Ripeners and other honey confusion

[Alabamaeee]

As a newbee I am somewhat confused with the honey processing equipment.

Two beeks I know use different methods to process the honey.

One heats his granulated honey in the tub, then when ready puts it in a plastic holding tank with the valve at the bottom, and after it settles he bottles it via a 200 size mesh filter.

Another Beek uses a ripening tank. I am not entirely sure what the process is, but the honey is added after warming and allowed to settle before bottling.

What is the difference in the two processes bearing in mind a stainless steel ripener seems to be rather expensive. Does it offer an advantage over the holding tank or bucket with tap?

I will ask them next time I see them, but as I have discovered in this hobby there are as many different opinions as there are strains of bees

Awaiting opinions

 

[Moggs]

Heating honey must be done carefully or there is a reaction that causes 'HMF' - (Hydroxymethylfurfural) an organic compound not wanted in honey. A honey ripener is no such thing (there is no ripening process in honey production, just evaporation on the hives). A ripener is a tank.

The process for bottling honey is to extract and filter, pure and simple. Note that equipment must be 'food grade'. There are additional considerations for labelling and storage.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

My personal preference (for ease of use and hygiene), if the honey is granulated, put it in the bucket in a warming cabinet for a few days, stir occasionally to ensure uniformity, then transfer (and strain) into a settling tank / ripener for a further few days to allow air bubbles to rise to surface, then put into jars.
Jars can be put back into the warming cabinet if they start to re-granulate.

Be careful not to overheat and be careful with your hygiene - each stage of transfer is a further hygiene hazard.

Edit: agree with Moggs - best course of action is to get it all extracted and jarred and sold before granulation, then you don't have to mess around with heating. Although it's not always as simple as that (oSR honey for example)

 

[Poly Hive]

If you are planning on selling to the public then can I recommend you cream all your honeys as it then has a far better shelf life. Namely no unsightly granulation on the shop display which always looks dreadful.

PH

 

[rae]

The problem is that the public want "runny hunny". Creamed, or opaque, honey does not seem as attractive.

 

[DanBee]

The term 'ripener' is a misnomer. They are more commonly referred to as settling tanks or bottling tanks. Generally liquid honey is fine-filtered into these tanks, a process which incorporates air bubbles into the honey. By letting the honey stand for 24 hours in a warm room, the bubbles rise to the surface forming a froth in the tank, rather than a froth in the jars if bottling took place immediately. The reason these tanks are generally tall and narrow is to facilitate this settling and froth collection process. The advice given to filter at the point of bottling from the tap of such a tank will likely encourage froth in the jars.

There are other much larger & more expensive machines available which are also sometimes referred to as ripeners, although they would be better termed dryers. They are akin to a dehumidifier within which honey is exposed over a number of plates (to increase surface area) so that excessively moist honey can have its water content reduced without resorting to blending. I know of nobody in the UK (even the packers) who has such a machine.

 

[oliver90owner]

after it settles he bottles it via a 200 size mesh filter.

Either you have got it wrong or he is doing it the hard way, unless pumping the honey, I would think.

Warmed honey will gravitate through a 200 micron mesh fairly quickly. Cold honey will not.

Whether plastic or stainless steel makes little odds - as long as the plastic is food grade. A tank is a tank.

The process is straight forward enough, so should not cause too much confusion.

Regards, RAB

 

[psafloyd]

Has any consensus been reached on the design of a warmer cabinet/box, particularly as tungsten lightbulbs are being phased out?

 

[oliver90owner]

There are plenty of heater, or energy consuming devices out there. Until there is a market, the main suppliers will not stock anything - a lot of beekeepers will be using incandescent bulbs, of some description, for a long time to come, even though they are not the safest device for the application. Even the new flourescent lamps have a wattage (that is what happens to be in my warmer). I personally think a thermostat to be far more important than the actual thermal source (as long as the power is not excessive).

Regards, RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

The public do not "Want" runny honey at all.

I used to sell it on my stall along with the creamed honey and the creamed out sold runny by a good 100 to one.

Next?

PH

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Oh yest they do!

The shop my honey retails through sells 2/3rds runny and 1/3 set or soft set.



Signed Widow Twankey.

p.s. he's behind you!

 

[Alabamaeee]

Looking at the replies, all of which have been interesting my thoughts are that the only thing the expensive stainless steel ripener provides is integral sieves.

I assume because they filter within the tank they allow the honey to settle, and bubbles to disperse before bottling.

As a newbee with a broken bank balance my next purchase will probably be a plastic tank with honey tap and a double stainless steel sieve.

Still looking at making a solar melter and a warming cabinet too

 

[greatbritishhoney]

In my experience runny honey is an easy sell. Set or creamed is more of an acquired taste and takes a bit more selling.

Warming cabinets are fairly easy to make especially if you have an old fridge or freezer hanging around. Do a search on the forum - there are some good threads.

 

[MrB]

Warming cabinets are fairly easy to make especially if you have an old fridge or freezer hanging around. Do a search on the forum - there are some good threads.

Here's one i made earlier

 

[Alabamaeee]

If I may ask, what is your heat source, looks like either a mains lead with bulbs or a beer making belt?

 

[MrB]

If I may ask, what is your heat source, looks like either a mains lead with bulbs or a beer making belt?

2 bulbs!

 

[Alabamaeee]

Yes I see them now

Should have gone to Spec*&^ers