Home made api melter or alternatives.

[Curly green finger's]

Yes a big word for me above .
Has any one made a home made api melter.
If so would you share your ideas.
Thanks in advance.

 

[pargyle]

They are not cheap to buy ,... and there's a reason for that ... they are quite a complicated bit of kit.

It will need two heats - one for the cappings and combs and one for the honey ... get the temperature control wrong and you have a lot cheap cooking honey to sell.

Surely, a good extractor will do for your needs for the foreseeable future ?

 

[rolande]

I'd agree with @pargyle on this. That said, the legendary Mike Bispham did start out on such a project a few years ago so he might like to offer his thoughts with the hard earned benefit of hindsight.

 

[Somerford]

So in theory you could repurpose an oven element for the same purpose - but you need a metal insulated box and a fan and thermostat to adequately control the temperature.

And a fair bit of metalwork ability to make it workable too

I must admit I’ve often wondered about the profit being made on apimelters - certainly the coffin shaped ones would to be me easier to make than the round mini one

I couldn’t do without mine - spent the weekend rendering old comb down, steam cleaning frames in the Konegin and filtering wax into blocks

 

[pargyle]

So in theory you could repurpose an oven element for the same purpose - but you need a metal insulated box and a fan and thermostat to adequately control the temperature.

And a fair bit of metalwork ability to make it workable too

I must admit I’ve often wondered about the profit being made on apimelters - certainly the coffin shaped ones would to be me easier to make than the round mini one

I couldn’t do without mine - spent the weekend rendering old comb down, steam cleaning frames in the Konegin and filtering wax into blocks

Yes .... the trouble is that there's only a limited market for them .. out of the reach of all but bee farmers so .. laws of supply and demand ... price kept artificially high to make it worthwhile manufacturing them. It's not a volume product so you won't normally find knock offs from China and the Far East to drag the price down,

With the modern ones with digital circuitry you are into a whole new ballgame to make one yourself ... but you are right using a cooker element (or perhaps two) the associated temperature controls and thermostats to maintain the correct temperatures for honey and wax. Some creative welding to make stainless steel tanks etc.

It would be possible... unless you could do the whole lot yourself and had access to TIG welder and possibly sheet bending and cutting or could find some stainless tanks to re-purpose... would be a lot of work costing in your time and consumables ... Probably better to keep your eyes open for one that is second hand .. one went fo £1000 last year - someone downsizing their beekeeping operation.

 

[Somerford]

... Probably better to keep your eyes open for one that is second hand .. one went fo £1000 last year - someone downsizing their beekeeping operation.

And that was the smaller cappings melter....

 

[pargyle]

And that was the smaller cappings melter....

Probably it didn't say ... ad said they were £3300 new and it was at least 8 years old last year ... went very quickly.

 

[Jimmy]

Mark, have you joined the BFA yet? Or subscribed to the magazine? It often has ads from retiring beefarmers. Not reliably every issue by any means but if you're prepared to wait and have the money ready then you might pick up a bargain. If the regional meetings start up (Autumn 2021???) you might hear of kit for sale as well.
And there's always Abelo and the Klarna credit option.

 

[Jimmy]

Additionally, IIRC Hivemaker uses purchased Apimelters (or equivalent) but did make his own large scale honey dehumidifier out of stainless steel. I'm sure he would have considered making his own if it was feasible.

 

[roche]

Do they have a removable tank/tray in the base to collect wax/honey? or do they allow drain through to a container?

 

[Jimmy]

Do they have a removable tank/tray in the base to collect wax/honey? or do they allow drain through to a container?

Yes to both questions. The tray is slotted stainless steel and the honey gate drains the base.

 

[frankenstine]

most things arn't hard to make just they normally arnt worth makeing.

control cuircuits are easy to do now very easy no mess no fuss with the likes of arduinos, you dont even have to get it 100% right first time as hadware would all be the same just minor programming changes. modern power electonics are cheep for what they can do.

i bet these are like a lot of things if i wanted 1 for myself it wouldnt be worth making one due large amount of offcuts tend to end up buying a lot of unwanted part sheets ad tube instead of making a profit.

scrap that ive just seen pictures of one theres not much to them, ive not made one but if i ever need one i'll be makeing it

 

[Somerford]

Mark, have you joined the BFA yet? Or subscribed to the magazine? It often has ads from retiring beefarmers. Not reliably every issue by any means but if you're prepared to wait and have the money ready then you might pick up a bargain. If the regional meetings start up (Autumn 2021???) you might hear of kit for sale as well.
And there's always Abelo and the Klarna credit option.

I’m aware some have gone down this route having sold their large apimelter...they found the one they sold was far better than the Abelo one and sold that and returned to the Swienty model

 

[ericbeaumont]

the one they sold was far better than the Abelo one and sold that and returned to the Swienty model

The Abelo Premium Melliflow is £2995 and the Swienty Api Melter £3480. What do you reckon are the technical advantages gained from spending an extra £485?

 

[Somerford]

The Abelo Premium Melliflow is £2995 and the Swienty Api Melter £3480. What do you reckon are the technical advantages gained from spending an extra £485?

I’m not sure what the issue was - all I learned was they sold their apimelter and swapped it for the Abelo one and then ended going back to a new apimelter...

technical I guess they do the same thing but maybe it was issues with thermostats or leaking or something elseI don’t know

 

[tidymeup]

The Swienty Apimelters are hard to beat or the mini melters that work similar, Logar do mini melter like the Swienty/Fritz one that's insulated.

The price point of the mini melters is quite a bit cheaper but they don't do quite the same job but never the less good bits of kit.

https://www.modernbeekeeping.co.uk/wax-melting/insulated-cappings-and-wax-melter

 

[frankenstine]

The Abelo Premium Melliflow is £2995 and the Swienty Api Melter £3480. What do you reckon are the technical advantages gained from spending an extra £485?

looks like the £485 gets you an extra heating eliment and thermostat in the lid

 

[ericbeaumont]

looks like the £485 gets you an extra heating eliment and thermostat in the lid

That can't be it because both have a heated lid and thermostat.

I bought a basic Abelo Melliflow when it came out (before I knew they were going to produce an insulated version) and it has bottom and top (fan) heater and individual thermostats.

 

[local_beekeeper]

looks like the £485 gets you an extra heating eliment and thermostat in the lid

Stand with frame holder not included +£260

 

[CaptainCymru]

https://cornishhoney.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=462
I'm hoping to pick up one of these, would this not suit you ? It's cheap enough .