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Thread: Trust the thermometer or hydrometer?

  1. #11
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    Thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions. I definitely have some experimentation to do this weekend. I'm going to check my thermometers - I had been using digital, and two different ones agreed, so I assumed they were correct. Would it work to check my hydrometers against commercial syrup?
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
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  2. #12
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    Googleeye,
    What is commercial syrup?
    I would say you should be making syrup off the evaporator at around 216/217 F.?
    Your canning temps should be 180 F. If your going higher the syrup would be boiling and would need to be filtered again.
    Maybe I am missing something?
    Yes good to check your thermometer in boiling water too. They should be in tenths of a degree.
    Let us know what you find out.
    Regards,
    Chris
    Last edited by Sugarmaker; 01-09-2020 at 07:53 PM.
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
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  3. #13
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    A quick, temporary remedy is to put your thermometers in boiling water and see what they read. Add 7 degrees, and that will be really close to where you need to draw off on a given day. But as others have said, barometric pressure changes frequently, and a well calibrated hydrometer (temperature compensated) is the way to go. There are also phone apps that will give you the boiling temperature of water at your location (pressure compensated), so if you have an accurate thermometer, that can be a good crutch as well. Many ways to skin this cat...
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  4. #14
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    I use the hydrometer to set my temperature for the day, which can vary with changes in air pressure. I cook to just a tad below that temp all day and draw off into a big pot that goes onto the nearby gas stove. When that pot is nearly full, I boil to the exact hydrometer reading and filter and bottle. This has eliminated the crystals that we used to get in our syrup and has eliminated the too thick/too thin variations. Temperature can vary even in the course of a day if the weather changes, but the hydrometer tells the truth.

  5. #15
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    At our associations annual winter meeting we had a talk by Joel Boutin, agriculture technician and advisor to the CETAA in Quebec. To check a thermometer you need to boil a pot of water for 3 minutes before checking it. Anything less is considered just hot water, not boiling. The water must be at least 3 1/2 inches deep and the thermometer must be 1/4 inch off the bottom, it can not touch.

  6. #16
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    Ok, got a chance to do some experimentation. Water from our house RO boiled at 212.0. Syrup sample I pulled from last year boiled at 219.7. Hydrometer read 60.3 brix@211.0. These reading all seem to be acceptable. So why could I have been getting such different readings in the canning kitchen? Operator error I suppose. But I sure thought I was being careful in the past about reading the hot line while it was at 211. How much can barometric pressure throw off the boiling point?
    I’m beginning to wonder if going past density is the cause of the deposition I’m getting on the bottom inch of glass occasionally. It doesn’t seem to show up for a couple months, but when it gets warm in the summer there is a film that forms on the glass on the bottom inch or so of the jar. Does anybody else have that problem? I keep wondering if it is not the filter aid. After we get it to temperature or density in the finishing pan, we immediately filter through the Siro filter and then into the canning unit. Often times, it is above 190 when it goes into the canning unit, but we never reheat above 190. So it shouldn’t be more sand from heating it up again. I’ve looked at it under a microscope, and it doesn’t really look like filter aid, but I’m not sure. Any thoughts on that issue?
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  7. #17
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    Were you checking density with filter aid in the syrup? That could throw the reading off.
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  8. #18
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    Yes I sure was.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Goggleeye View Post
    Yes I sure was.
    I got to thinking about it more, and I think I was checking density before I put the filter aid in.
    Now I have an outdoor hobby for all 12 months. Like I need anything more to do
    About 1000 taps on gravity tubing, MicRO2 RO, 2.5 X 8 Leader King, and a 1953 Willys Jeep to run around the maple woods with.
    http://www.gihringfamilyfarm.com/

  10. #20
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    I had never thought about filter aid effecting the density? Very well could be? do a cold test on your finished syrup too. A good tool is the Murphy cup. Since you can check density at any temp.
    Sounds like all the other things your doing fine.
    Not sure what the stuff is in the bottom of the jars. First guess would be sugarsand but if your doing a good job filtering till clear, you should be ok there. the 190 during finish canning might be a touch hot especially if the thermometer is not reading. Might be going over 200 F in the canner causing some sugarsand to reform?? Thats just a guess.
    Double check your filtering process. Have you changed filters on the Siro?
    Syrup temp from filter to canner should not be a issue.
    How is the season progressing in MO? we need some pictures!
    Keep boiling!
    Regards,
    Chris
    Casbohm Maple and Honey
    625 roadside taps + Neighbors bring some sap too!
    3x10 King, WRU, AOF and AUF
    12" SIRO Filter Press.
    2015 Ford F250 PSD sap hauler
    One Golden named Maggie, Norwegian Forest Cat named Lucy
    Too many Cub Cadets
    Ford Jubilee and several Allis WD's, and IH tractors
    1932 Ford AAB ton and a half, dump truck

    www.mapleandhoney.com

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