Any tips on what to do with High Water content Honey ?

[tkwinston4]

A question received from a friend earlier. Got no idea what advice to give her so thought I had better ask the experts

 

[Black Comb]

If it's still in the combs put it in a small room with dehumidifier for 2/3 days.
If it's extracted then use for cooking.

 

[tkwinston4]

If it's still in the combs put it in a small room with dehumidifier for 2/3 days.
If it's extracted then use for cooking.

Probably a stupid question but what difference does it make if its in the comb or not?

 

[Tdf]

Probably a stupid question but what difference does it make if its in the comb or not?

it will be much harder to get water out

 

[susbees]

Feed it back so they can finish the job...depends on quantity of course.

 

[itma]

Make mead?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Buy or make a honey dryer.

 

[aberreef]

Buy or make a honey dryer.

Just googled dryers but can't seem to find much. Have you got any links please

 

[Jimmy]

Giordan make several different models.
Dadant also make one.

You'd have to be commercial or somewhat obsessive to bother with one of these though IMHO.

I've been caught out a couple of times with high moisture OSR honey - once I bottled and hoped and it fermented, oozing out of the jars.
The second time (this year) I'm feeding it back to the bees, hoping they'll either use it to finish filling a couple of supers on the hive or start building up their winter stores.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Just googled dryers but can't seem to find much. Have you got any links please

There are quite a few makes and models of dryer,Lega make a cheapish one for around 10,000 euros,will dry 300kg of honey down by around 1% in three hours. Heated model will bring 20% moisture content down to 16% in about half an hour.

 

[Lorenz]

Yes, so long as you use the dehumidifier in a smallish sealed room with the boxes on their sides so the air can easily circulate, it works a treat. Make sure you keep in in the comb to dry it. Works less well if it is in the bucket already.

 

[Skyhook]

If you have a few pounds a little over on the moisture content I have heard it suggested that you can put it in baking trays/roasting pans in a cool fan oven. You'd have to watch the temperature, but I imagine you'd get some effect just with cold air.

 

[aberreef]

There are quite a few makes and models of dryer,Lega make a cheapish one for around 10,000 euros,will dry 300kg of honey down by around 1% in three hours. Heated model will bring 20% moisture content down to 16% in about half an hour.

Slightly out of my league then

 

[user 6228]

Slightly out of my league then

you could make one yourself. A heated version that could dry 10 supers at a time for around £250 using new parts

 

[Finman]

.
I have a warmig cabinet where I heat the honey to 32C before extraction.
If the honey boxes are there 4 days, honey dryes up so much through cappings that it is very difficult to ectract.

 

[Baggyone]

I did my final extraction of the year today. Bees had been very busy in the last week and left nearly all supers with very wet honey/nectar. Shook it all out and extracted only what was left over. Fed the shook stuff back to the bees for winter stores. Extracted honey tested with the refrac meter.

God knows what they found but it was like it in two apiaries 2 miles apart.

Baggy

 

[m100]

There are quite a few makes and models of dryer,Lega make a cheapish one for around 10,000 euros,will dry 300kg of honey down by around 1% in three hours. Heated model will bring 20% moisture content down to 16% in about half an hour.

What are the basics behind these, warm honey up, pass it in a thin film over a large surface in an atmosphere that is constantly dehumidified, or something else?

 

[psafloyd]

Have you checked how high it is? Miners well under 20% according to my refractometer and is runny as anything. As was my honey from last year.

 

[Hivemaker.]

What are the basics behind these, warm honey up, pass it in a thin film over a large surface in an atmosphere that is constantly dehumidified, or something else?

Some use heat some don't,just air being blown over a thin film of honey..just flash heating honey over a heated uncapping tray will rapidly reduce moisture without harming the honey with regards to HMF,but not at a very high temperature.
some pictures and descriptions in the links below.

http://www.china-bees.cn/mfjj/_notes/diskfmnsj.htm

http://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=409

http://www.legaitaly.com/index.php?...rtuemart&Itemid=68&lang=en&vmcchk=1&Itemid=68