Extractor question

[pargyle]

Why thank you.
I have to own up that the engineer was my husband Stan.

It's a good job .... and it looks good which is important ... well done Stan ...

 

[Pembroke]

Yes ... I have some T nuts and I did think about that option ... but they sit a little proud of the surface and so i would have to recess them and the bolts I had would have to be cut down - more measuring - and it all got too complicated ! There comes a point where it's more expedient to cut your losses, learn from the mistake and do the job properly ! Good idea on your part though ... T-nuts are incredibly useful ...

Other thoughts, use carriage bolts from the top, with nyloc nuts. The domed head will give a bit more clearance, then there's screws from the castor side. Final thought is I've seen loads of people use the bolt to cut a thread in the wood itself, if the application isn't too stressful, say if you've a fairly smooth floor that might work. Re-enforce the threads with superglue perhaps?

 

[pargyle]

Well ... that didn't go to plan ....Got the casters on to the extractor ... they work nicely, rolls along a treat. One small problem ... it would not go through the kitchen door with the wheels on... so I took the wheels off to get it though the door..... and it still would not go through the door ... so I took one of the legs off ... and it finally went through the door.. and I put the leg and the wheels back on ... and now it's stuck in the kitchen until I've finished extracting .. 'er indoors not amused. Just as well I buttered her up at the local nursery this morning when I bought her £30 worth of spring bulbs and a Monty Don style bulb planter or it could have been worse ...

PS: Not quite as elegant as Stan's effort on your's Dani ... but it works.

 

[understanding_bees]

One small problem ... it would not go through the kitchen door with the wheels on...

Commiserations about the mismatch between the doorway and the mobile extractor. You have made a neat frame for the castors. If you had not fitted them, it might still have been a two-person job to get the extractor through the doorway.
I would like to offer a suggestion though, to solve the problem. The photo indicates that the legs splay out, so that the footprint of the machine is greater than the diameter of the extractor drum. How easy would it be to bend the legs so that they are more vertical (and less splayed)?
The splayed leg design is no doubt intended to make the extractor more stable in operation, especially if the frames being spun were not well balanced. However, I believe that it should always be important to load the frames carefully, in such a way that the load will be fairly well balanced before you start spinning. I think that it would be quite appropriate to modify your machine, especially in view of the improved manoeuvrability that it would have.
When I consider the effort that you have already made in fitting the castors, I feel that it would be beneficial to check how much of a tendency it has to walk the floor, etc, before you make modifications which I have suggested.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Philip that's grand
There is one advantage to those splayed legs, mind. You don't have to keep taking it in and out of the kitchen till you've finished the job.

 

[ericbeaumont]

There is one advantage to those splayed legs, mind. You don't have to keep taking it in and out of the kitchen till you've finished the job.

Lega can't seem to make up their mind about leg shape: I have a 9-frame Lega with the same red angled legs as Philip, but Lega also supply them blue and straight and now a weird red curved version.

The red angled legs were such a pain to transport that I bought a straight set from Park Beekeeping, who stock only Lega. They're blue and sturdy and need a lower bolt hole drilled in the leg, but save the wiggling through doors.

Philip, if you need to upgrade to extract a variety of frames, Park can supply a universal s/s Lega cage; about £100.

 

[pargyle]

Thanks everyone ... yes the legs are splayed about 2" too wide to get through a 'normal' door - I can get it through the front door which is a bit wider but it's the internal doors that cause the problem. They were not red originally - they were plain passivated steel but had surface rust at the bottom so I rubbed them down and resprayed them red to match the rest of the extractor. They are really heavy duty, not like the this pressed steel you get on a lot of extractors these day .. no chance of bending them.

Without the casters it's too heavy for me to move on my own - the only way it to 'walk' it along by pivoting on alternate legs - it's a bit of a beast.

There are also no hand holds to get hold of the thing when you want to lift it to tilt it ... My next job (perhaps not this week !!) is to design and fit some folding handles that will sit inside the U-channel of the legs when not in use and hinge out to a horizontal position when they are needed .. perhaps with some sort of simple (split pin ) arrangement to keep them in place when in use.

