Heat gun for uncapping

[enrico]

You mean the air you are breathing all the time!!!!! Goodness me!

 

[Beefriendly]

I struggle to see the difference between using a hot electric knife, a steam knife or a heat gun as all melt wax .
I need wax and also need to trim supers back to wood.
So hot air gun creates more work for me as I would then need to take my hot wire polystyrene cutter to take distorted super frames back to the shape I want them.

 

[maz0]

You mean the air you are breathing all the time!!!!! Goodness me!

Yes precisely. Explains why the food industry spend thousands on clean air solutions and personal hygiene equipment when handling food.

I don't mind breathing in normal air around me. But i'd rather not eat honey with bits of you and your cats dead skin or whatever else gets kicked up off your carpet and blown into it....(not you personally of course )

 

[madasafish]

I'd be more concerned about the fact your essentially using a hot hair dryer that's sucking all sorts of floating dust, dead skin and whatever else floating around your vicinity from the air, and firing it all over your exposed honey frames. Hope your filters are fine enough

I doubt skin will survive a hot air gun temperature..at or near the heating element

And honey of course contains an antibacterial agent..

 

[maz0]

I doubt skin will survive a hot air gun temperature..at or near the heating element

And honey of course contains an antibacterial agent..

I guess it all depends on our personal approaches to preparation cleanliness.

Would be interesting to know how many of us use hair nets, clean coats, gloves and a well cleaned work space, compared to processing in a smelly kitchen or garage where any old crap can contaminate the food. Perhaps if a picture of our processing setup was attached to our honey jars, some might find a drop in sales

Also I would not consider 'honey contains an antibacterial agent' as an excuse for not maintaining best endeavours in processing cleanliness. You should not be relying on honeys properties to counteract your contamination...

 

[enrico]

Yes precisely. Explains why the food industry spend thousands on clean air solutions and personal hygiene equipment when handling food.

I don't mind breathing in normal air around me. But i'd rather not eat honey with bits of you and your cats dead skin or whatever else gets kicked up off your carpet and blown into it....(not you personally of course )

I have a dedicated tiled, super clean extracting room with wash down facilities, stainless steel catering sink, sealed from any insects. I am more than happy with my hygiene arrangements. What do you use? Your kitchen?
E

 

[maz0]

I have a dedicated tiled, super clean extracting room with wash down facilities, stainless steel catering sink, sealed from any insects. I am more than happy with my hygiene arrangements. What do you use? Your kitchen?
E

At the moment yes, just processed my first ever super this weekend. But the entire time I was paranoid about being clean enough. This years crop is just for family but next year I will feel better with a dedicated processing room/shed which is much easier to keep hygienic if I'm going to try selling some.

The points were not aimed at anyone, but more thinking out loud!

 

[Beefriendly]

I will feel better with a dedicated processing room/shed which is much easier to keep hygienic if I'm going to try selling some.
!

Worth remembering that the product you are selling starts off as bee "vomit" and already contains many bacteria, fungal spores and hyphae plus yeasts that the high sugar content of honey (osmotic pressure) keeps from developing or dividing etc
One of the characteristics of honey dew honey (derived from aphid anal secretions) is a high ash content and lots of fungal hyphae.

 

[madasafish]

Worth remembering that the product you are selling starts off as bee "vomit" and already contains many bacteria, fungal spores and hyphae plus yeasts that the high sugar content of honey (osmotic pressure) keeps from developing or dividing etc
One of the characteristics of honey dew honey (derived from aphid anal secretions) is a high ash content and lots of fungal hyphae.

As in botulism.

 

[Beefriendly]

As in botulism.

Yes, Clostridium botulinum spores that can cause infant botulism. Thankfully extremely rare.

 

[enrico]

At the moment yes, just processed my first ever super this weekend. But the entire time I was paranoid about being clean enough. This years crop is just for family but next year I will feel better with a dedicated processing room/shed which is much easier to keep hygienic if I'm going to try selling some.

The points were not aimed at anyone, but more thinking out loud!

No problem..... Just wanted you to know I wasn't lacking in hygiene! ..