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- Feb 8, 2019
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Jbm also extracts with vodka....bur doesn't work on all vappings
Jbm also extracts with vodka....bur doesn't work on all vappings
no, you mistook what I said - I extract whilst drinking malt whiskyJbm also extracts with vodka....
A heated uncapping knife if you want cappings or a hot air gun if you don't want to mess around with cappings. You need a large tray and a piece of wood with a nail through the middle that you fasten to one end of the tray. You can put the end of your top bar on the point of the nail and uncap with either of the two methods. The cappings will fall into the tray. Not quite that easy but can post a photo if that will help!
As in this thread
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threa...ing-a-hot-air-gun-for-those-interested.51212/
I bought three trays of 33.....99 in total 280ml/12oz hexagonal jars with lids.....Ā£19.01 per 33 jars ...free shipping over Ā£50 I think.Any ideas on the best place to get jars and lids from?
I got stung on delivery charges last season (my first!).
No pun intendedā¦.
No, no. You chose well. They're a good company.Freeman and Harding the company was called...just some internet company..
I have used two types of heat guns, a paint stripper which was a bit too hot so you had to be careful but the one I use now is one designed for heating coverings on model air planes. It has two settings and I use it on the hot one. There are probably ones designed for honey but as long as it melts the cappings it doesn't really matter. A hair dryer won't do it! It helps to have a directive tube on the end to narrow the hot air blast.Really good video Enrico, a follow up question (or two or three!) to that if you donāt mind. What temperature do you set the heat gun at and how far away do you hold it from the frame? Are the bees happy enough to reuse the comb then after the heat gun has been used on them? I also saw some commentary on another site about this method being fine for dry cappings but not on wet cappings as they melt on top of the honey and can cause issues? Is that something youāve experienced? Also, Iām not sure of the difference between wet cappings and dry cappings. One for Google!
I have a Bosch 3 setting heat gun set to highest setting about 500C. Melts cappings in path in under 1 second - wax spatter so cardboard on surface essential to save cleaning. Yes: cappings with no air gap (dark wax vs white) melt and then reseal - I used uncapping spines to pierce those just before I insert into extractor - or they ooze honey.Really good video Enrico, a follow up question (or two or three!) to that if you donāt mind. What temperature do you set the heat gun at and how far away do you hold it from the frame? Are the bees happy enough to reuse the comb then after the heat gun has been used on them? I also saw some commentary on another site about this method being fine for dry cappings but not on wet cappings as they melt on top of the honey and can cause issues? Is that something youāve experienced? Also, Iām not sure of the difference between wet cappings and dry cappings. One for Google!
What is better is a few square metres of vinyl flooring ... I picked up an end of roll - ghastly colour - 5m x 2m piece for Ā£10 from the local carpet shop - covers virtually the whole kitchen floor - no wrinkles like you get with a tarp - lays flat and cleans up with a mop and bucket or a hose down in the garden. Rolls up for next year .... as long as the shed fairies have not spirited it away to the garage like they did last year when it took me an hour to find it !One of the best things I ever bought for extraction after years of messing around with newspapers etc was a dirt cheap polypropylene tarpaulin of the right size to cover the floor in my kitchen completely. Then put the extractor, buckets and the table and supers on top of it so it doesn't budge. Any drips and leaks are contained. Have a sheet of cardboard or newspaper on the tarp at the door to leave your shoes behind when you go to the loo etc so all the sticky stuff gets left behind. Change this occasionally. When finished oll the tarpaulin up and rinse cycle 3 times in the washing machine does the trick. On to the line to dry, fold it up and put it into the cleaned out extractor until next year when you will have forgotten where you put it..... Seriously though this is a real boon especially with the kitchen goddess!!
Did you make the sieve?One of these for draining the cappings .... and a tray like this for uncapping.
There's nothing like your first honey! Keep a jar, label it and don't eat it. I have a jar kept back from every year plus the odd exceptional event.This is my first year keeping bees and I extracted a couple of weeks ago.
Now that is a useful place to work!I got jars from where I work, staff discount, 72 half pound jars and 48 quarter pound jars (something like 220grams and 100 grams in modern parlance).
As I am not planning on selling them this year, just gifting to friends and family, I will get the very nice ladies at work to print some labels for me.
But don't do what I did and roll it up before you clean it. The propolis transfers to the underneath and next time you use it........ Say no more......What is better is a few square metres of vinyl flooring ... I picked up an end of roll - ghastly colour - 5m x 2m piece for Ā£10 from the local carpet shop - covers virtually the whole kitchen floor - no wrinkles like you get with a tarp - lays flat and cleans up with a mop and bucket or a hose down in the garden. Rolls up for next year .... as long as the shed fairies have not spirited it away to the garage like they did last year when it took me an hour to find it !
You are melting a fraction of a millimeter and they don't really melt, they just sort of pop open. It is on each cell for a fraction of a second. The wax melts long before any heat gets transferred to the honey. The only thing to really watch out for is and partly filled cells as they will melt back to the honey level if you leave the gun on them. Once you are used to using it it is so quick and easy.Question on using heat guns to melt wax.
Does the wax then remain in the honey, if so, will this not solidify slowly?
Does the heat affect the properties of the honey in any way?
Did you make the sieve?
The cappings seive is just a bucket with the bottom cut out and some mesh inserted in place iof it. The stainless steel bolts allow it to be suspended over a similar bucket. I chuck the cappings in and overnight any honey remaining drains out. A couple of washes of the cappings after they have drained - I use the bucket seive again to let them dry .. and they are ready for rendering down.Did you make the sieve?
Yes ... wise words ... I give mine a good mop before I take it up and then take it outside and give it a hose down before drying it on the washing line. Rolls up tightly with a hive strap round it until the next year. As I keep it in the shed I put a bit of pallet wrap around it to keep the critters out.... Just so much easier than newspaper/cardboard/tarps ... I tried them all - usually resulting in some level of marital stress ...But don't do what I did and roll it up before you clean it. The propolis transfers to the underneath and next time you use it........ Say no more......
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