GoodYou can't put a price on health. I'm sure all the folks in Flint, MI will agree, too. I've read those old steel spiles were often coated with terneplate, an alloy of tin and up to 80% lead.
Have a great season and happy sugaring!
Good
Have a great season and happy sugaring!
“A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.”~John Burroughs, "Signs and Seasons", 1886
backyard mapler since 2006 using anything to get the job done from wood stove to camp stove to even crockpots.
2012- moved up to a 2 pan block arch
2013- plan to add another hotel pan and shoot for 5-6 gallons
Thinking small is best for me so probably won't get any bigger.
They are strong enough to hold a pail but I wouldn't risk it..some have had trouble with them getting pulled out of the tree with buckets on them. Just run a drop tube into a bucket on the ground, tubing is cheap. Or buy new 5\16 metal spiles if you prefer to hang your buckets (much pricier). I still don't know how many trees they plan to tap, or which taps they ordered, but if they decide to go with a tubing system in the future, they'll be all set with new plastic spiles.Originally Posted by old tom
I hung 5 gallon buckets from the clear polycarbonate ones with no trouble. Was a pain removing the bucket, but no issues with the spiles.
first year 2012 50 taps late season made 2 1/2 gals.
2013 2x6 homemade arch 180 taps. 20 Gals.
2014 40 on 3/16 gravity 160 on buckets.
http://omasranch.wix.com/omasmaple
“Rust proofing” Spouts/Spiles?
I have rolled steel spouts (This type) that had developed some rust. I immersed them in white vinegar for a few days, cleaned them up with a small wire brush and they are now bright, (somewhat) shiny and clean…But..
..anything that can rust, will rust and, as soon as existing corrosion is removed, the oxidation process immediately begins again. After cleaning guns, machinery, engines, etc. one can paint or blue them, apply rust inhibitor, oil, grease or other lubrication, etc. (I’m aware of “Camcote Clear Coating” which doesn’t seem cost effective, in my situation). Cookie sheets, cast-iron cookware, one “seasons” with oil, lard, schmaltz, etc. I've been unable to find any information of this but I'm wondering: After cleaning up what were once rusted spiles, is it possible to protect or “rust proof” by wiping them down with a light coating of something like mineral oil, for example, which won’t go rancid as does other “food grade” oils or perhaps bee’s wax?
Is there another type of food grade rust proofing?
Obviously, whether and how this might contaminate the sap is a concern.
Thanks
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