First time honey extraction help!

[Pips]

So, first summer of bee keeping, was told not to expect any honey this year from our two young hives, but they have done brilliantly! (Would have to add that I now totally understand in a way that I didn't before, why people say to get two hives. Without a lot of swapping about some brood frames at various wobbly points would not be in this situation). Also wouldn't be here without the help of this forum which has been fantastic.

So, hadn't really prepared for the honey harvest, but we have about one and half supers to harvest, still leaving lots for the bees. Have now joined Bedfordshire BKA and am hoping to hire a spinner, though not heard back. Am intending to use heat gun to uncap.

What else do I need as essentials, and what might I be able to adapt from general kitchen utensils to make do for this year please?

Very excited!

 

[Nige.Coll]

Food grade plastic bucket to put it in.
Some sort of filter to get the bits of wax and dead bee out a sieve may do.

 

[Swarm]

The heat gun may work ok this year with fresh comb and cappings. Next year you will probably find it a right pain.

 

[Pips]

Muslin cloth over a colander?

 

[Pips]

I've heard good things about the heat gun- less gunk in the honey and less mess. Is this not correct?

 

[Swarm]

When the wax is new, yes. A different story when your combs are older and the cappings less pristine. The wax melts and runs and seals up other cells, you spin the frame and find areas that are still holding honey.

 

[MuswellMetro]

plastic cake spatula to scrape the honeyout of the extractor

500mm sq plastic potting tray so the honey does not drip out of the super

stainless steel roasting tray to catch drips and capping if decapping with knife or capping fork or hot air gun

clear plastic decorators pVC sheet and another potting tray to stand the extractor andhoney bucket in

ladle to fill your jars if you haven't go a honey tank with gate valve

(suggest 4 or 8 oz jars for your first honey not 1lb as you find you have lots of friends)

 

[Swarm]

suggest 4 or 8 oz jars for your first honey not 1lb as you find you have lots of friends

Very true.

 

[Cazza]

Cover all the surfaces you will use with clingfilm first. When finished, whip it off and voila - no sticky mess or cleaning up to do.
Cazza

 

[Tremyfro]

We used towels over the table....straight into the washing machine afterwards. Drips on the floor were licked up later by the dogs but there wasn't hardly any. We used a jelly straining bag under the sieve. Took out all the bits. After making the honey vodka and honey brandy from the capping....melted the clean wax in a stainless steel bowl by pouring hot water over it. Then into the oven for a short while. Now is a lovely disc of clean wax. Found scraping capping with a fork more efficient and less messy than cutting them off.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Muslin cloth over a colander?

A pair of clean tights, or some old, plain weave net, clean net curtain over a colander will do just as well.

You could use a bread knife to uncap, rather than buying a special one.

Beg some mayonnaise buckets from a delicatessan, wash them carefully and rinse with bicarb solution to remove any leftover smell. Then rinse again and dry.

 

[REDWOOD]

A pair of clean tights, or some old, plain weave net, clean net curtain over a colander will do just as well.

You could use a bread knife to uncap, rather than buying a special one.

Beg some mayonnaise buckets from a delicatessan, wash them carefully and rinse with bicarb solution to remove any leftover smell. Then rinse again and dry.

Spot on

 

[Pips]

Great tips so far, thanks very much. The dogs have kindly agreed to lend a hand 'mopping' the drips up from the floor, Tremyfro. They're good like that!

 

[Swarm]

They're pretty good at cleaning the extractor as well

 

[Ely]

Disgusting.

 

[Ely]

An uncapping fork is better used like this rather than scraping


[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YCk4U9xjlvg[/ame]

This way you can save the wax and have less debris in the extractor

 

[Gilberdyke John]

An uncapping fork is better used like this rather than scraping


http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YCk4U9xjlvg

This way you can save the wax and have less debris in the extractor

I use the fork above the extractor and catch the cappings and debris in a filter as I run the honey off into settling buckets. Makes less mess in the room

 

[Pips]

Yes, that uncapping method looks pretty straightforward. Thanks.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I agree with Ely about the use of an uncapping fork. I personally prefer to uncap into an uncapping tray rather than over the extractor as I find whatever filters you use will clog up too fast and need cleaning too often when you have all the cappings going into the extractor.

As others have said cover all surfaces well and be prepared to get sticky. Use COLD water only for cleaning so you don't melt the wax.

Plan plenty of time for the session and enjoy it!

 

[Swarm]

Disgusting.

....and a good pre-wash cycle for the dishwasher ...

I did put a little in there.