Extraction

[Roola]

Hi all,

This may be a simple topic to some of you vets, but i wanted to get it clear before we extract this week, this is our first time!

Is there a thread that gives an overview of how this can be done please? Will be using one of the cheap thornes hand extractors, I was wondering about the process of uncapping, what to use to put cappings in as they will have honey on and would like to strain this out. Is it wise to then tap this into a bucket for a period before jarring or should it go straight into jars?

Any advice greatly appreciated.
R

 

[enrico]

Blimey Roola you need to do some reading mate!
If you are using a heated knife for cappings. Get a roasting tray and fix a piece of wood across one corner. In the centre of the wood bang a nail so the point faces upwards. Balance one end of the top bar on this nail and use the hot knife to remove the cappings. Don't get the knife so hot it burns the honey. The cappings should fall into the roasting tray. Do both sides. If the frames go flat in the spinner then spin a little off each side, turning them occasionally so that the wax doesn't break
If you are using a hot knife there are no cappings and it is clean.
Spin only until the honey in the spinner does NOT reach the top bar of the frames otherwise you won't be able to do it properly so empty the spinner through two sieves into another tub. I use a beer tub with a th?rnes tap on the bottom. When all the honey is in the tub wait for 24 hours for bubbles to rise before jarring up. Tip the tub when jarring so the bubbles only go into the last couple of jars and use them yourself first.
Tips, use tons of newspaper on the floor, always ensure the taps are closed before putting honey in the tubs, or spinner
That's the very basics, you will quickly learn by your mistakes

 

[Roola]

Blimey Roola you need to do some reading mate!
If you are using a heated knife for cappings. Get a roasting tray and fix a piece of wood across one corner. In the centre of the wood bang a nail so the point faces upwards. Balance one end of the top bar on this nail and use the hot knife to remove the cappings. Don't get the knife so hot it burns the honey. The cappings should fall into the roasting tray. Do both sides. If the frames go flat in the spinner then spin a little off each side, turning them occasionally so that the wax doesn't break
If you are using a hot knife there are no cappings and it is clean.
Spin only until the honey in the spinner does NOT reach the top bar of the frames otherwise you won't be able to do it properly so empty the spinner through two sieves into another tub. I use a beer tub with a th?rnes tap on the bottom. When all the honey is in the tub wait for 24 hours for bubbles to rise before jarring up. Tip the tub when jarring so the bubbles only go into the last couple of jars and use them yourself first.
Tips, use tons of newspaper on the floor, always ensure the taps are closed before putting honey in the tubs, or spinner
That's the very basics, you will quickly learn by your mistakes

lol, I do loads of reading, my girlfriend is bored of me reading stuff! Please don't chastise me however i've not found an easy to digest overview of how to do extraction online or in books. I've found people to be really helpful on here at explaining things in 'non flowery' language hence my post.

Thankyou for replying to me Enrico.

 

[Suzi Q]

I like to use an uncapping fork, although with lots of frames to uncap it may not be the best instrument. I do it over a large blue Tho***s plastic feeder, and simply give it back to the bees, they will clean out the honey from the wax in a few days. I gave the sticky filters for the bees to clean up as well!

 

[SimonB]

I uncap in one of these http://www.lakeland.co.uk/20228/Oven-Rack-Soaking-Tray

Good size and usually captures all the mess.

One tip, check to see whether you have any crystallised honey in any of the combs, if the percentage is too high then take great care when spinning as the frame can collapse.

Balance the frames otherwise the extractor will start walking, and make sure you have some sort of covering over it unless you want to line your extracting room with honey.

You can strain the cappings to eke out the last of the crop or feed it back to the bees.

Last, perhaps obvious tip, extract in a bee proof location.

 

[itma]

...
If you are using a hot knife there are no cappings and it is clean.
...

That would be a performance more skilled than mine!

A serrated knife, in a tall pot of hot water, dry it before cutting, clean before returning to hotpot.
Or spend £100 on a thermostatic electric one ...

White cappings can be opened with a deft wave of a hot air gun (paint stripper not hair dryer) - there are YouTube videos which doubtless someone can link.
Hot air gun doesn't work on cappings without an airgap (the wet-looking ones).
Using a gun gives no cappings. Otherwise, strain the cappings through something like a jellybag. Then (tip from here) wash them with cheap supermarket spirits to get a honey liqueur. Then wash them with cold water to leave the prized cappings wax (the cleanest, clearest type).


Watch the level of honey in the extractor. Don't let it rise up as far as the bottom of the frames in the extractor.

When you let it out into a bucket, it is conventional to pass the honey through a coarse and then fine strainer. Your favourite supplier should have appropriate double filters. Use the valve to avoid flooding the strainer.

For honeys that set (like OSR), it is conventional to then just let it set in the bucket and deal with it as a totally distinct process.
Runny honeys are typically left at least overnight in a tall 'bucket' known as "ripening". Any remaining sediment should settle, while pollen and bubbles rise to the top (where you can take them off with clingfilm - or keep the good stuff for yourself). The ripening tank's valve is then used to control jar filling.

Be prepared for the mess, and try and avoid licking your fingers!

 

[enrico]

Sorry that was a typo meant to say hot air gun....no cappings hot knife loads of cappings! Sorry

 

[psafloyd]

Classic Lakeland. You know it as a tray for soaking an oven rack, whereas we know it as a litter tray...

I uncap in one of these http://www.lakeland.co.uk/20228/Oven-Rack-Soaking-Tray

Good size and usually captures all the mess.

One tip, check to see whether you have any crystallised honey in any of the combs, if the percentage is too high then take great care when spinning as the frame can collapse.

Balance the frames otherwise the extractor will start walking, and make sure you have some sort of covering over it unless you want to line your extracting room with honey.

You can strain the cappings to eke out the last of the crop or feed it back to the bees.

Last, perhaps obvious tip, extract in a bee proof location.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Classic Lakeland. You know it as a tray for soaking an oven rack, whereas we know it as a litter tray...

Ah - I thought the same!

I use an underbed plastic storage box for uncapping, it's big enough to catch any stray drips and I can put the lid on afterwards until I'm ready to deal with the cappings and any honey with them.

 

[Erichalfbee]

i have one of those.
If it's a litter tray it's one for a very big cat

PS I use an uncapping fork with the frame held over the extractor to catch the drips.
Cappings are left in a jelly bag over night and the honey saved for home use

 

[Hombre]

The problem with an uncapping fork is that you get lots of broken wax that will quickly foul your first strainer. Scrape it out and put the dry wax into your cappings.

The advantage of an uncapping fork is that you probably get less honey in your uncappings bucket.

I failed to use a strainer and used an uncapping fork when I first extracted a few years ago - nightmare scenario, lots of wax in the honey to cause it to set and difficult to melt out properly to strain subsequently.

I now use a carving knife to uncap frame.