galvanized buckets and lead

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

In Bascom's catalog it tells of using the cross flow pans for producers(Right Fred?)-Look around there are sap sak holders and bags in there also in the Bucket section..

I had a guy that was going to send me a couple of Sap sak holders+bags but they never made it by mail... Never seem to get the mail from a few of the other Maple Traders for some reason? Global warming HOT AIR must be the cause....

[lmathews]

I know people that use 2.5 gal freezer bags.

[Fred Henderson]

I know people that use 2.5 gal freezer bags.

Do they just hang them on the spile or are they being used a bucket liner? I plan on taking a sample of last year syrup to Atlantic Testing to see just where I stand. In the Maple Digest that came yesterday there was a well written article in it on lead. It appears the it will do no good to just bury our head in the sand and hope the problem goes away. I always considered myself and my operation to be professional and I want to keep it that way. So before the gov tells me to do some I will do it now.

[royalmaple]

I think you'll see many people do just want you mentioned to their buckets. Put a sap sak in them as a liner or some other liner then the bucket just holds the bag in place. It is about 6 of one or 1/2 dozen of another weather you sell your buckets for the sak holders and convert totally or just use the buckets and saks as a liner.

I think the best price I have seen on the sap saks is like 50 bucks for 250 of them. THat was the last bunch I ordered anyway. So about 20 cents each.

I'm working on a couple of experiments with the bags. When I get more of the kinks ironed out I'll post, might save people a lot of money. Or might be more headaches. But I am leaning toward the first...

:-)

[Russell Lampron]

I wonder if a supplyer is looking at this thread. It seems like there would be a market for a plastic liner for sap buckets. I would buy them. Clean up would be easy, just recycle the plastic liner.

Russ

[Maple Hill Sugarhouse]

Good job for the bucket guys to do a little searching and inquiring with a plastic manufacturer and maybe they could come up with a cost feasable liner/Although there are several different sizes of buckets in use=so it would have to fit the biggest bucket out there.

[Fred Henderson]

A sap sack or plastic bag would be the way to got because of so many different size buckets. I plan on going to see a suppler of all kinds of kitchen equipment Monday and I am sure that I will find something.In the meantime I will try to get my hands on a sap sack just to see how they fit a bucket. I don't think that any of us using buckets could ever sell them now with the lead issue . Scrap metal only.

[maplehound]

Those buckets make great flower pots and decoratons. I bet you could get more for them from a florist or a greenhouse than you could from a maple producer anyhow. I even have a bucket that hangs upside down from a chain in my living room that has been converted into a light. I seen them at a maple tour in NY several years ago. My point is if your creative there is a lot of uses for them.

[Rich Baxter]

I would like to add to this discussion that galvanized buckets made after 1994 do not contain lead. There are test kits available to check your buckets very easily (even I did it). This may save you some problems of worrying about liners, etc. I was lucky that my 40 buckets do not contain lead. I know this can be a problem for those with larger operations. Also be aware that old galvanized spiles and galvanized storage tanks add lead to the sap or syrup. The problem is that both sap and syrup are somewhat acidic which leaches the lead from the container. Basicly it is a time problem, the longer the storage the more lead added to the product.
Galvanized and lead soldered evaporators add very little lead do to the time the sap is in the evaporator. Also some of the lead attaches to the sugar sand and percipitates out (a good thing), however when the sweet is left in the evaporator until the next boil the lead goes back into solution and does not percipitate out on the next boil. It is recommended that the sweet be drained and FILTERED to remove the suger sand. It can then be placed back in the cleaned pans at startup for the next boil.
Rich Baxter

[maplehound]

Thanks Rich,
I am glad that someone else from Ohio has some input here. I can't always remeber everything that was discussed nor can I always word things right.