On a plus side ... with the casters on and frames in it it doesn't move very much when spinning, it's very stable .. it rotates slowly pivoting around its central access but I've seen extractors that are like untamed bulls when you set them going. I didn't make any effort to balance the frames out in the extractor they just went in in the order they came out of the supers ... I could probably reduce the 'travel' if I had thought of that.

I only had it up to full speed once and I blew one partially drawn but honey filled frame out - it had spun out but was obviously not that firmly attached .. It didn't really appear necesssary to push it to the limit as two thirds speed was enough to dry the frames. It has a reverse and I spun the frames both ways.

Apart from the slight disadvantage of having to partially dismantle it to get it through the door and the lack of handholds ... really pleased with it. Now ... phase 2 of extraction needs to be finished today or I fear it's going to be reasonable grounds for divorce in the household !

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes you need a permanent place for that.

 

[pargyle]

Yes you need a permanent place for that.

At the rate I'm going today I may have to put a roof on it and live in it !

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Thanks everyone ... yes the legs are splayed about 2" too wide to get through a 'normal' door - I can get it through the front door which is a bit wider but it's the internal doors that cause the problem. They were not red originally - they were plain passivated steel but had surface rust at the bottom so I rubbed them down and resprayed them red to match the rest of the extractor. They are really heavy duty, not like the this pressed steel you get on a lot of extractors these day .. no chance of bending them.

Without the casters it's too heavy for me to move on my own - the only way it to 'walk' it along by pivoting on alternate legs - it's a bit of a beast.

There are also no hand holds to get hold of the thing when you want to lift it to tilt it ... My next job (perhaps not this week !!) is to design and fit some folding handles that will sit inside the U-channel of the legs when not in use and hinge out to a horizontal position when they are needed .. perhaps with some sort of simple (split pin ) arrangement to keep them in place when in use.

On a plus side ... with the casters on and frames in it it doesn't move very much when spinning, it's very stable .. it rotates slowly pivoting around its central access but I've seen extractors that are like untamed bulls when you set them going. I didn't make any effort to balance the frames out in the extractor they just went in in the order they came out of the supers ... I could probably reduce the 'travel' if I had thought of that.

I only had it up to full speed once and I blew one partially drawn but honey filled frame out - it had spun out but was obviously not that firmly attached .. It didn't really appear necesssary to push it to the limit as two thirds speed was enough to dry the frames. It has a reverse and I spun the frames both ways.

Apart from the slight disadvantage of having to partially dismantle it to get it through the door and the lack of handholds ... really pleased with it. Now ... phase 2 of extraction needs to be finished today or I fear it's going to be reasonable grounds for divorce in the household !

Think laterally, widen the doors

 

[Murox]

Thanks everyone ... .............snip.....
There are also no hand holds to get hold of the thing when you want to lift it to tilt it ... My next job (perhaps not this week !!) is to design and fit some folding handles that will sit inside the U-channel of the legs when not in use and hinge out to a horizontal position when they are needed .. perhaps with some sort of simple (split pin ) arrangement to keep them in place when in use..............snip............

Handles - Something like this ? might work . Create or buy.

 

[pargyle]

Think laterally, widen the doors

Haha - dies laughing !

My grandfather was a builder ... my grandmother's idea of decorating a room usually started with "I think we will have the door over here this time Charlie" ... I lost track of the doors and windows he had moved.

When I remodelled our kitchen, a few years ago, my legendary inability to measure left me with with a situation that the kitchen units on one side of the kitchen would actually overlap the architrave around the door to the utility room door .. there was no way of adjusting the units. There was me, sitting looking at the situation and thinking how awful this was going to look after going to all the trouble of totally renovating the kitchen and 'er indoors came in and questioned what I was doing. I confessed that I had cocked up and it was going to look like a dog's breakfast.

She said - "Well you can't leave it like that can you, what are you going to do about it ?" ... THE WORDS FELL OUT OF MY MOUTH ... "I suppose I could move the door a couple of inches across" - the cat was out of the bag ... "well you'd better get on and do it then". Engage brain before opening gob ... will I ever learn ? Needless to say I moved the door ...

 

[pargyle]

Handles - Something like this ? might work . Create or buy.

That's a good idea ... it would be an easy fix, cut the existing bracket off the grab handle, drill holes and put a bolt through the U-channel of the leg then thread the handle onto the bolt. Simples ...

Like it... good idea Murox - thanks.