omnimirage
New Bee
I've been using the crush and strain method for a while now. It worked fine at first since I was extracting a few frames at a time but for the last six months, I've had nothing but trouble with each endeavor. I need a better way to strain the honey due to issues with clogging during the straining process.
I’m maintaining a neglected apiary site, and the honeycomb there is rather black and disfigured. I've laboured lots to get all the clumpy crap out of it and strain it into a liquid. I'm almost finished: I have fifteen kilos of mostly honey. There's still a lot of clumpy stuff in there, and I've poured it into a honey strainer. It's not seeping through. The strainer uses two layers; the bottom part is liquid, the top part is mildly crystal. I've been stirring it and stirring it to little success. I'm guessing perhaps the pores are clogged? Not sure if I need to pour the honey back into the bucket, clean it, and then redo it. Maybe I need to apply some heat source to it? Not sure what efficient heat source I could use. I can't easily put it in the sun, and that option won't be available to me after summer. I've thought about using an outdoor flood light to warm up the honey.
I've tried a lot of other methods, including the paint strainer and a bucket straining system. Though it was effective, I found the wax tended to stick to the strainer, requiring me to try and unstick it, take it out of the strainer, recrush it and put it back in. It was a cumbersome, inefficient process, and the strainers are too expensive. The bucket system involves one bucket sitting on top of another, with holes drilled into the bottom and a strainer placed there. I then pour the honey into one bucket, which goes through the strainer and holes and seeps cleanly into the bucket below. This also could be placed outside, but it tends to clog at the bottom. The other somewhat effective method I've used is some honey strainers I've bought off ebay which work moderately well. Clumps of wax are a little annoying to deal with, but fairly easy to recrush and restrain.
I also have another smaller batch of honey that I'm trying to do a last strain of. The damn honey has now crystalized in the strainer, and it's not easily turning into a liquid. It's currently reaching 35 Celsius here, so I've put it in the sun with a piece of glass over the strainer (to protect from bugs and assist in heating) but it won't melt.
I'm at quite a loss as to what to do. My methods are not working and I would like some insight/direction. Not sure if I should abandon the crush and strain thing and invest in a spinning drum.
I’m maintaining a neglected apiary site, and the honeycomb there is rather black and disfigured. I've laboured lots to get all the clumpy crap out of it and strain it into a liquid. I'm almost finished: I have fifteen kilos of mostly honey. There's still a lot of clumpy stuff in there, and I've poured it into a honey strainer. It's not seeping through. The strainer uses two layers; the bottom part is liquid, the top part is mildly crystal. I've been stirring it and stirring it to little success. I'm guessing perhaps the pores are clogged? Not sure if I need to pour the honey back into the bucket, clean it, and then redo it. Maybe I need to apply some heat source to it? Not sure what efficient heat source I could use. I can't easily put it in the sun, and that option won't be available to me after summer. I've thought about using an outdoor flood light to warm up the honey.
I've tried a lot of other methods, including the paint strainer and a bucket straining system. Though it was effective, I found the wax tended to stick to the strainer, requiring me to try and unstick it, take it out of the strainer, recrush it and put it back in. It was a cumbersome, inefficient process, and the strainers are too expensive. The bucket system involves one bucket sitting on top of another, with holes drilled into the bottom and a strainer placed there. I then pour the honey into one bucket, which goes through the strainer and holes and seeps cleanly into the bucket below. This also could be placed outside, but it tends to clog at the bottom. The other somewhat effective method I've used is some honey strainers I've bought off ebay which work moderately well. Clumps of wax are a little annoying to deal with, but fairly easy to recrush and restrain.
I also have another smaller batch of honey that I'm trying to do a last strain of. The damn honey has now crystalized in the strainer, and it's not easily turning into a liquid. It's currently reaching 35 Celsius here, so I've put it in the sun with a piece of glass over the strainer (to protect from bugs and assist in heating) but it won't melt.
I'm at quite a loss as to what to do. My methods are not working and I would like some insight/direction. Not sure if I should abandon the crush and strain thing and invest in a spinning drum.
