Honey will not liquefy

[drex]

My summer honey has set in buckets, with large crystals. I intend to seed it for some soft set. My warming cabinet is good and reliable. I have taken it up to 45C, given it time for honey to reach that temp, stirred like mad with my drill driven stirrer, but still crystals remain. Reluctant to take temp any higher. Any suggestions?

 

[Tom Bick]

How long have you left the honey at 45c most people seem to talk about upto 48 hours.

 

[Arfermo]

I take mine a little higher - 49C or so in hwmbo's thermo oven. All night and more sometimes.

 

[oliver90owner]

Agree with arfermo, but 48 is about my maximum. How reliable is your cabinet temp? Taking the temp of the honey with a reliable measuring stick might be revealing. Air warming honey buckets is not that efficient as heat transfer is slow when the delta-T is fairly large, let alone for that last couple of degrees.

RAB

 

[itma]

Ditto most of the above.

Is your temperature sensor alongside the bucket, or above it? Is there a fan in there? Is the bucket sitting on a metal stand?
What temperature have you measured in the middle of the bucket?
And what water content are you reading on the refractometer? (Any crystals would make the mother liquor more dilute …)

Giving it 48 hours on a heat conductive base in moving air at 45C, with a small stir every 8 hours or so, ought to get the whole bucket's contents up to almost 45C and thus do the trick.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Any suggestions?

Get a water jacketed thermostatically controlled tank with electric mixer, set at 42/46c, turn mixer on when the honey starts to soften, and it will be all liquid in about an hour and a half. You could do a similar operation using just an open water boiler to place your bucket of honey into, a thermometer, and stir frequently for a couple of hours.

 

[itma]

Yes, a 45C tea-urn that will take your bucket will give much faster heat transfer to the honey, resulting in the honey heating (and thus liquifying) faster.

 

[oliver90owner]

As posted n times previously - the li*ljam maker fits the bill fairly well for most 10l buckets.

 

[itma]

As posted n times previously - the li*ljam maker fits the bill fairly well for most 10l buckets.

Yes, but some us don't want to look as though we are taunting those that missed out when Lidls were offering them.
They fetch much more now on eBay than Lidl were ever selling them for!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=silver+crest+jam+maker&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc

 

[drex]

Yes, I have a fan in the cabinet, and the sensor is by side of bucket. I usually stir it up (drill driven) for 5 mins a few times in the day. The temp in centre of bucket shows 50C. No metal stand and not tested water content. As it got up to temp I only left for 24 hours. Will leave for full 48, and stir it more. Many thanks. Do not want too much HMF created.

 

[dpearce4]

if its not lots of crystals maybe you could strain them off and turn them into something like this?

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pure-maple-candy/

 

[itma]

As posted n times previously - the li*ljam maker fits the bill fairly well for most 10l buckets.

Yes, but some us don't want to look as though we are taunting those that missed out when Lidls were offering them.
They fetch much more now on eBay than Lidl were ever selling them for!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=silver+crest+jam+maker&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc

But someone in Hampshire or West Sussex got a 'bargin'
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-...llApp_RL&hash=item2c912b6c5c&autorefresh=true

 

[user 6228]

crystallization and the solution of solid takes time... its not a phase change in a pure solid its not just about temperature.

 

[Tom Bick]

But someone in Hampshire or West Sussex got a 'bargin'
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electric-...llApp_RL&hash=item2c912b6c5c&autorefresh=true

No such bargain for me as I have just splashed out £49 on one

 

[Hivemaker.]

These Burco boilers are quite good, although not as robust as the old ones.

https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/...-cymfct1030/?gclid=CN6ioYHukcICFSbHtAod9HoAmQ

 

[oliver90owner]

These Burco boilers are quite good, although not as robust as the old ones.

They claim 'variable thermostat' but it still appears to be a 'simmerstat'! Can you confirm that it really is a thermostat as there is a subtle difference between the two.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I really am not sure what nectar your bees collected! Even my Spring honey that sets like concrete in the 30lb buckets is brought back to almost liquid after a couple of days in my warming cabinet.

I normally use only 36-38 degs C and only increase to 41-42 C max to help sometimes.

 

[Arfermo]

These Burco boilers are quite good, although not as robust as the old ones. https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/...-cymfct1030/?gclid=CN6ioYHukcICFSbHtAod9HoAmQ

Got one for nothing from the local Freecycle/Freegle website, but passed it on to a fellow BKA member for nothing who also wants to boil frames as wash-boiler type are like hens teeth these days. Bit of cleaning of the calcification and all is fine and dandy. Actually I also got a Burco Washboiler from the same source 6 years ago. I use the latter for boiling frames as well as filtering wax by modifying the Burco a little - principally by removing the rim where the removable lid sits (newer ones than mine have a hinged lid I think which could be less convenient). The difference between the tea urn type and the wash-boiler is that the former has the heating element inside whereas the wash-boiler element is hidden under the base of the water container with four-way switches according to water temperature required.

 

[drex]

I really am not sure what nectar your bees collected! Even my Spring honey that sets like concrete in the 30lb buckets is brought back to almost liquid after a couple of days in my warming cabinet.

I normally use only 36-38 degs C and only increase to 41-42 C max to help sometimes.

I have no problem with the OSR honey. This stuff is really dark, with large crystals. Evetually cleared with 45 degrees for 60 hours, plus lots of stirring. Has already started on setting to a lovely soft set. Tastes delicious, very deep flavour.

 

[busybee53]

Hivemaker; (or anyone else who knows) You mention using a water boiler. I have one with a thermostat and planned to use it to bring partly crystalised honey back to fully liquid state. But will steam/water somehow get into the sealed bucket and increase the water content of the honey? Have not got a refractometer to check.

I have not done this before and thought I would remove and unseal the bucket every 4 or 5 hours to check progress. Does this seem right and will I have to get up in the night?