Need help with honey tubs

[Gilberdyke John]

The gates are usually fitted with white silicone O rings which always always leak .
Peel them out, measure the internal diameter and cord size, and order a little bag of nitrile ones off ebay.They work out at pennies each and do the job properly.
No leaks no transfering View attachment 37411View attachment 37412

I use the more substantial plastic gate valves from Thorne's. Cut an accurate hole in the bucket and apply food grade silicon seal to the flange of the valve (not the threads) and tighten down. Wipe the excess with a wetted finger to tidy up the job. It helps if you've practiced sealing around a window frame or kitchen worktop
https://www.thorne.co.uk/processing...kvyV3j0F5vyFy1LM6YB3fKZdrqj1Vyg4aAhliEALw_wcB

 

[enrico]

Amazed that with all your experience you haven't done this before! The lids just come off with a simple lift under the flap where the slot is. I have a few buckets with gates that I can decant into as needed. The plastic gates are available at low cost and can be fitted easily.

There is nothing wrong with silcone O-rings in fact they are perfect and don't leak and softer and better than other rubber, You just need to keep the gate bolts tight enough as they will loosen as you open and close the gate.

You can buy useful food grade silcone spatulas everywhere these days, not just from bee stores; see here. Every kitchen should have them!

Just because I have experience doesn't mean I have hundreds of hives. I have never used tubs before and always jarred everything. I could never see the point of adding another job and jars are easy to store and use when needed. If it was as easy as the lids coming off easily where the slot is do you think I would have mentioned it. It was really difficult. But I will try heating the lids in future. I have silicone spatulas, not a problem with those.

 

[robmort]

Ok but even with only a few hives, jarring straight away often means the honey crystallises before you can sell/use it especially early in the season. In buckets you can then more easily remelt it and/or make soft set.

 

[enrico]

Ok but even with only a few hives, jarring straight away often means the honey crystallises before you can sell/use it especially early in the season. In buckets you can then more easily remelt it and/or make soft set.

That is how I sell my honey. In its natural state, I have never heated it. I explain the crystallisation process as natural and sell out within a couple of months. I don't make soft set. My honey is RAW , sold naturally straight from the hive.

 

[Murox]

Ok but even with only a few hives, jarring straight away often means the honey crystallises before you can sell/use it especially early in the season. In buckets you can then more easily remelt it and/or make soft set.

It all depends. I mostly do exactly what Enrico does, jar from the settling tank. I have samples from more than three ago that are perfectly liquid, no hint of crystallisation. My honey doesn't sit around for long at all, normally I sell it all through just one local shop. As it was a bumper spring crop I supplied a second "local" shop 15 miles away. I don't do soft set either and I cant produce enough to satisfy demand with the few hives I run in this neck of the woods.

 

[enrico]

It all depends. I mostly do exactly what Enrico does, jar from the settling tank. I have samples from more than three ago that are perfectly liquid, no hint of crystallisation. My honey doesn't sit around for long at all, normally I sell it all through just one local shop. As it was a bumper spring crop I supplied a second "local" shop 15 miles away. I don't do soft set either and I cant produce enough to satisfy demand with the few hives I run in this neck of the woods.

Thanks Murox, glad I am not the only hobby beekeeper here
The main reason I went to tubs this year was the price of jars. I am running a bit low and hoped the price might come down before I actually needed them.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Thanks Murox, glad I am not the only hobby beekeeper here
The main reason I went to tubs this year was the price of jars. I am running a bit low and hoped the price might come down before I actually needed them.

There was a guy near me who sold "loose" honey to villagers. They brought their own containers and he filled them from a bucket with a tap on a set of scales. He retired from beekeeping a while ago but that might be a way forward if glass prices kill the golden goose.

 

[Beegarden]

With a small tub it’s easy to tip the honey straight into a non drip jug like this one and jar from that

Me too, except I use this precision batter dispenser https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G5VGJPM?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_asin_title&th=1 though it appears to have increased in price by £5 since last year.

 

[robmort]

50% of my customers want soft set honey, and I, like others I know, don't like gritty crystallised honey. If you don't have any oil seed rape in the area then honey is more likely to stay liquid, but early honey here usually has some in and sets within a month or so.

 

[enrico]

Me too, except I use this precision batter dispenser https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07G5VGJPM?ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_asin_title&th=1 though it appears to have increased in price by £5 since last year.

