+ Reply to Thread
Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 35

Thread: Hanna Checker

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Wellsboro Pa
    Posts
    305

    Default

    Correct me if I'm wrong. I have a Hanna which I use but hate to mess washing the vials all the time. Have a old lovi bond so thought I would just buy a new disk. Wrong. They changed the size of the vial you view thru so it would not be accurate. I still use my old one with this in mind. Golden and light didn't change so it would work to grade that category. All of med. falls into amber and all of grade b falls into dark robust. So only what grades grade a dark amber do I need to use the Hanna to see what way it goes, Amber or dark.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Covington, New York
    Posts
    1,680

    Default

    I received my new Hanna checker the day and was anxious to try it out on the very last sample I had in the temp. grading kit from my last bottling session. My syrup, like others here, gets rather red when it gets dark. Grading that is always a challenge. Anyway, my very last bottled syrup had a bit of red in it, and with my eyes I graded it Very Dark as it seemed a tad darker than the darkest sample. But I ran it through the Hanna checker and it came up 32% which is 7% away from the Very Dark criteria. I'm going to keep all my grades as is this year because I already made the call, but it makes me wonder about a couple batches that were just into the Robust range and if they were really Amber Rich.

    I will definitely get a 25 pack of vials before next season too.
    Noel Good
    1998 to 2009: 15 taps on buckets, scavenged fire pit and pans
    2010: New 2x4 SS flat pan w/preheater
    2015: New to me Lapierre 18x60 raised flue, new shack, new everything!! 59 taps 23.75 gallons
    2016: 85 taps 19 gallons
    2017: Purchased 2.5 acres and tubed half with 3/16. 145 taps total 49.25 gallons
    2018: 200 taps (162 on 3/16ths 38 on buckets) New NextGen RO 63 gallons
    2019: 210 taps 73.5 gallons
    2023: 210 taps 89.75 gallons
    www.wnybass.com

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Corinth, New York, United States
    Posts
    557

    Default

    I bought 25 viles for 40 bucks. Use them once and there is no cleaning. i have been taping the sample to the 5 gallon syrup containers that i use so i know whats in it.
    2021 230 Taps on vacuum
    Smokylake 2X6 pan set with auto drawoff
    Homebuilt 2 4x40 membrane RO
    Homebuilt filter press
    Rebuilt arch with under and over the fire air we have named V 2.0
    Smokylake steam bottler
    Hoods and preheater
    500 gallon vertical polytank to store sap for RO
    Adding a laser eye to my bottler for autofill/stop

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Sutton, Quebec
    Posts
    21

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by abbott View Post
    The Hanna folks tried calibrating with water, but found that water was too temperature sensitive.
    So the Hanna engineer is saying that cool water is a different colour than warm water? Yikes! What about warm syrup as opposed to cool syrup?
    Not wanting to buy an expensive new wheel for my Lovibond Comparator I bought a new Hanna Checker Model HI759 just near the end of syrup production this past Spring. Besides, I like the idea of exact measurements. I find the Lovibond Comparator very subjective and my wife and I have often had disagreements about the grade of syrups when the colour is near the borderline of Extra Light and Light for example.
    I was very pleased with the few measurements I did with the Hanna Checker before the end of the season but then, wanting to show off the new gadget to my crew and other friends, I left a sample in one of the little tubes (cuvettes) so I would be all prepared to demonstrate it when the occasion arose. The first occasion arose about a week after and the percentage of light transmittance had gone from 61 to the high fifties. I left the syrup in the little tube and measured it again on April 16th. This time it measured 52. I put some lighter syrup in another cuvette at that time and measured it to be 60. On May 1st I measured the same two samples again and got 46 and 61. On June 13th I got 45 and 62.
    It seems that one sample is getting consistently darker while the other is getting just a bit lighter. I am now storing the samples in an upright position to ensure I don't cause any bubbles to get into the samples when putting them in the checker. I'm going to keep checking these samples to see what happens. I won't contact Hanna about this anomaly until I have some firmer data but I am wondering if any other members of this Forum have had similar experiences. I would appreciate any and all comments.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

    Default

    As the syrup is exposed to air, it oxidizes and turns darker. Normal.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Sutton, Quebec
    Posts
    21

    Default

    Thanks for the quick reply. I should have mentioned that my syrup samples have been kept in the closed cuvettes in the closed case of the Checker i.e. not exposed to air and in the dark. The second sample is not getting darker.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

    Default

    Are the lids sealed somehow? It takes very little opening to allow air in.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

  8. #28
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Sutton, Quebec
    Posts
    21

    Default

    To: Dr. Tim Perkins,

    Once again thanks for the quick reply. I hadn't noticed before that you are one of the editors of the Maple Syrup Producers Manual so I'll take this opportunity to thank you very much for sharing your knowledge with the rest of us. My 1976 edition was a valuable reference for many years so when I heard of the 2006 version I bought a copy as soon as I could. I consider it my "Bible" for all things sugaring.
    I think my cuvettes were shut tightly enough to prevent oxidation and I don't think the colour would darken so much so quickly by oxidation alone. I've been saving a bottle of what was very light syrup from 1981 sitting on a shelf in my house and by eye I would say it is still an Extra Light (now a Golden).
    I think I will continue to monitor the situation and carry out further tests to make sure I am not creating bubbles or fingerprints etc. etc. I want to be able to depend on this Hanna Checker for accurate results and I don't have that feeling right now.
    Has anybody else tried repetitive testing of the same syrup and achieved consistent results with the Hanna HI759?

  9. #29
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
    Location
    ohio
    Posts
    106

    Default

    I also had inconsistent results and contacted Hanna. I was told by Hanna that accuracy of their meter is +/- 4% so variations of this amount are to be expected.

  10. #30
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Center, Underhill Ctr, VT
    Posts
    6,391

    Default

    As with any type of instrument, there are errors inherent to the instrument, errors in measurement conditions, and errors due to human factors. Many times these errors are additive, so unless great care is taken, you may find your measurements can be quite different from time to time. Even when you take great care to limit the influence of conditions and human factors, the instrument errors can't be eliminated. Syrup color may lighten or darken depending upon storage. If any oxygen can get in (especially in some types of plastic jugs), the syrup will darken in time. If in glass or tin, syrup can actually lighten under the right conditions.
    Dr. Tim Perkins
    UVM Proctor Maple Research Ctr
    http://www.uvm.edu/~pmrc
    https://mapleresearch.org
    Timothy.Perkins@uvm.edu

+ Reply to Thread
Page 3 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts