Preparing honey - your advice

[psafloyd]

I hope to have a few supers to extract either next weekend or after my holiday and wanted to poll your views.

My mentor uses a large nylon net curtain to strain his honey and always has into a double bucket (one half inserted into another bucket holding the net).

I wasn't sure about using the same method, but wondered what people thought of the various strainers/sieves available or any other method I might consider.

I only have a few colonies, so am looking for a simple and elegant solution. I also have limited storage space, so do not wish to invest in lots of equipments such as a honey tank, etc, which I consider to be an extravagance for my requirements.

I already have a small plastic extractor courtesy of Mr Abeille, a good number of honey buckets of food grade also, but need something to intermediate.

Is it worth getting a honey tap and placing it on one of my buckets and if so, what is the best way to tackle such a job?

Thanks in advance.

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

Last year we just ran ours from the extractor, through seives of two different gauges straight into 15lb honey buckets.

Seemed to work - not too much obvious unwanted protein!

 

[Black Comb]

Yes that's what I do.
Thornes sell a s/steel double strainer and I just sit in top of the bucket and let it drain out of the extractor.

 

[psafloyd]

Yes that's what I do.
Th**nes sell a s/steel double strainer and I just sit in top of the bucket and let it drain out of the extractor.

Doesnyour bucket have a tap on it then to ease bottling once you have allowed the air bubbles to depart?

 

[Swarm]

I have a 25 litre bucket with plastic tap for jarring. From extractor to storage buckets through two sieves. From storage bucket into tapped bucket through fine sieve. Check out home brewing kits, very handy.

 

[beeatshellards]

I have a 25 litre bucket with plastic tap for jarring. From extractor to storage buckets through two sieves. From storage bucket into tapped bucket through fine sieve. Check out home brewing kits, very handy.

I do the same

 

[Black Comb]

Yes buckets with taps are best.
Easy to bottle from this, extra sieve if you like.

 

[milkermel]

I looked into getting just a tap the other day, but worked out only a couple of pounds extra to get it already attached to a bucket so cheated and did it that way!

 

[Poly Hive]

All, if you are filtering when your honey is cold from the extractor you are giving yourselves serious issues that warmth will solve for you.

Warm honey is far far far easier to work with.

PH

 

[VEG]

There is a vast amount of difference in speed that warm honey will go through a filter.

 

[Perry]

How do you warm the honey? In a warm room or with heat?

 

[VEG]

with a honey warmer. Basically a box with a heat source.

 

[Moggs]

Careful here folks. Honey will spoil with excess warmth. A by- product of heating honey is HMF - hydroxymethylfurfural (marginally easier to spell than say). Not a good thing in honey. The concentration increases with prolonged and/ or excessive heat and its presence in any significant concentration will not impress your local trading standards (or whatever they are called now) bods.

 

[MuswellMetro]

I do the same

yes the same, i prefer 15lb buckets to 25/30lb buckets as they are easier for me to store

for posh honey i re filter through £hornes cloth filter doubled, brightens the honey

 

[psafloyd]

I looked into getting just a tap the other day, but worked out only a couple of pounds extra to get it already attached to a bucket so cheated and did it that way!

Where from? Please PM me.