Coffee urn

[BoerBoel]

I'm new to maple syrup but I was reading about using a coffee urn for bottle syrup. I was thinking about a stainless steel urn that would keep the syrup between 183°F to 188°F.

We are small and only tapping about 20 trees this year and wondering what everyone thinks about using a coffee urn (pros/cons) for small time hobbyists?

[Haynes Forest Products]

Great idea and they work well. I have a fellow producer that bottles everyday using a $15 rummage sale percolator style one. He does 400 gallons a year all thru the pot. Now a word of caution about the electric element. If you put cold syrup in the pot and crank up the heat to get it to boiling temp you will start to hear a small rumbling and slight squeak and I call it micro boiling and it can cause small amounts of niter. I would only filter warm syrup in to it and only work the temp up slowly.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

They work great for bottling. But Haynes is correct.....you should get syrup up to temperature another way. If we are boiling while bottling we will put the urn over the evaporator to heat it up. Your syrup can lose 10-20 degrees going into an urn at room temperature.

[psparr]

Here’s a video of my urn setup a few years ago. Hope it helps. https://youtu.be/9kdVThgyq_M

[BoerBoel]

Thanks for the video. I can see me doing something like this.

My thinking is that sap and RO concentrate especially doesn't keep. So if I boil down the concentrate to near syrup, can I finish the syrup in the next couple of days?

I would then finish several days of near syrup on a propane burner and then filter it when putting it into the coffee urn. I would heat up the urn with water prior to putting the finished syrup. I like the idea of steaming the filter while the water heats up the urn...seems like a waste to not make use of the steam. And if I can finish several days of partially finished sap then I would end up with a fair bit to put through the filter and into the coffee urn (40 cup model).

Does that sound about right?

[mol1jb]

If you go with higher end coffee urns or water heating urns some have temperature adjusting knobs so you can get the ideal temp for bottling. I have one like this and it works great. It is more expensive than a basic urn but still much cheaper than a water jacket bottler.

[bmbmkr]

Vinegar yes, scotch pad no! If you use vinegar or even soap, a sponge or brush is all you should use. Scotch pads will scratch even Stainless steel and scratches are a favorite place for bacteria to accumulate.

[Super Sapper]

You can save up to finish all at once but will need to still be careful of temperature when storing. The closer to syrup the better it will store.

[Haynes Forest Products]

OH CRAP I guess Ill have to throw out every piece of equipment i own because I clean the hell out of them with the green pads and the includes the sinks, Evaporator, finisher, double tank water jacketed coffee maker, counter tops, 4 dairy tanks, releaser tanks (PVC) , inside of auto draw off valve, draw off temp probe after I scrape it with utility knife, all triclover fittings and pipes, inside my 2 RO PVC filter housings, filter trays, And if I see some staining inside my new SS syrup barrels I will get a stick and toss in a pad and scrub it around until it shines. But then again I also use them on my hands and face.

[minehart gap]

I'm with you Haynes (except for the hands and face, I'm much too pretty for that) I use Scotch bright pads everywhere. Sometimes it is the only way to get something clean.

Heat+vinegar+Scotch bright+elbow grease=clean