Konigin steam wax melter/centrifuge

[maddydog]

Anyone got information/experience they'd like to share of the equipment in the title?

Thanks

 

[Beefriendly]

It is a very expensive steam wax melter that will only spin capping's....not frames from the description.

 

[ericbeaumont]

It sets out to do two jobs and may do them well and faster than the Abelo heated uncapping tank I have, but steam is a messy factor I can do without.

Even a quick look at Thorne shows that a fan-assisted thermostatic cappings melter and honey liquifier is only £1330, without all the palaver of steam and motors. Some of the Swienty or Thomas gear is far pricier.

What about a cappings screw? Recovers nearly all the honey without heating and dry wax comes out of the end. Most of these machines have plastic screws, which are not as good as the stainless steel screw of the Konign. Having said that, I saw their machinery at BeeTradex and the finish was a bit rough; not saying it doesn't work properly - because I don't know - just less finished. Thorne seem to have given up making extractors and stock Konign and I don't think they'd do that if the product wasn't up to scratch. Logar, by comparison, were superb quality, although they don't make cappings equipment...

Might be worth slipping across the border and paying a visit to Old Castle Farm Hives.

 

[nantmoel]

Anyone got information/experience they'd like to share of the equipment in the title?

Thanks

My mate has one - it does spin frames, very impressed with it. The frames come out so clean and of course sterile.

 

[Poly Hive]

Maddydog?

Back in the day I was running a similar number of colonies and I uncapped deeply to the top and bottom bars of Manleys. That of course produced a considerable amount of honey in the cappings.

I warmed it up, and ran it through a domestic spin drier using 400 micron mesh.

That gave clean honey and dry wax for virtually no input apart from buying the mesh as the spinner was a gift from Mobus to me. PM me and I'll give you a you tube link so you can see it working.

KISS

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

My mate has one - it does spin frames, very impressed with it. The frames come out so clean and of course sterile.

Since when has steam at 100 degrees Celsius fully sterilised anything?

Yes, it will get many pathogens but won’t leave it fully ‘sterile’.

So don’t go giving other beeks the idea about that - there is far too much disinformation out there, being lapped up by the unknowing, without adding more.

 

[Beefriendly]

My mate has one - it does spin frames, very impressed with it. .

As in extracting honey from frames aka a normal honey centrifuge?
I think not.

 

[nantmoel]

As in extracting honey from frames aka a normal honey centrifuge?
I think not.

Its the Konigin steam spinner, the post asked if anyone had used one, I have seen my mates working, you put all you frames you want to melt the wax out of in the machine, it heats up with steam and then spins the round (centrifuge), all the wax get 'thrown' off the frames to the outside, very effective it is to.

I NEVER once said if was a honey extractor! Its purely for cleaning up frames more efficiently..

 

[maddydog]

Thanks all.

Good to hear experience of one in the flesh. I've bought old castle hives last one and I'm picking it up from Harper Adams later. Appears to be cheaper than Thorne's and a larger model.

Thanks for the offer PH. I've seen your video and have looked at buying a spinner but TBH purchases just come off the tax bill.

I keep hearing mixed reviews about the wax screws. Some people love them and others say they leave too many bits in the honey. One for sale recently in beefarmer that was only a year old which makes you wonder..... I did hear of one where a bolt came loose and dropped in the mechanism, eek.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I keep hearing mixed reviews about the wax screws. Some people love them and others say they leave too many bits in the honey. One for sale recently in beefarmer that was only a year old which makes you wonder..... I did hear of one where a bolt came loose and dropped in the mechanism, eek.

Find them perfect for ordinary honey/comb/cappings but not very good for heather, so use a spinner/centrifuge for that, one bought via Swienty.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=38126

 

[maddydog]

First use of the spinner this week and I'm not impressed. Maybe it's because of the dreaded osr but having warmed the cappings up to 40c and spinning, very little (cloudy) honey has appeared and I'm left with a large amount of honey and wax with the weight and consistency of modelling clay. I've got another batch in the apimelter at 40c so I can do a direct comparison.