cleaning with Star San

[Sugar Bear]

I boiled some down inside last night on the stove. I didn’t get it all the way to syrup but it was definitely amber color. While it was boiling I didn’t notice any off flavored smell. We tasted it after it cooled and neither of us could taste an off flavor.
So, as I do this for a hobby and have plenty of time after work this week to play around, I’m going to boil it all down tonight, let it cool, and pull it all off the evaporator. I’ll then wash out all of the tanks and evap and start over with fresh sap on Friday or Saturday. I’ll finish the stuff that was foamy and check it. Worst case is I have to dump it and lose a bit of firewood and propane to boil and finish. If it tastes fine I’ll keep it for our own use.

My wife told me I am more sensitive to funky smells and tastes. If something doesn’t smell or taste right to me I toss it. Better safe than sorry.

Our season got off to a rough start with a dead battery in my RTV, a leaky RO, a sap pump that wouldn’t start, a few tank leaks, plenty of fresh branches down from the high winds we’ve had, and more squirrel chews over the past two weeks. And then this. It was more than enough setbacks to make me just scrub this season and start over next year.

Thanks for the info & tips everyone! Much appreciated!!

Thats good news.

Usually our imaginations reek havoc on our reality. I have to fight that one all the time too.

I used Starsan last year at the end of the season for a VERY persistent black mold. Rinsed with a bit of hot water at the beginning of this season. No black mold this year. I like to rinse everything with at least cold clean water. Especially things that have a film of concentrate left in them.

[stoweski]

Well, the end result of me playing around with the foamy sap due to Starsan is hat it boiled down to some amber syrup. Unfortunately it had a slight aftertaste that I just didn’t want to take chances with and so I dumped it. Just about 4 gallons worth. I hated doing it but if I wouldn’t eat it I wouldn’t want to sell it.
On the bright side, after rinsing out all of my tanks, evaporator, and RO, the foam hasn’t appeared anywhere and the rest of my syrup is great!
Thought I’d let others know in case anyone ever comes across the same issue and is trying to figure out what to do.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

Thanks for sharing. As hard as it is to do that, you did the right thing.