Moisture content

[LeaBees]

I say again, just because your honey is .... Damp...doesn't mean it ...will....ferment. it is luck of the draw. You just have to keep an eye on it!
I haven't done it but I believe you can heat it for a short time to a certain temperature to kill the yeasts and that also will stop fermentation.

Also known as pasteurisation I guess..

 

[AlanJ]

My honey was at nearly 21% this time, all from sealed comb. It was very humid when I did the extracting, so I did wonder how much of this moisture was being picked-up during the extraction process? (All the small droplets add-up to a big surface area)
With my very modest harvest of honey still in the setting tank and a convector heater keeping the room over 25C, a dehumidifier sorted-out the problem overnight.

 

[holmbee]

It is strange. My extracted frames are all 19.5 to 20.5 this year. Almost all capped. I have a few frames where patches of the comb have no nectar but the colony has capped all the remaining nectar. Normally I have fully capped frames with water at 18.5% never over 19%. One colony bursting with workers but still some frames with patches of uncapped nectar. Has been the same for over two weeks.

 

[MerryBee]

This article published in the "New Zealand beekeeper " is well worth a read. Nothing magic about 20%. That is just the legal limit in the UK.
Honey risks fermentation, according to this article and USDA , if it is over 17%. Whether it ferments depends not only on water content but also storage temperature, the amount of wild yeasts therin and whether or not it is crystallised.

 

[MerryBee]

I say again, just because your honey is .... Damp...doesn't mean it ...will....ferment. it is luck of the draw. Y

No not "luck".
Its just that there are more factors involved than just the moisture content

 

[Markthebuilder]

Most yeast cannot ferment grow at high sugar concentrations .ie were water content is less than 18% however some can and these are sometimes present in honey . But for fermentation to start there needs to be enough yeast present and the honey needs to be at a dutiable temp to grow. If you are really unlucky you theoretically coul have honey at 18% with lots of yeast naturally in it stored at an ideal warm temperature and it would start to ferment.
if this happens collect samples of fermenting yeast and sell to wine bear or cider producers
Same logic applies to why 1 :1 syrup can go moldy but 2:1 dosnt

 

[ericbeaumont]

honey that smells of fermentation which I ditched

Try selling it.

I get a bucket every so often and can't keep up with requests; some customers will buy only Bakers' honey - for eating, mind you. £18/kg, but even so they buy two or three at a time when they hear that it's in short supply. Reminds me of Hilary Briss and his Special Stuff.

 

[elainemary]

August has been particularly humid, even on dry days. Most days have been overcast here. I assume it has been more difficult for the bees to get the moisture down, especially as they are in a “humid atmosphere” box to begin with. For once ventilation at the top might have helped.

High humidity with warmth, is making perfect flow conditions too though, especially for heather flow. I did some refractometer readings from combs at the hives yesterday and don’t think they are any higher than similar time last year, a bit less. Mine were between 18-20 uncapped but difficult to judge as heather mixed in.

 

[enrico]

No not "luck".
Its just that there are more factors involved than just the moisture content

Yes, I understand that but we don't know if the other facts are present until it happens! Maybe I was too flippant!

 

[bobba]

The difference between the top and bottom of my settling tank can be scary! Today I had 16% at the bottom and 21% at the top. All frames were perfectly capped. I sell low percentage and keep the rest for myself. There is nothing wrong with it and only twice in 40 years have I had honey that smells of fermentation which I ditched. Don't worry to much!

Last year I had one super that had a distinctive alcoholic/fermenting smell as I extracted it, verified by wife. All frames were fully capped btw. Once in the buckets/jars it tasted/smelt ok.

I did not have a refractometer last year, but have one now. I tested a jar of this honey and water content was about 2-4% over max. All my other honey was ok water content wise. Although it was my highest water content honey it was still quite thick, and everyone that had some liked it. A year later the honey is still good, so I agree, whether or not honey will ferment, is not just about water content, there is an element of luck too. And you cannot assume fully capped honey will have good water content.

But I have all the tools ready this year, refractometer, hydrometer and dehumidifier. So I can be sure all water content will be ok.

It was the center on in my profile picture.

And if I had a full-on fermenting batch of honey, I would not throw it out, I would make mead.

 

[bobba]

My honey was at nearly 21% this time, all from sealed comb. It was very humid when I did the extracting, so I did wonder how much of this moisture was being picked-up during the extraction process? (All the small droplets add-up to a big surface area)
With my very modest harvest of honey still in the setting tank and a convector heater keeping the room over 25C, a dehumidifier sorted-out the problem overnight.

