A couple of questions from my first proper end of season extraction.

[Martimart]

1. Cappings and the inevitable honey that comes off with them are valuable. Make one of these for next year so that you can drain the honey off as part of your crop (nothing wrong with it if you uncap above a decent stainless or food safe tray.

Use the same seive to wash the cappings. Then melt them down in a Bain Marie and cast them into blocks (plastic box with a bit of rainwater in the bottom). There's plenty of threads on here about what to do with wax.

2. Scrape the wax out as much as you can and add to the cappings to be processed - the small amount remaining... just wash with cold water and it will become crumbs of dry wax which can be added to the bain marie for processing.

https://www.thorne.co.uk/candlemaking/bain-marie-1-5kg.html

That’s brilliant thank you very much

 

[pargyle]

I've found that the uncapping tool of choice impacts the amount of sieve clogging, an uncapping fork scrapes the surface but leaves a lot of the wax in place which then extracts with the honey, blocking the sieve. An uncapping knife removes most of the wax so doesn't block the sieve as quickly. Experiment and find what works for you, there are plenty of options.
As for the extractor, can the dent be pushed out?

Actually, you should not use an uncapping fork to 'scrape' the surface - the correct way to use it is to work the fork along the frame with it in a sort of underhand way, getting the tines of the fork just under the wax cappings and easing it along the face of the frame. It lifts the cappings off, collecting them on the fork. I then have a fixed blade mounted in my uncapping tray which I use to scrape the cappings off the fork. Used properly it leaves very little wax on the face of the frame but it's not a quick method. It's a good tool if the face of your comb is not flat and you only have a few supers to extract.

How CGF manages to uncap hundreds of supers using an uncapping fork is beyond me - perhaps he'll give us some tips about how he uses his ?

 

[Martimart]

After filtering, I put the my sticky filters, complete with wax and honey residues, back on top of the hive in an empty box above a crown board. By morning the filters are clean and dry and instead of sticky capping a you have beautiful dry flakes of wax ready for storage of melting. You do need to spread the capping out as evenly as possible, otherwise they can’t get to the honey in the middle.

Same with uncapping fork - just put it back in the hive for the bees to clean rather than washing precious honey away.

Thank you, that‘s a good idea. Put it all in a empty super, some great advice on this thread, thank you everyone.

 

[judith.ribenfors]

1. Cappings and the inevitable honey that comes off with them are valuable. Make one of these for next year so that you can drain the honey off as part of your crop (nothing wrong with it if you uncap above a decent stainless or food safe tray.

Use the same seive to wash the cappings. Then melt them down in a Bain Marie and cast them into blocks (plastic box with a bit of rainwater in the bottom). There's plenty of threads on here about what to do with wax.

2. Scrape the wax out as much as you can and add to the cappings to be processed - the small amount remaining... just wash with cold water and it will become crumbs of dry wax which can be added to the bain marie for processing.

https://www.thorne.co.uk/candlemaking/bain-marie-1-5kg.html

Where did you find the strainer bucket?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Home made.....easy to do.
Have a go. I made something similar which goes in the warmer overnight.
I tend to leave the drained cappings for a month or so then the wax smells beautifully of the honey after I've cleaned it

 

[judith.ribenfors]

Home made.....easy to do.
Have a go. I made something similar which goes in the warmer overnight.
I tend to leave the drained cappings for a month or so then the wax smells beautifully of the honey after I've cleaned it

Did you deconstruct something first?

 

[judith.ribenfors]

Actually, you should not use an uncapping fork to 'scrape' the surface - the correct way to use it is to work the fork along the frame with it in a sort of underhand way, getting the tines of the fork just under the wax cappings and easing it along the face of the frame. It lifts the cappings off, collecting them on the fork. I then have a fixed blade mounted in my uncapping tray which I use to scrape the cappings off the fork. Used properly it leaves very little wax on the face of the frame but it's not a quick method. It's a good tool if the face of your comb is not flat and you only have a few supers to extract.

How CGF manages to uncap hundreds of supers using an uncapping fork is beyond me - perhaps he'll give us some tips about how he uses his ?

If the face of your comb isn't even, after extraction do you even it?

