Honey set in Bucket - options please

[Niv]

Hi All,
I am looking for options on what to do with a bucket of honey I have that has set. My first thought was maybe I should make soft set with this batch. Does that sound like the best idea?

If so, can anyone link / give a simple guide to making it. I am a hobbyist and do not have a set up for making soft set so I am looking for a small scale one off type solution. Do I need to make my seed honey or do people tend to buy something in?

Thanks,

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

just warm it up - it will return to liquid

 

[Niv]

just warm it up - it will return to liquid

Is it ok to put the bucket in a tub of recently boiled water? Or is that too hot?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

that would be fine - but ideally you want a lower but longer heat to melt it

 

[pargyle]

Hi All,
I am looking for options on what to do with a bucket of honey I have that has set. My first thought was maybe I should make soft set with this batch. Does that sound like the best idea?

If so, can anyone link / give a simple guide to making it. I am a hobbyist and do not have a set up for making soft set so I am looking for a small scale one off type solution. Do I need to make my seed honey or do people tend to buy something in?

Thanks,

What size bucket is it ? 30lbs will take about 8 to 12 hours surrounded by water at 40 degrees to fully return to liquid.

I use one of these ... takes 30lb bucket (square or round) and maintains the temperature thermostatically.

Without one you may have to improvise .. airing cupboard, oven on very low, insulated box with a tube heater ? Lots of options but if it's a big tub it's going to take many many bowls of boiling water to solve the problem.

 

[Beener]

What size bucket is it ? 30lbs will take about 8 to 12 hours surrounded by water at 40 degrees to fully return to liquid.

I use one of these ... takes 30lb bucket (square or round) and maintains the temperature thermostatically.

Without one you may have to improvise .. airing cupboard, oven on very low, insulated box with a tube heater ? Lots of options but if it's a big tub it's going to take many many bowls of boiling water to solve the problem.

Hi, what is the name, capacity, price of the heater you pictured please?

 

[hemo]

A lot of us will use a warming cabinet or an old fridge or freezer converted into a warming cabinet with a digital thermostat and tube heater/s . These are set to a max target temperature and left for upto 24/48 hours to warm/melt the honey.

 

[hemo]

Any type /variation of a warming cabinet is a vital piece of kit even if one only has one or two hives, not only handy for buckets but also jars. There comes a time when one will need to store excess honey.

 

[Garry R]

What size bucket is it ? 30lbs will take about 8 to 12 hours surrounded by water at 40 degrees to fully return to liquid.

I use one of these ... takes 30lb bucket (square or round) and maintains the temperature thermostatically.

Without one you may have to improvise .. airing cupboard, oven on very low, insulated box with a tube heater ? Lots of options but if it's a big tub it's going to take many many bowls of boiling water to solve the problem.

The boiling water idea is really a non-starter for that quantity (30lbs) in a bucket. I use an old silvercrest jam maker (Lidl sell them) I picked it up for about £10 at a car boot as the thermostat was knackered and would only go to 100C. Great for syrup making but I linked it to an inkbird rhermostat with great temperature control. 30lbs will liquify overnight at about 43C. Remember to put the grid at the bottom when doing it though!!

 

[Vanterrier]

Like this one???

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27618358...m_5H1q0RYO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
K

 

[pargyle]

Like this one???

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/27618358...m_5H1q0RYO&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
K

That's the one but I find that you can pick them up for a lot less if you keep your eyes open - I now have two (one for warming honey and one I'm going to use as a bain marie for wax (I know - I could use the same one, but wax gets everywhere and as soon as anything remotely waxy gets near the kitchen I get earache). The second one I found in Gumtree and with post cost me £18 .. Although £25 appears to be about the going rate. They are very popular with the home brewers so you have to watch and get in quick. They used to come up regularly in the autumn in Lidl but I've not see them for a couple of years. The problem may be that they are advertised as jam makers - and they are absolutely useless for this as they won't reach jam setting temperature .. they are more suited for what is called 'canning' in the USA.

 

[pargyle]

Hi All,
I am looking for options on what to do with a bucket of honey I have that has set. My first thought was maybe I should make soft set with this batch. Does that sound like the best idea?

If so, can anyone link / give a simple guide to making it. I am a hobbyist and do not have a set up for making soft set so I am looking for a small scale one off type solution. Do I need to make my seed honey or do people tend to buy something in?

Thanks,

The alternative .. to the more permanent solutions ... Do you have a microwave ? Scoop the set honey out of the bucket into a microwaveable jug or bowl - set it on the lowest heat level (defrost works if you have that setting) and give it about 10 munutes - keep an eye on it as some microwaves are fiercer than other .. as it starts to liquify stir it. OK - you can only do about 3 or 4 lbs at a time in the average microwave but it's another solution - just a bit more labour intensive.

If you intend to keep bees and store honey, in all honesty, some mechanism for dealing with set honey is going to be essential kit - either a warming cablinet or a jam maker like I have. (I also have an old small fridge set up as a warming cabinet but I rarely use it these days - I jar up as I need it so the need to warm filled jars does not arise much\).

 

[pargyle]

Hi, what is the name, capacity, price of the heater you pictured please?

See the posts above - Silvercrest is the make (Lidl's sell them when they are available).

 

[Adrian Kelly]

If you look at Thornes web site, they have a thing that looks like a "kettle element" that you just stand in the solid honey and over night it will warm it back to "runny" honey. They cost just over £100 but I have been using one for years.
Best thing since sliced bread.

 

[pargyle]

If you look at Thornes web site, they have a thing that looks like a "kettle element" that you just stand in the solid honey and over night it will warm it back to "runny" honey. They cost just over £100 but I have been using one for years.
Best thing since sliced bread.

https://www.thorne.co.uk/processing...-warming-processing/mini-honey-liquefier.html
Interesting but for versatilty I'd go with the Silvercrest Jam maker - however, if size was a problem it looks quite small to store ... chunk of money though !

 

[Niv]

Thanks for the feedback and options offered. It is a 30lb bucket.

I have been keeping bees since 2017 and this is the first time I have had this issue. Normally I jar it up fairly promptly after extraction but this year I have had some personal issues that has delayed me.

The jam maker looks like the smallest space hog so that may win out!

 

[RJC]

If you haven't got a lot to do why not just use a domestic oven? That's how I liquify mine, set on a very low temperature (use an oven thermometer to check). Mine will take a 30lb bucket easily, and at 40C the plastic doesn't melt! Depending on the honey type, mine is ready for jarring after 5 hours of so, after a stir mid way. BTW mine's electric. Not sure if a gas flame might cause a hot spot on a plastic bucket...

 

[Niv]

Yes I do have an electric oven, so that could work. It does sound like those silvercrest jam makers are a popular choice too, so will keep an eye out for one of those.

 

[enrico]

Yes I do have an electric oven, so that could work. It does sound like those silvercrest jam makers are a popular choice too, so will keep an eye out for one of those.

I got mine from liddle in Bridgewater on an offer. You have to keep your eyes open for them on offer and go first thing before they sell out

 

[Niv]

I got mine from liddle in Bridgewater on an offer. You have to keep your eyes open for them on offer and go first thing before they sell out

That's where we do the weekly shop so that should give us a chance... also, as a local... how did you let that typo get through haha