I wondered if my honey had sucked moisture out the air as I extracted. That is partly why I invested in a dehumidifier. The logic being I can run my dehumidifier while extracting, dehumidifiers chuck out a load of heat, so I figured I can heat my extraction room with my dehumidifier. It will probably cost about the same as running an electric heater alone, but keep the humidity down too.

 

[bignikki]

Last year i bought a couple of small dehumidifiers online, i think about £30 each.
I had such a small crop compared to usual that I wanted to harvest all the uncapped honey instead of giving it back to the bees.
I Put a dehumidifier in the middle of a stack of suppers. It worked a treat. They were stacked in a warm conservatory which I think helped the process along.

 

[deemann1]

Jumping in on tread
All my honey in buckets now is reading between 19% -20•5% moisture
Kind of panicking now 2000 lbs honey

 

[bobba]

Jumping in on tread
All my honey in buckets now is reading between 19% -20•5% moisture
Kind of panicking now 2000 lbs honey

2000 lbs honey - congrats.

I read that above 23% is the high fermentation risk point. So just prevent it from getting too hot and you should have time to resolve your issue.

You could place honey and dehumidifiers in a confined space, a small room or large tent perhaps, probably best to add a fan to keep the air moving.

Try to put it in containers that will maximize surface area, buckets rater than drums.

I think 1 of these should do it, or even the 12L one will probably be ok:

https://www.meacodehumidifiers.co.u... Litres - FREE 3 Year Warranty *5060216550121
I ran a 12L/Day humidifier in my extraction room this year, and it pulled about 20L of water out of the air in the 48h it took to extract. It pulled the humidity down from 70% and kept it at about 40%. I am glad I run it as my batches ranged from 16-19% (rounding up) this year.

 

[Patrick1]

I only get small crops but keep it in sealed plastic tubs, tight fitting lids seems to be the answer for me. Honey defiantly extracts moisture from the atmosphere, I have honey in jars from my first year that is still looking good just a bit darker than I remembered.

 

[Anduril]

I only get small crops but keep it in sealed plastic tubs, tight fitting lids seems to be the answer for me. Honey defiantly extracts moisture from the atmosphere, I have honey in jars from my first year that is still looking good just a bit darker than I remembered.

Last year I finished a jar from the 1980's, it was darker and mellower in flavour and showing 16% water content.

 

[Rosti]

As with Anduril's comments. You can use either liquid paraffin or Full filtered EV Olive Oil to calibrate a prime scale 10-20% moisture refractometer. I would suggest that EVO is preferred because liquid paraffin can contain small quantities of paraffin wax (solidifies below 37'C) and variably affects it's refraction properties (for this reason I have never used LP as a reference medium for a % moisture equivalency). Don't use unfiltered EVO. Well filtered EVO will tend to >=71%, less pure EVO will tend up to about 71.5% with a max at 72%. If the following helps? I retired this refractometer basics video sometime ago. I have just made it live on YouTube again. Go to 5m 15s for calibration.

 

[Buzzlodge]

As with Anduril's comments. You can use either liquid paraffin or Full filtered EV Olive Oil to calibrate a prime scale 10-20% moisture refractometer. I would suggest that EVO is preferred because liquid paraffin can contain small quantities of paraffin wax (solidifies below 37'C) and variably affects it's refraction properties (for this reason I have never used LP as a reference medium for a % moisture equivalency). Don't use unfiltered EVO. Well filtered EVO will tend to >=71%, less pure EVO will tend up to about 71.5% with a max at 72%. If the following helps? I retired this refractometer basics video sometime ago. I have just made it live on YouTube again. Go to 5m 15s for calibration.

I think you confuse Brix and moisture %.

Its 71.5 degrees Brix or 27% moisture for Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

 

[BigAshW]

Just tested my harvest. Top of the settling tank was just under 20% and the bottom of the tank was just under 19%.

Guess I need to get a dehumidifier now even though the girls had capped it all.

 

[Moobee]

It is strange. My extracted frames are all 19.5 to 20.5 this year. Almost all capped. I have a few frames where patches of the comb have no nectar but the colony has capped all the remaining nectar. Normally I have fully capped frames with water at 18.5% never over 19%. One colony bursting with workers but still some frames with patches of uncapped nectar. Has been the same for over two weeks.

Likewise. Last year all my honey was at 16-17%, this year lucky to get it much under 19.5%