Uncapping with heat gun?

[The Poot in Somerset]

Has anyone tried this method of uncapping?
If so what are the pros and cons?

 

[Angry_Mob]

I've done it the last couple of harvests. Wouldn't go back to the faff of uncapping knives / forks.

Pros:
Quicker
Cleaner
Less cleaning up after
Less wax wasted
Less equipment needed
May help with the viscosity of the honey?


Cons:
Some of the wax pops and gets on your clothes, minor thing.
Sometimes the wax melts and seals an adjacent sell.

 

[Ian123]

Personal preference but knife every time and you actually get to harvest wax as well

 

[Swarm]

Can't believe a pile of wax cappings can be considered waste.

 

[Swift Nick]

Again, personal preference, but the cappings are reaching 60 deg C plus to melt, the honey directly under the cappings to a similar temperature, and although the majority of the honey would not reach this temperature it’s not for me. I would be concerned the heated honey, however small would affect the taste in a negative way. I use a very slim flexible bread knife and it works well.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Can't believe a pile of wax cappings can be considered waste.

The way I look at it is the rough figure for a 1lb of wax requires 8lb of honey. Unless you can get more than the price of 8 lb jars of honey for your 1lb of wax then its waste.

Not to mention they are covered in honey and require further processing.

 

[maddydog]

Doesn't work very well if the cappings are 'wet' i.e. the honey is touching the wax

 

[thedozzer]

We tried it on our first harvest this year and tried a new uncapping tool, with the heat gun there is no mess, but there is the concern that it could over heat a small amount of the surface honey as others have said.
The new uncapping tool (Backward fork type) is not to bad but you do get a bit sticky.

 

[Swarm]

Not to mention other health hazards already discussed years ago on other threads about the same.
The 'waste' wax is in addition to the honey harvest, not instead of.

 

[Angry_Mob]

The 'waste' wax is in addition to the honey harvest, not instead of.

It's removed from the next harvest however as the bees have used valuable honey repairing wax combs.

 

[Swarm]

It's removed from the next harvest however as the bees have used valuable honey repairing wax combs.

They will do the same with yours and they will also cap yours over. I remove the cappings not half the comb.

 

[eltalia]

The way I look at it is the rough figure for a 1lb of wax requires 8lb of honey. Unless you can get more than the price of 8 lb jars of honey for your 1lb of wax then its waste.

Not to mention they are covered in honey and require further processing.

Where are all the lollywater feeding waxbuilding mob in this equation?

Broad dedicated knife and pricker - and set the supers for fatcomb.
Only a decapping machine beats the use of. IMHO OMMMV

Bill

 

[enrico]

I have used it for several years. It is so quick and easy. The bees soon repair the cells. There is no discernable difference to the honey. There is an air gap between the wax and the honey I doubt the honey gets over warm. It only takes a second to pop a capping with the gun.
The only draw back is if you have bruised the frame by pushing the cappings onto the honey and thus soaked the capping, no amount of heat will melt that so you have to use the knife.
E

 

[madasafish]

I have used it for 4 years.
No mess on clothes: I wear a vinyl apron (and very fetching I look too)
The heating honey worry is a joke as anyone with any knowledge of simple physics would realise.
No flavour change.
I use a scraper for wax in contact with honey which is where a heat gun does not work.
Faster.
Oh and virtually zero drops of honey on my cardboard clad floor..

 

[citrus]

I have used it for several years. It is so quick and easy. The bees soon repair the cells. There is no discernable difference to the honey. There is an air gap between the wax and the honey I doubt the honey gets over warm. It only takes a second to pop a capping with the gun.
The only draw back is if you have bruised the frame by pushing the cappings onto the honey and thus soaked the capping, no amount of heat will melt that so you have to use the knife.
E

so do you just use a normal diy paint stripping gun ?

 

[Angry_Mob]

They will do the same with yours and they will also cap yours over. I remove the cappings not half the comb.

Invetiably there will be some waste byproduct with either method but the heat gun reduces it significantly. If uncapping with a knife or comb it's impossible not to damage the cells walls (especially on very uneven frames) hence the large surplus of wax you will have. On my last extraction I had about a tea spoon full of wax flakes in the sieve.

I have used it for 4 years.
No mess on clothes: I wear a vinyl apron (and very fetching I look too)

Must get an apron.

 

[enrico]

so do you just use a normal diy paint stripping gun ?

I have done when my normal one went in for repair but the nozzle isn't as good
I use a model makers heat gun which is used fro shrinking plastic onto model aeroplanes. It comes with a narrow directional nozzle. I use the high heat setting.
There is a trick to it
Put one end of the top bar of the frame onto a nail point so that you can use your left hand to manipulate the frame and then use the air gun about 3 cm away from the comb. Keep it moving over a small area. Suddenly the cappings pop open. Start at the top of the frame so any melting wax runs downwards and doesn't reseal cells. If there are any empty cells try and avoid them, likewise with uncapped cells as you will just melt the wax. Concentrate only on the capped parts of the frame and don't be too picky. The cappings will be weakened anyway and tend to open in the spinner.
It really is easy once you have got into the swing of it. When you start off just make sure you don't direct the gun into one area or you will just melt through everything.
I really ought to make a video of it
E

 

[madasafish]

so do you just use a normal diy paint stripping gun ?

I use a 30 year old 1500w B&D paint stripping gun...

 

[birdsandbees]

I can't believe nobody has said that you will be blowing detritus and germs all over the honey.. that usually gets aired when this method is brought up.

I use a heat gun myself, I can't be bothered/don't have the time to be dealing with cappings, they also bung up the sieves quite quickly where as with the heat gun method I can do a far bit of extraction before having to address any blockage.
to address the above suggestion of germs and detritus, I doubt any germs would survive the heat of the air and as for particulates, I don't do it in a dusty environment so probably no more that would stick to the comb anyway.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Mica particles being blown into the honey.