Checking what VT sugar makers are doing

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

Bad Taps? I am hearing rumors and things about bad taps and a producer having to dump all his syrup. Have I missed an article hear on it or is it being kept hush hush?

[SandMan]

https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/cle...eanser-polish/

[JoeJ]

Today was planned for syrup pan cleaning. I saw the reference to Bar Keepers Friend that was SUPPOSED to clean the niter and scorch spot.So I went to Lowes and bought 2 cans and tried it. NOT, didn't touch it. Tried it twice and even on a slight coating of niter on the bottom, did not even make a slight difference. I don't know if I have some super niter or something, but it was back to the reliable acid cleaning.

[GeneralStark]

This season I have been using vinegar to clean my syrup pans. I rinse the pans out, fill to about 3/4-1" depth, which is about 1.5 gal/pan and then let soak for 24 hours. After this the niter comes off very easily. It seems like soaking is the key with niter with whatever acid/cleaner you are using....

My long term plan is to have permeate gravity flow through the syrup pans and down the floor drain over night. I have heard that circulating the permeate through the pan cleans it up with little effort.

[VTnewguy]

Dumped all the ice sap/ rainwater from the buckets that froze up. Looks like it's going to be busy week. Can't wait, hopefully we can keep up.

[steam maker]

We drain the pan out, rinse in place quick,put 5 or6 inches of permeate in it , then put sump pump on one side with a hose going to other side. Run it all nite come back to clean front pan. Course it is massachusetts niter so probly not as strong👍🏻😂

[woodfordmark]

after using the vinegar, how much do you have to rinse it?...any aftertaste or smell afterwards?
any info is appreciated

[PerryFamily]

This season I have been using vinegar to clean my syrup pans. I rinse the pans out, fill to about 3/4-1" depth, which is about 1.5 gal/pan and then let soak for 24 hours. After this the niter comes off very easily. It seems like soaking is the key with niter with whatever acid/cleaner you are using....

My long term plan is to have permeate gravity flow through the syrup pans and down the floor drain over night. I have heard that circulating the permeate through the pan cleans it up with little effort.

General, there's a producer near me that cleans his pans with spring water, gravity fed off the hill behind his sugar house. He lets the water run through his syrup pan and out the other side. He says if really bad he'll use permeate and a pump and just circulate it all night. I was there one morning and his syrup pan looked absolutely brand new!

[VT_K9]

after using the vinegar, how much do you have to rinse it?...any aftertaste or smell afterwards?
any info is appreciated

During the season between boiling or runs we clean with about 2 gallons of vinegar in the front pan wit permeate to cover the junk on the sides. We use permeate only in the rear pan. We boild for 5-10 minutes and scrub. Sometimes we will let it sit overnight. Other times, if it cleans up quick, we will dump the vinegar. Then we fill the pans with permeate (water if you don't have it) and then bring to a boil. We drain and refill with sap.

We have used straight permeate to flush the pans before filling with vinegar/permeate to clean. The permeate alone does work great, but vinegar speeds up the process.

Mike

[sapman]

I've also had good luck recirculating permeate, or condensate (which seems to work a little better), with a pump. Only thing is it still doesn't get staining off in my pan, though it feels clean. I'm now having to do the syrup pan after every boil seems like.