Late rape honey extraction

[Mr greenwood]

Due to leaving new queens to get going, work, social life and weather I haven't been able to keep on top of things. Just managed to check supers in readiness for extraction and some are starting to set in the frames. How well do they spin out? I am aiming to do it on tues/wed as it is supposed to be warm? If I have to scrape back to the mid-rib how do you separate the wax and set honey without heating? Is it just a case of leaving it in a warm place to separate by settlement and then filtering. Thanks in advance.

 

[enrico]

If you scrape it you will have to heat it to separate it. If you are going to get OSR every year get hold of a broken chest freezer big enough to take a super. Put two 60 w old style bulbs in it. Put super inside and this helps to keep it liquid without melting wax
E

 

[plumberman]

If you scrape it you will have to heat it to separate it. If you are going to get OSR every year get hold of a broken chest freezer big enough to take a super. Put two 60 w old style bulbs in it. Put super inside and this helps to keep it liquid without melting wax
E

If you do this, be VERY careful with placement of bulbs- there will still be considerable higher temperatures in the vicinity of the bulbs. Result of getting it wrong- one of the worst messes you will ever come across.

I've been there........

 

[drex]

In my large upright fridge warming cabinet, which is big enough to take 4 30 lb(?) honey buckets, I find that I have to turn a dimmer switch down to keep one 60 W bulb from getting to over 50 deg C.

I have a thin sheet of aluminium ( from the insides of an old chest freezer) over the bulb to dissipate the heat.

 

[enrico]

In my large upright fridge warming cabinet, which is big enough to take 4 30 lb(?) honey buckets, I find that I have to turn a dimmer switch down to keep one 60 W bulb from getting to over 50 deg C.

I have a thin sheet of aluminium ( from the insides of an old chest freezer) over the bulb to dissipate the heat.

Fair comments by both of you.......thanks
E

 

[Poly Hive]

Having gone to the bother of making a warming cabinet would it not be an idea to include a thermostat? Saves the hard won honey ye ken?

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

How well do they spin out?

Could be interesting. Might be more 'blown' frames than usual if doing them radially.

 

[masterBK]

Using chest freezer for warming cabinet I suggest not only incorporating a thermostat but also a fan (240 volt computer fan from maplins) to prevent hotspots . Instead of light bulbs (the surface of which gets very hot) suggest the alternative of a 120 W tubular heater (the surface of which never gets above 100 C) £17 from Amazon but will outlast dozens of incandescent lightbulbs (which will soon be unavailable anyway)

 

[Skyhook]

I haven't got a cabinet big enough- I was thinking of just stacking the supers, empty super underneath to make space for the heat source, board on top. Anyone see any problems with that?

 

[VEG]

depends on how many you want to stack up as the heat rises there will be quite a difference in temps from the bottom super to the top one

 

[Finman]

.
You will se how it comes out. No one knows.


But if some of frames are crystallised DON'T BRAKE OR MELT YOUR COMBS!

There are ways to get honey

1. Swarms. Give to the swarm 3-4 frames of crystallizes uncapped honey frames and the rest foundations. After a week honey is gone and there are brood in those frames and foundations have been drawn.


2. Put couple of crystallized uncapped frames between brood frames. Bees suck the honey and clean them for brood.

Don't put thise during flow because bees cap honey at once.

3. Give a uncapped box of CR. honey on the top of hive. Bees lick part of it. Then spray water on crystalls. Next day the honey is almost melted.

Do these jobs in the evening that robbers do not join to party.

I have handled hundreds of kilos this way.


If honey is totally crystallized, you may uncapp the comb with strong spray of garden hose

 

[itma]

Using chest freezer for warming cabinet I suggest not only incorporating a thermostat but also a fan (240 volt computer fan from maplins) to prevent hotspots . Instead of light bulbs (the surface of which gets very hot) suggest the alternative of a 120 W tubular heater (the surface of which never gets above 100 C) £17 from Amazon but will outlast dozens of incandescent lightbulbs (which will soon be unavailable anyway)

Its a better idea to use low voltage (5 or 12v DC) fans powered through an appropriate old power-brick, wall-wart or charger. Much safer.

And for heater units have a look at those intended for reptile terrariums. Safer and working at a more appropriate temperature.

Last elfin safety suggestion - use an RCD protective circuit breaker on all 'homebrew' electrical projects. Dead cheap way of not being dead.

 

[Skyhook]

Picking up on Finmans idea of letting the bees deal with it- what would be the likely outcome of putting a super of uncapped/decapped crystallized OSR UNDER the brood box? Would they move the honey up, and in doing so re-process it?

.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Right now any of my colonies that seems a little short on stores are getting back supers containing any of the frames with crystallised OSR in them. So far the bees seem very happy to clean them for me!

 

[Finman]

Picking up on Finmans idea of letting the bees deal with it- what would be the likely outcome of putting a super of uncapped/decapped crystallized OSR UNDER the brood box? Would they move the honey up, and in doing so re-process it?

.

What ever they do with it, it will vanish from there.

 

[Finman]

.
Just now I will give to the false swarms 4 crystallized honey frames and 5 foundations and one brood frame.
After a week they have cleaned the combs.

When bees move stores to another place, they consume 25% of it to moving processing.

Weather is cool and they do not get much honey from nature.
In this case they use most to the wax making.

 

[enrico]

For some reason when bees redigest rape honey to move it, it never seems to set as hard the second time....... Don't know why but can be useful

 

[adrian wilford]

if you leave the supers in the car that could be warm enough or even the greenhouse.

 

[ginny]

I have just taken off some OSR honey & put it in a 2 gallon plastic bin. If I leave it for a few weeks and it sets, am I OK putting the bin in an electric fan oven, up to a temperature of 50 degrees before filtering & bottling??

 

[Finman]

I have just taken off some OSR honey & put it in a 2 gallon plastic bin. If I leave it for a few weeks and it sets, am I OK putting the bin in an electric fan oven, up to a temperature of 50 degrees before filtering & bottling??

Don't do that..!

When you extract it, scheck when the colour start to change. When you take a droplet of hiney on your finger tip, you will see fine crystals in the honey. Stir it every day and keep it in cool. It hardens in few days.

When honey is stiff, put the bin into 50 C water bath and let it soften there 4 hours. Then it is ready to bottling. Mix it but do not stir air bubbles into honey. When finished, put jars into cold place about 15C-10C

I am sure that you will be proud of your quality.