+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 4 1234 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 38

Thread: Scraping syrup pans

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Lanark, ON
    Posts
    2,387

    Default Scraping syrup pans

    Since we're in the middle of a deep freeze we had nothing to do on the weekend so we took a drive to visit another maple producer in the area. It's always nice to talk to other producers and share stories plus tips & tricks. They were cleaning niter off their syrup pans by scraping them with a copper pipe! I cringed to see it but they said another producer had told them about the trick and because copper is softer than stainless steel it doesn't scratch the pans.

    I needed to prove this to myself before I take a copper pipe to my syrup pans! A Google search yields:

    304 Stainless steel has a Rockwell B hardness of 92

    Hard drawn straight lengths of Copper pipe have a Rockwell F hardness of 70 and that equates to 23 on the Rockwell B hardness scale.

    Therefore, copper pipe is much softer than stainless steel and cannot scratch it.

    Anyone find fault in my logic above? Does anyone else do this themselves?
    4,600 Taps on vacuum
    9,400 gallons storage
    3 tower CDL RO
    3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
    Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
    www.ennismaple.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Location
    Cuba, NY
    Posts
    379

    Default

    Very interesting. Did they flatten the end of the copper pipe to make like a scrapper or just use the round end?
    220 Taps
    2x6 Home made
    Sap Shack 20x20
    5 Shurflo diaphragm pumps
    250 GPH Deer run RO

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Old Lyme, CT
    Posts
    272

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Waynehere View Post
    Very interesting. Did they flatten the end of the copper pipe to make like a scrapper or just use the round end?
    Yeah, that's my question.

    How does one scrape a piece of flat stainless steel with a round piece of copper pipe?


    Mark
    Mason 2x4 w/raised flue pan, 240 gal. sap tank, 80 Reds on 5/16 tubing and Lunchbox releaser/pump, 20 sugars on buckets

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Lanark, ON
    Posts
    2,387

    Default

    They heated it and flattened in a vice. I've bought a 6 ft piece of 1" copper to try it on the syrup pan that "someone" burned last week.
    4,600 Taps on vacuum
    9,400 gallons storage
    3 tower CDL RO
    3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
    Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
    www.ennismaple.com

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Eden Prairie, MN
    Posts
    1,636

    Default

    Anyone ever seen the brass bladed windshield ice scrapers? They work good and don't scratch the glass, unless there is gritty stuff on the windshield.
    John
    2x8 Smokylake drop flue with AOF/ AUF
    180 taps on sacks
    75 on 3/16 tubing with shurflo
    Eden Prairie, Minnesota

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Hopkinton, MA
    Posts
    1,778

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ennismaple View Post
    They heated it and flattened in a vice. I've bought a 6 ft piece of 1" copper to try it on the syrup pan that "someone" burned last week.
    6 feet?! How deep is your pan? I would think a couple of shots with a 3lb hammer would get a nice flat blade on the end. I'm actively following this thread. Your logic seems good, but boy I'd hate to goof with this one. How come some scrub pads leave marks on stainless?
    Woodville Maples
    www.woodvillemaples.com
    www.facebook.com/woodvillemaples
    Around 300 taps on tubing, 25+ on buckets if I put them out
    Mix of natural and mechanical vac, S3 Controller from Mountain Maple
    2x6 W.F. Mason with Phaneuf pans
    Deer Run 250 RO
    Ford F350
    6+ hives of bees (if they make it through the winters)
    Keeping the day job until I can start living the dream.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Lanark, ON
    Posts
    2,387

    Default

    The shortest piece Home Depot had was 6' and it was a pretty penny at that! I'd probably be good with 4' so you can put the pan on the ground and not need to lean over.

    I'll definitely take it slow and easy to start. I will likely cut the corners off the flattened end to reduce the chance of scraping the pan. I have gently used a slotted screwdriver to get tough spots off the pan before

    Plastic scrub pads might scuff the finish on bright annealed stainless but they don't scratch them. The trick is obviously to find something tougher than the niter (or scorch) but softer than the stainless.
    4,600 Taps on vacuum
    9,400 gallons storage
    3 tower CDL RO
    3.5'x14' Lapierre Force 5
    Twitter & Instagram: @ennismaple
    www.ennismaple.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Covington, New York
    Posts
    1,680

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ennismaple View Post

    Plastic scrub pads might scuff the finish on bright annealed stainless but they don't scratch them.
    I guess you'll have to define "scuff". I've got plenty of stainless stuff that has become quite scratched up with micro scratches by green scrubby pads
    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

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Cape Girardeau, MO
    Posts
    125

    Default

    RileySugarbush,,,,, I remember the brass windshield ice scrapers. Oh how I wish I could find some more. I put them in vice and bend the brass to get more of a straight angle and then 'sharpen' with a file kind of like an old cabinet scraper. They were sharpened square across and then a steel rod was used to roll a sharp edge over.
    2012 200 taps on buckets,,, Built me a 2' X 11' arch,,, hope to put most on tubing next year.

    2011 100 taps on buckets, 30x 60 flat pan

    2009 63 taps on buckets,,,, 30x60 flat pan

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Eden Prairie, MN
    Posts
    1,636

    Default

    Well you made me think a little. Look what I found:

    https://www.amazon.com/CJ-Industries...al+ice+scraper
    John
    2x8 Smokylake drop flue with AOF/ AUF
    180 taps on sacks
    75 on 3/16 tubing with shurflo
    Eden Prairie, Minnesota

+ Reply to Thread
Page 1 of 4 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