extracting our honey today

[Cuckmere couple]

wish me luck!

 

[Millet]

Make sure you keep your windows and doors shut.. i was running around the kitchen with a tennis racket like a man possessed last week..i must have killed 14+ wasps in between trying to jar honey..

 

[enrico]

Let us know the result!
E

 

[Cuckmere couple]

yes exactly....will do

today is into a bucket...then a couple of days resting before into jars....never very good at clearing air bubbles

 

[steve1958]

I am hoping to extract the rest of mine this week.
It's been a very good year.

 

[Millet]

yes exactly....will do

today is into a bucket...then a couple of days resting before into jars....never very good at clearing air bubbles

I leave it settle for two days and then place cling film on top of the scum and then slowly peel it of.. i leave it for another day and do the same again that does the trick for me..

 

[Popparand]

wish me luck!

Bit of advice from someone who just did first extraction of 100lb honey.

Make sure you have an empty super handy for extracted frames. These can be a bit messy, so I put this on the sink draining board.

Try to keep everything sealed up as much as possible - make sure that bottom and top of supers is sealed up before and after extracting. A crown board is fine. Honey will soak through tea towels.

I found a decapping fork much easier to use than a knife, and cleaner too with less wasted. An oven tray is fine to catch the cappings. These I scraped into used plastic butter or ice cream containers, and sealed with the lid immediately.

Much debate about what to do with wet frames and cappings. I ended up putting everything back on top of the hive. If you store the frames you simply create a wasp magnet. The bees are making a first class job of cleaning up the cappings.

I jarred about 50 lbs into 1 lb and 12 oz jars. I'll see how I get along with selling these, before jarring the rest. Otherwise I'll store it in plastic tubs.

Wasps are the biggest nuisance. Best avoided by taking off and replacing supers late in the evening when they are less active.

Enjoy your honey!

 

[Cuckmere couple]

yes...excellent summary and spare super i'd have missed

got 3.5 full supers now indoors and no bees or wasps

should have taken the 5 individual frames out of the hive they came from before, removing the full supers...stood there brushing bees off next to two hives who wanted their honey back!

cup of tea, clean extractor and then spin

 

[Cuckmere couple]

ended up using capping fork plus knife...not massively proficient with knife but it was a fat one

hands up who's been uncapping with a knife and thought honey was tough and noticed shaving onto frame?

one of those things only people who've really been there have experienced!

 

[Millet]

ended up using capping fork plus knife...not massively proficient with knife but it was a fat one

hands up who's been uncapping with a knife and thought honey was tough and noticed shaving onto frame?

one of those things only people who've really been there have experienced!

I prefare a nice sharp long thin blade.. when you have done a load of frames you sharp get the hang of it and stop cutting too deep into the comb..

 

[Beefriendly]

Unless your knife is really thin and sharp I'd seriously recommend a proper uncapping fork. Not the thin tined versions. One like the one below.
All depends how many frames you have to uncap. But using a knife still means you need an uncapping fork unless ALL the capped honey extrudes above the frame edges. In my experience of many years it's not often enough.

 

[Millet]

Unless your knife is really thin and sharp I'd seriously recommend a proper uncapping fork. Not the thin tined versions. One like the one below.
All depends how many frames you have to uncap. But using a knife still means you need an uncapping fork unless ALL the capped honey extrudes above the frame edges. In my experience of many years it's not often enough.

That look's like something the nitty Nurse used to pull our hair out with at school..

 

[Curly green fingers]

Ive found when using a sharp knife , it's a good idea to put it in warm water first not boiling . Cuts the cappings better . I much prefer to use a fork unless a knife is needed . I'm taking the remainder of my honey supers of next week . It's going to be interesting treating all my hives last year I only had 1.

 

[mintmoth]

Ive found when using a sharp knife , it's a good idea to put it in warm water first not boiling . Cuts the cappings better . I much prefer to use a fork unless a knife is needed . I'm taking the remainder of my honey supers of next week . It's going to be interesting treating all my hives last year I only had 1.

Do you dry the knife each time or just let the wet go into the honey?

 

[Amari]

Do you dry the knife each time or just let the wet go into the honey?

I use a serrated knife with a 'step' in its neck and don't bother with hot water.

 

[Cuckmere couple]

we got about 80lbs from two hives....not bad!