Honey from the hive to the jar

[VEG]

Ok i know how to get the honey out of the comb but what needs to be done to it after. How do you get it into the jars. Without it over filling?
As i have no experience whatsoever in this part of beekeeping what is your way of doing it?

 

[grizzly]

Hi Veg
The extractor itself and also any containers usually come with a valve, this enables you to open fully or partially to control the flow of honey into your filters and into jars. i dont have any fancy tools i just keep an eye on the flow and adjust the valve accordingly.

I am sure those with years of practice could enlighten us both.

 

[VEG]

So is it possible to extract, strain and jar? or do you extract it all first into suitable vessel then strain then jar?

I have only just started thinking about how its done as i have bought an extractor.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

You can do both, but it might be down to the type of honey or what you want to do with it. (private use/ freinds/ family or market stall / shop)

I generaly extract and then jar of X months later. This allows for good settling and also to bring the honey back from a solid state in a controled manner thus extending its liquid state.

Also you can blend honeys and cream.

But yes you can just as equaly jar off directly from the extractor bee legs and all.

 

[Poly Hive]

This is a major one.

What are you bottling for? Own use? Sale?

I certainly would not advise extracting straining and bottling in one move.

PH

 

[VEG]

For sale and own use

 

[grizzly]

i can only say what i did last year, others may do it differently (probably).
I drained the honey from the extractor through a mesh filter into a holding container, where i allowed it to settle, and then again with two further filters set up to remove any missed bits i transferred into jars.

I guess its down to the individual how many times you filter, im sure some may go from extractor to filter to jar, but last year i didnt have much honey to practice with, only 18lb.

 

[Polyanwood]

I thought the honey buckets with the taps on were great. (extract, sieve, let settle, skim then turn on the tap to jar. Some people use plastic bags inside honey buckets without taps, then transfer to one with a tap. This saves mess.

 

[VEG]

When you put the honey into the jars do you weigh them all or just get one right and work from that?

 

[Polyanwood]

Get one right mark it and do the others the same.....although as I write it down it sounds too simple... I must be doing something wrong.

 

[VEG]

Most books you buy cover looking after the bees but dont mention how the extraction process works. Had no worry of any honey last year (got my nuc late in season) i hadnt thought much about it how its done until i bought an extractor it got me thinking.

 

[Polyanwood]

fingers crossed for this year. You should start thinking about jars and labels too. Exciting.

 

[MJBee]

I extract then strain through 2 filters, 1 coarse then 1 fine, into a 5 gallon poly home brew container to which I have fitted a honey tap. Leave for at least 24 hours in a warm place to let the air bubbles out. Over here most honey is sold in 500g or 1kg plastic pots. I "bottle" all the honey to approximate weight then adjust to exact weight by adding or subtracting using a teaspoon.
MARITAL GUIDANCE:- Lots of cardboard to cover ALL the kitchen floor ( newspaper sticks to your feet and moves too easilly) saves a lot of grief and hands and knees work scraping propolis
Mike

 

[Roy S]

Hmmmm thats good advice....isnt it amazing how far just a couple of drops of honey can travel around a kitchen/house when you start extracting and bottling? I remember dropping a small bucket of honey once...lets not go there though, it still makes me cringe even now.

 

[victor meldrew]

A beekeeping friend of mine (alas now in the big apiary in the sky), left his wife filtering some honey whilst he went to work. She (being a woman with a house to run) forgot to check on the operation until the inevitable happened and the receptical over flowed .. She quickly cleaned up the spillage and thought "he'll never know if I don't tell him".
On returning from work ,he asked" Just how much honey did you spill then?)
"Spill ?"-- "Yes SPILL" . "How did you know I spilled any honey?".
"SIMPLE" said he " The BL**DY DUST BIN'S FULL OF BEES"

John

 

[VEG]

lol