Now that's a damn good idea, thanks

 

[enrico]

50% of my customers want soft set honey, and I, like others I know, don't like gritty crystallised honey. If you don't have any oil seed rape in the area then honey is more likely to stay liquid, but early honey here usually has some in and sets within a month or so.

We have a brassica called bargemans cabbage which grows along the rivers. It doesn't set as hard as osr but it does set to a nice fudge consistency. I guess it's how you sell your honey that makes the difference. Mine is 'unplayed' with but I am lucky not to have osr otherwise soft set might be the only option.

 

[Murox]

We have a brassica called bargemans cabbage which grows along the rivers. It doesn't set as hard as osr but it does set to a nice fudge consistency. I guess it's how you sell your honey that makes the difference. Mine is 'unplayed' with but I am lucky not to have osr otherwise soft set might be the only option.

No OSR hear either,

 

[Monbees]

I have always put my honey in jars straight from the settling tank but this year has been a bumper crop so I bought some 15lb tubs from thrones. Needed some more honey in jars today so I got out a tub.
First ....how do you get the lid off? I turned up the lip round the edge and in end had to resort to a screwdriver to get the lid off. It was a nightmare and took two of us. It didn't do the lid or the tub much good. Surely they are not single use things?
Secondly .... How do you pour the honey? I tried pouring straight into jars, that was a mistake. I have several other tubs to use and I am not looking forward to it.

I have exactly the same problem Enrico. 15lb honey tubs from Thornes bought because I had nowhere near enough jars. Now, having bought hex jars from Hobbycraft am having the devil of a job opening the tubs. Finally managed one well, son-in-law did with great difficulty, just another ten or so to go.

I am wondering, in future, whether painting a thin smear of something like vaseline along the rim might make lid removal easier. The vaseline would be a good three inches from the top of the honey, so no contamination?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

a thin smear of something like vaseline along the rim

I have nothing to say

 

[enrico]

I have exactly the same problem Enrico. 15lb honey tubs from Thornes bought because I had nowhere near enough jars. Now, having bought hex jars from Hobbycraft am having the devil of a job opening the tubs. Finally managed one well, son-in-law did with great difficulty, just another ten or so to go.

I am wondering, in future, whether painting a thin smear of something like vaseline along the rim might make lid removal easier. The vaseline would be a good three inches from the top of the honey, so no contamination?

Glad I am not the only one. You have to rip the total circumference of the anti tamper lip right off the whole of the lid and then I warmed it with a hot air gun. The second tub was as bad as the first but after heating it it did finally come off a little easier.

 

[peterbees]

These are useful for leaving the smaller bucket tipped up to let it drain into the receiving tapped bucket.
Honey Bucket Rack Bucket Holder
Simon

I bought two of these bucket rests. They didn't fit any of my settling tanks. I much prefer the stainless steel bucket rests I bought from Thorne many years ago.

 

[peterbees]

I have exactly the same problem Enrico. 15lb honey tubs from Thornes bought because I had nowhere near enough jars. Now, having bought hex jars from Hobbycraft am having the devil of a job opening the tubs. Finally managed one well, son-in-law did with great difficulty, just another ten or so to go.

I am wondering, in future, whether painting a thin smear of something like vaseline along the rim might make lid removal easier. The vaseline would be a good three inches from the top of the honey, so no contamination?

Try warming the lids with a heat gun on a low setting, and running a wide-blade screwdriver round under the edge of the lid.

 

[Sutty]

I bought two of these bucket rests. They didn't fit any of my settling tanks. I much prefer the stainless steel bucket rests I bought from Thorne many years ago.

I got a couple too but find the angle is such that my 10litre buckets will tip forward once nearly empty.

 

[Antipodes]

Glad I am not the only one. You have to rip the total circumference of the anti tamper lip right off the whole of the lid and then I warmed it with a hot air gun. The second tub was as bad as the first but after heating it it did finally come off a little easier.

I use one of these. Would that work on the Thorne's bucket? They work beautifully on the buckets we have here. It says it's made of steel but the one I use is plastic.

https://www.beekeepinggear.com.au/p...Oigja2sDCDMKXdsqc4-vhZWTibUL_7k8aAp1UEALw_wcB

 

[Anduril]

I use one of these. Would that work on the Thorne's bucket? They work beautifully on the buckets we have here. It says it's made of steel but the one I use is plastic.

https://www.beekeepinggear.com.au/p...Oigja2sDCDMKXdsqc4-vhZWTibUL_7k8aAp1UEALw_wcB

Yes it would work. Sold on Amazon as well for over a fiver.