Cleaning honey extractor

[JC47]

I am in my first year of Beekeeping and do not seem to find in the books how to clean a honey extractor after use. I propose to extract a super next week, could the Forum Member please point me in the right direction ?

 

[Vortex]

Knowing I'm going to get shot for this .. I let my bees clean it for me .. well they made the honey in the first place.. takes a couple of hours then rinse with cold water.

 

[foghornleghorn]

A cloth and cold water does fine here

 

[hedgehog66]

I have hot and cold outside taps (for washing the dog)
Quick swill with hot water and good as new
No scrubbing required

 

[Erichalfbee]

Warm (not hot) water with a little washing up water then hose pipe outside

 

[B+.]

Warm (not hot) water with a little washing up water then hose pipe outside

I use a pressure washer...

 

[Poly Hive]

Do not use hot water. If you do the wax will spread and spread and a minor job becomes a massive task.

COLD water is your friend and if you have a good gate on it, fill it with cold water and leave to soak for a day. Makes it very easy.

KISS

PH

 

[snelgrove]

Do not use hot water. If you do the wax will spread and spread and a minor job becomes a massive task.

COLD water is your friend and if you have a good gate on it, fill it with cold water and leave to soak for a day. Makes it very easy.

KISS

PH

Cold water is best ,as said wax melts and causes more problems when using hot water ,same for stainless steel strainers and the like.

 

[Quis Custodiet]

You will only wash it once with hot water, it's a bad mistake and you are unlikely to repeat it!
Polyhive and Snelgrove have given you good advice. When molten wax solidifies, it is a very intractable material and next to impossible to remove. Fill the machine with cold water and a little washing up liquid, give it a turn or two and let it stand, the rest is easy.

 

[Tremyfro]

My method is the easiest of all.....my OH does it....so cleaning the extractor is a mystery to me! He he

 

[Charlieanne]

Hose pipe in the garden

 

[Finman]

Hose pipe in the garden

That is the best.

Let the bees clean it is the worst.

Quite often I spin the extractor in the room, and pour on cages warm water. Cages spray the water everywhere and wash the extractor. Then spinning dryes it up.

But garden hose in a warm sunny day makes the best work. Sun dryes it up. ... But often all kind of stuff on the way out hinders that trial.

.

.

 

[domino]

I use a pressure washer...

I use one of these as well, works a treat.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Knowing I'm going to get shot for this .. I let my bees clean it for me .. well they made the honey in the first place.. takes a couple of hours then rinse with cold water.

totally irresponsible and stupid method of cleaning it, so why on earth mention it to a newbie?.

Cold water every time - hot water is only going to cause grief

I just take the motor off, cage out and do it in the garden with a hosepipe, all water drains away and ten minutes in the sun and all is dry. If needs be a quick wipe with a cloth to finish and get rid of the last bits

 

[Finman]

Cold water every time - hot water is only going to cause grief

What about hand warm alternative?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Next time I'll get the wife to wrap her hands around the garden tap - funny thging, however long I leave it run it never gets any warmer, coming from a mountain spring it's usually colder.

 

[Vortex]

Because that's the way I do it .. I take the extractor outside .. it takes about 40 seconds for the first bee to land .. within a few minutes it's covered in bees. I don't have a wet room so can't wash the extractor inside.

Do you wash the "wets" as well or put them back on the hive you took them off? or do you put the wets in a stack and let the bees clean them?

And if the latter what's the difference?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

do you put the wets in a stack and let the bees clean them?

And if the latter what's the difference?

sheeesh even more reckless stupidity. Anyone who leaves the supers out in the open for bees to clean is definitely a few buns short of a tea party.
DAft even to think of doing it.
Glad I don't live anywhere near you

 

[Dr J.Bell]

Apparently at home a teenager is used, first time he was given a toothbrush. Apparently since i let him wash my car with the pressure washer he now uses that. Not as amusing as watching the toothbrush from a window though

 

[poshpikey]

hose pipe in the garden and if you do it late in the evening/early in the morning you won't have any bees landing on it....