of foam, I pulled a dumb one on Friday. I had got the evaporator up and it had been boiling for probably an hour and I look at the evaporator and there is water running down the sides of the flue pan. 8O 8O I flip open the hood door and the foam is clear up to the preheater and above the top of my flue pan which is 15" being a drop flue. Fortunately, my aunt and uncle are only 1/2 mile away and I ran and got about an ounce of vegtable oil. I had a brand new bottle of defoamer sitting in my fridge at the house 30 minutes away. ops: ops: ops: ops: It is amazing how sometimes we forget the little things.

Found out a wire tie works great to dispense the oil. Just dip it and it is works awesome. 8O :wink:

[themapleking]

I've notice that the foam is much worse in the being of the season than later on. Don't know way it just seems that way.

[markcasper]

Maybe the foam is alot worse at the beginning because you are having better heat transfer (if you are wood-fired) I have noticed this too and attribute some of it to the bottoms of the flues being the cleanest at first, which would result in better boiling.

Can't remeber whoo.....but someone once told me never to get the bottoms of the flues wet with water. Well.....I have been bringing mine out every year for a long time, flipping it up and scrubbing the bottomside of the flues to get all of the soot of (river of black). I had heard that combining the soot with water forms a extremely corrosive mix that can eat right through the flues. So far, mine does not leak and doesn't look like a sieve. Mark

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

The main thing is that you let them dry really good and not leave the mix of moisture on them. Leader recommends against it. Seems to me my foam gets worse late in the season. 8O I brush my flues every boil, but don't wash them at the end of the year. 8O