Just got a call from a friend locally who is a major Maple Syrup Producer in this area. Wanted me to give him a hand this Wednesday. He is doing a big bottling-up run. He has a VERY IMPRESSIVE operation set up and produces syrup and maple specialties that have won numerous awards. He and his wife built up a serious business after he retired from his original job. Unfortunately she passed away from a several year battle with cancer in February of this year. His property and operation are AAA first class. Always enjoy going out there for these adventures. Last one we bottled and processed 180 gallons.
Your basement should be a rather constant temp, so condensation related problems should be close(r) to none. If you actually do get a bacteria growing in there it will smell really bad. If you take the fill cap off and it smells like oil you're probably good.
That’s my experience also !!! IME, much less than some people here, if you keep water out of it you are ok
I have been responsible for literally 18 separate of these systems for over 15 years and have NEVER added anything to tanks and never had a problem. It is FAR MORE important to make sure caps on fills are on tight ie water tight
Mild to medium is about as "hot" as I can tolerate. I tried some commercial mango sauce. Let's just say I won't be buying that again. Something in the flavor is off for my pallet. I have had some sweet sauce with heat that was good.
52 glorious years ago I took this beautiful young woman to be my partner on a lifelong journey. In times of going off to war and in times of being poor, she always was and still is there for me. My one and only love and life partner.