[IBJake]

Hi,

I have a Maxant water jacketed bottling tank and use it for filling jars. I filter from the extractor into pails and and have just been filling jars from the tank. I have noticed the tank is getting some crusties building up, where honey sits against the wall and dries. I also see small specks of what must be dried honey from the sides in the jars. I'm just wondering what people do. Cleaning the tank? How often? Filtering after the tank?

Thanks

Jake

 

[Akademee]

Is the tank getting too hot? Drying out honey really takes some doing. You don't have to heat up the honey that much to get it to flow well. You could probably just wipe it off with warm water and not have to worry about cleaning chemicals or anything like that getting in there.

 

[IBJake]

No, I don't think it's getting too hot, it does sit between fillings though. I usually fill the tank right up, heat to decrystallize, turn it down to 80 and bottle as needed. It takes a couple months to go through the tank at the rate I sell jars.

 

[wildbranch2007]

Is the tank getting too hot? Drying out honey really takes some doing. You don't have to heat up the honey that much to get it to flow well. You could probably just wipe it off with warm water and not have to worry about cleaning chemicals or anything like that getting in there.

it's the scum from the top of the honey, as the honey goes down it coats the edge of the tank, when I empty the tank I use hot water and those plastic scrubbers(I don't know what they are called my wife buys them) and a lot of elbow grease.

 

[Trin]

The "scum" is hydrogen peroxide. Probably what makes honey useful for minor wound healing. Not that I use it for that, just remember it being mentioned as an old home remedy.

Some BK skim it off and eat it on toast and such.

 

[snl]

it's the scum from the top of the honey, as the honey goes down it coats the edge of the tank, when I empty the tank I use hot water and those plastic scrubbers(I don't know what they are called my wife buys them) and a lot of elbow grease.

Same here. I clean mine about once a year. Doesn’t take long. This year I also replaced the seals in the valve as it was showing leakage around the top seal where the plunger descends. Took about 10 minutes.

 

[IBJake]

Thanks. It's getting to around a year, so must be time.

 

[Plannerwgp]

At the end of the year when the tank in near empty., I fill with water and heat at low temperature which seems to dilute the remains honey. I then drain the entire tank and turn it in its side and use a clean wet rag to wipe it down. I also unscrew the dripless spout and run water thru it.

 

[IBJake]

I like this plan, could possibly make a tank scum mead with the slurry