Heather 2022! Extraction advice

[ericbeaumont]

agree the spec doesn’t look quite as robust.

It's only going to be used a few times a season, so an Abelo is likely to do the job for a good few years.

 

[Amari]

Legs might have to come off.

£2335.20 plus £100 delivery for a four-frame 180W extractor !!!!

 

[Jimmy]

Logar build quality (examined at BeeTradex) was streets ahead of Abelo and Konign,

When you look at the different specifications/build quality, what is it that puts Logar ahead of Abelo and Konigin? Thickness of the stainless steel?, weld quality (how does a non-expert judge?)?

 

[enrico]

I couldn't get on with the konigin at all. I just couldn't get it clean after use, well not to my satisfaction anyway, trying to do so cut my hands to shreds! You also needed a two week course just to get it started. Took it back and swapped it for a good old heavy duty plastic job. On/ off switch, easy to clean. The konigin looked good and spun the honey out but.....that is where it stopped for me!

 

[nantmoel]

Take a look at Thornes Bali Press

 

[elainemary]

Visited Abelo in York yesterday to look at their 8 frame swing cage extractor, suitable for extracting heather or a blend after loosening.
Key criteria can it fit through a kitchen door, yes. Food grade stainless steel of good build quality, easy to assemble (set it up out the box) and efficient. At 27kg & if female may need 2 of you to lift & carry any distance. Legs and motor comes off.

I’m sold on this at £799 (ex any negotiation). Swing cages need to be moved by hand to reverse direction but quick & easy to do and far quicker than turning frames in a standard tangential. 250W motor. Fits either 8 super or 4 brood frames of any size. Looked at the hand loosener and compares well to my metal one that loosens the heather before extracting

Then went on to visit a friend and fellow Yorkshire beekeeper who specialises on heather honey to see his set up. Helped him extract supers using his automatic loosener. Wow so easy! Minor issue of needing a honey house and big investment, but interesting to see it in operation with his vacuum filter which pulls heather through the filter in no time.

Have posted a couple of videos of the Abelo 8 frame swing cage extractor, for anyone else interested in improving their heather extraction kit. I am lobbying our association to buy one and looking positive so far. Will work alongside our heather press (a fruit press sourced a couple of seasons ago) . Swing cage extractor of course can extract any honey as well as much safer when extracting combs with a heather blend.

 

[pete darbyshire]

You cannot beat a hydro press from a wine making supplier.

Make sure you use unwired foundation (or remove it)

I use a 12 frame Konigin radial for unset honey, used from June to September.
A top/bottom heated tank for set honey....takes 150 frames worth of cut-out honey, and gets used once per season.
A hydropress for heather, that also gets used for one session per season.

 

[pete darbyshire]

https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/40-litre-hydropress/

 

[elainemary]

https://www.lovebrewing.co.uk/40-litre-hydropress/

Thanks Pete. I’ve heard these are good, we use a standard fruit press currently. The swing cage tangential will complement it for honey that’s a combination of heather and other forage, which often happens in our area where bees fly to the heather and balsam / moorland plants and late clover. Means combs can be saved if heather patches on the combs are agitated first. The hydro press looks ideal for pure heather.

 

[pete darbyshire]

They are in a different league to a wind down press. They only seem to get 1/2 the honey out and get everything sticky!
The hydropress uses 3bar water pressure, gets all the honey, and the residue is like the bottom of a cheese cake.

 

[johnfly]

They are in a different league to a wind down press. They only seem to get 1/2 the honey out and get everything sticky!
The hydropress uses 3bar water pressure, gets all the honey, and the residue is like the bottom of a cheese cake.

I totally agree with what you have said Pete been using one for the past three years

 

[hallshoney]

I got the Konigan 8/16 swing cage last year it's a good budget machine but at 40" wide you need big doors to get it through. I gave up with the hand loosened way to slow. A lot of my honey boxes are now on plastic foundation so just scraped into buckets. But now spending too much time with fruit type press. As heather here is to unpredictable to invest big money in machanical loosener. So next I'm going to buy either capping spinner or screw press still can't decide

 

[Newbeeneil]

I've set one of my students a project to see if vibration can be used to reduce the viscosity, if so might be able to use this on whole frames prior to spinning.

I've also heard of spinning with a washing machine motor, presumably radial, but no experience myself.

One of my winter projects is to make a vibrating table to try to loosen heather honey with. I think the problem will be getting the vibration frequency right to over come the thixotropic nature of the honey.

 

[pete darbyshire]

I have to much other stuff to do with my time. I've tried all the heather methods, and would not consider anything else but my hydropress. Try one or get a demo.....or not, its your choice.

 

[Wilco]

One of my winter projects is to make a vibrating table to try to loosen heather honey with. I think the problem will be getting the vibration frequency right to over come the thixotropic nature of the honey.

Will update on here if we find anything

 

[elainemary]

I got the Konigan 8/16 swing cage last year it's a good budget machine but at 40" wide you need big doors to get it through. I gave up with the hand loosened way to slow. A lot of my honey boxes are now on plastic foundation so just scraped into buckets. But now spending too much time with fruit type press. As heather here is to unpredictable to invest big money in machanical loosener. So next I'm going to buy either capping spinner or screw press still can't decide

I borrowed a friends capping spinner but couldn’t get much out. Think they need to be really well warmed 40-45c to spin out heather. I left to drain over night in a warm room and that seemed to work ok especially if only take the surface cappings off.

 

[elainemary]

They are in a different league to a wind down press. They only seem to get 1/2 the honey out and get everything sticky!
The hydropress uses 3bar water pressure, gets all the honey, and the residue is like the bottom of a cheese cake.

Do you know from your experience approx how much extra heather one of these would extract from a typical super of 20lb honey vs a mechanical screw down press? Any pics would be helpful.

As I’m looking at kit for an association and we bought the equivalent non hydro press, be good to understand more about the cost-benefit of an upgrade to a hydro.

 

[ericbeaumont]

going to buy either capping spinner or screw press still can't decide

Did you decide?

I get heather (mostly bell but some ling) but cannot yet justify £700 on a hydro press for an erratic crop. On the other hand, a cappings screw has universal use, and may be the cost-effetive option.

 

[deemann1]

Im going to invest in a heather honey loosener for next season and a swing cage extractor yes its alot of money but well worth the investment. I used a hand Held heather loosener this year to save the comb on 40 supers which i couldn't bring myself to press all that precious comb . A very tedious task but thanks to advice on forum members i got trough it all ..

 

[hallshoney]

Did you decide?

I get heather (mostly bell but some ling) but cannot yet justify £700 on a hydro press for an erratic crop. On the other hand, a cappings screw has universal use, and may be the cost-effetive option.

Was pretty much going with screw press idea then went to bfa meeting recently and was recommended to get capping spinner. So still undecided. I spent too much money this year and big outlay on equipment that wouldn't get used for months isn't an option