 

[Erichalfbee]

If the face of your comb isn't even, after extraction do you even it?

I never used to bother as I uncapped everything with a fork. Now I use a ham knife and slice everything even.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Did you deconstruct something first?

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/honey-extraction-shopping-list-😁.53503/page-2#post-836370

 

[pargyle]

Did you deconstruct something first?

MIne is just a Honey bucket, cut the bottom out of it, replaced the bottom with a bit of mesh and then a few bolts though the side so it sits on top of another honey bucket. Bit crude but it works a treat.

This thread shows a better one than mine:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/cappings-bucket.48558/

 

[E&MBees]

MIne is just a Honey bucket, cut the bottom out of it, replaced the bottom with a bit of mesh and then a few bolts though the side so it sits on top of another honey bucket. Bit crude but it works a treat.

This thread shows a better one than mine:

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threads/cappings-bucket.48558/

It’s still going strong. I haven’t needed to adapt anything either.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Having drained a good few supers worth of cappings in the warmer I wish there was a hobby sized cappings press.
I wonder whether a fruit press would work ?

 

[Just Steve]

Having drained a good few supers worth of cappings in the warmer I wish there was a hobby sized cappings press.
I wonder whether a fruit press would work ?

I'm wondering the same thing.

 

[Garry R]

I wonder if this might work . Cheap. When I did heather honey I mashed up all the wax and honey comb left after cut comb was taken and put it in a nylon filter bag with a draw string and put it and used a second hand stand alone spin drier with an outlet into a bucket. Cappings came out bone dry and the honey beautifully creamed and VERY popular.

The ebay item has no outlet I can see but might do a similar job


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35589798...QPyHDT23IlADI3bvX2K1E40w==|tkp:Bk9SR5jLoaWtZA

Just a thought

 

[Swampie]

Having drained a good few supers worth of cappings in the warmer I wish there was a hobby sized cappings press.
I wonder whether a fruit press would work ?

View attachment 41046

I dont see why not. Particularly the stainless steel small counter-top ones that are easy to rinse off. I have the largest of the basket cider presses and it would certainly have the strength. The big ones might just be a bit of a faf to get cleaned up, after.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I dont see why not. Particularly the stainless steel small counter-top ones that are easy to rinse off. I have the largest of the basket cider presses and it would certainly have the strength. The big ones might just be a bit of a faf to get cleaned up, after.

Oh no! I didn’t know they made counter top ones. Just had a look.
How can I sneak this past Stan?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Oh no! I didn’t know they made counter top ones. Just had a look.
How can I sneak this past Stan?

I have a small counter top one that I never use (usual ebay find from years ago) maybe only three or four litres - I'll have to dig it out

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Oh no! I didn’t know they made counter top ones. Just had a look.
How can I sneak this past Stan?

You don't have a lab centrifuge tucked away from working days Dani?

 

[Curly green finger's]

Actually, you should not use an uncapping fork to 'scrape' the surface - the correct way to use it is to work the fork along the frame with it in a sort of underhand way, getting the tines of the fork just under the wax cappings and easing it along the face of the frame. It lifts the cappings off, collecting them on the fork. I then have a fixed blade mounted in my uncapping tray which I use to scrape the cappings off the fork. Used properly it leaves very little wax on the face of the frame but it's not a quick method. It's a good tool if the face of your comb is not flat and you only have a few supers to extract.

How CGF manages to uncap hundreds of supers using an uncapping fork is beyond me - perhaps he'll give us some tips about how he uses his ?

I’ve got an uncapping knife (well both folk and knife x4 )and it is a pain either way, the help I get from the children has helped in the past.
That’s my tip get help!!
I can uncap a box of 10 frames in 8/15 mins, so if I had a 100 that’s only 13.3 hrs minimum if my calculations are right, why is that beyond you ?

Perhaps I should of said we can

 

[pargyle]

Having drained a good few supers worth of cappings in the warmer I wish there was a hobby sized cappings press.
I wonder whether a fruit press would work ?

View attachment 41046

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35495744...alcH3LLSLplFKO8Q8MoieE8A==|tkp:Bk9SR-y_w7-vZA