Homemade Electric Canner...No Heat

[maple flats]

If the controller can't be calibrated, test the thermometer in boiling water and determine what temp it should boil at for your elevation and the baro pressure at that time, then either make note or adjust the thermometer if it can be.
Even if no adjustments are possible, you just need to determine what you want the thermometer to read for the temp desired.
I like to run my bottler at 187+/-1, it seems to be that close. Yours may be a wider spread, just be certain it is never below 180 nor over 190F and it should be fine.

[Amber Gold]

Thanks and will do. The controller has an adjustable swing from 3-10 degrees...I have it set to 3 degrees.

[maple flats]

That will be good, mine has no adjustment in the swing, but it has a swing as I described, set point +/-1, that is a 3 degree too, 186-188, or is it 2? degrees

[blurr95]

Would you be willing to share some specs on your canner. I am wanting to build one for myself, but unsure of the elements and t-stat. I am a sheet metal worker by trade and specialize in custom fab work and welding, so making it won't be a problem, just not sure on the electronics end.

Thanks Jason

[Amber Gold]

Used the canner over the weekend, and it worked great. The other canner had a 1F swing, which I think I like better than the 3F swing. I do notice the syrup temp dropping more than my old canner.

Jason, yes I can.

Size the inner tank for what you want. I had spot I wanted it to fit in the sugarhouse, so I built it to fit. The inner tank is 24"Wx15"Dx26"T I think. Those are off the top of my head. There's a 2" water jacket all around. There is a 4500W water heater element on both sides. There are 1.25" couplings welded to the bottom of the outer jacket to thread the elements into (they're under the inner jacket). There's a 3/4" coupling welded to the front corner to drain the outer jacket. I would need to get the specs on the thermostat, but I got it from Webb. The wiring works, but I want to redo it. I should've had the fabricator weld hooks on the canner to run the wire through. All the wiring goes through a 2-gang electrical box (I may change this to a bigger distribution box) with a on/off switch, so I can shut off one of the elements during the season. With the RO/evap running, I can't run both elements on the canner, so I shut one off.

I can post pics too.

[blurr95]

that's great, thank you so much.

Jason

[Sugarmaker]

Amber Gold,
Glad you got it! Hope your new canner meets or exceeds your expectations! I had to wait 28 years for the grandson to get trained and working as a electrician, and he still doesnt do auto wiring, tractor wiring or custom. Mainly residential and commercial.
Regards,
Chris

[Amber Gold]

No problem Jason. Let me know if you have other questions.

Thanks Chris. I've used it a couple times so far. I've put about 50 gal of syrup through it. Still a couple things to work out, but it's working great as-is. I think I have about $1500 into this build for a canner that holds ~35 gal of syrup with some freeboard. I'm happy.

[blurr95]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I am getting ready to build a smaller version of this canner. I have been looking into your Honeywell temp controller that you used, and it looks like the specs only show it going up to 170 degrees. Is that correct? Doesn't syrup need to be canned or bottled at 185-195 degrees? If that's the case, how are you getting to canning temp? Just wanting to make sure on the temp controller before I buy one.

Thanks, Jason

[Amber Gold]

No, it maxes out at like 240F or something.

Yes syrup needs to be 180-190F.