Warming cabinet

[Malcolm Stamp]

My honey this year is incredibly thick, close to thixotropic so I am re constructing a refrigerator to be a warming cabinet. My plan is to set it up with a 400 watt fan heater controlled by a thermostat the bulb of which will be positioned mid point in the cabinet. So I am thinking setting the thermostat to 50c with two buckets in the cabinet. I am guessing that i am looking at £500 worth of honey in there at one time? What are the chances of the buckets not standing the temperature.

 

[captain666]

If your buckets are food grade, indicated by the symbols of a cup and fork, they will be suitable for your purpose.

 

[xray7]

My thermostat is set to 50 degrees Celsius and will melt one of two 30 lb pound buckets of set honey in 24 hours. As the previous poster says 50 degrees is not going to damage plastic buckets.

 

[WoodenBeam]

My honey this year is incredibly thick, close to thixotropic so I am re constructing a refrigerator to be a warming cabinet. My plan is to set it up with a 400 watt fan heater controlled by a thermostat the bulb of which will be positioned mid point in the cabinet. So I am thinking setting the thermostat to 50c with two buckets in the cabinet. I am guessing that i am looking at £500 worth of honey in there at one time? What are the chances of the buckets not standing the temperature.

Is the heater going to be man enough for that volume of space?
Must be some pretty big buckets

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is the heater going to be man enough for that volume of space?
Must be some pretty big buckets

I was thinking the same - unless we're talking London prices

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Tube heaters better and fan is not needed

 

[drex]

400 watts is overkill. My converted fridge takes two buckets and easily get up to 50 degrees. 100 watt tube heater and old computer fan.

 

[Malcolm Stamp]

Thanks for these replies. The other question that has come up is:- what is the best temp to bring honey up too without destroying its unique properties?

 

[Wilco]

If you're worried about enzymes, you want to keep it below about 40C, which isn't very convenient. Above this temperature, proteins get denatured (for anyone unsure, enzymes are types of protein), which means they lose their structure and thus their function. Even 37C causes some damage though.

 

[drex]

Thanks for these replies. The other question that has come up is:- what is the best temp to bring honey up too without destroying its unique properties?

Depends on the honey and what you want to do.
Here is a good link
http://www.sheffieldbeekeepers.org.uk/important-temperatures-beekeeping/

 

[WoodenBeam]

Replying to your thread in a more serious manner.
Our first warming cabinet was simply an old fridge with a 100W light bulb in the base, it held a single 30lb bucket and would melt down in around a day and a half. It worked & didn’t cook the honey but was some what limiting due to size.
We then upgraded to some insulated cabinets, each one being approx 1m3-ish constructed under a work surface. Temp control is via an Eliteach E-1000 which allows for a powered switch to drive a fan unit. Heating after playing about for a bit is via 4*180W tubes (Woodside Products), some people have issues with suitable temps being reached, through trial & error we settled on 4. This allows for temps to be reached quickly and easily held. The cabinets are used for melting tubs and also holding supers prior to extraction - a real benefit, warm honey spins out so much easier.

 

[pargyle]

Replying to your thread in a more serious manner.
Our first warming cabinet was simply an old fridge with a 100W light bulb in the base, it held a single 30lb bucket and would melt down in around a day and a half. It worked & didn’t cook the honey but was some what limiting due to size.
We then upgraded to some insulated cabinets, each one being approx 1m3-ish constructed under a work surface. Temp control is via an Eliteach E-1000 which allows for a powered switch to drive a fan unit. Heating after playing about for a bit is via 4*180W tubes (Woodside Products), some people have issues with suitable temps being reached, through trial & error we settled on 4. This allows for temps to be reached quickly and easily held. The cabinets are used for melting tubs and also holding supers prior to extraction - a real benefit, warm honey spins out so much easier.
View attachment 21450View attachment 21451

That's a good looking set up ... mine is an old fridge freezer with a tiny freezer compartment at the top which I was going to convert into a dessicator but it's now destined to become a cheese cave ...I've just consigned the old 12v picnic cooler to the skip but kept the peltier thermoelectric cooler which should be ideal to keep it at a steady cheese curing temperature. Untll 'er indoors finds out what I'm up to and then the temperature may go up a bit !

 

[Malcolm Stamp]

Depends on the honey and what you want to do.
Here is a good link
http://www.sheffieldbeekeepers.org.uk/important-temperatures-beekeeping/

Thanks just what is required. I will print it off and stick on the front of the fri

Replying to your thread in a more serious manner.
Our first warming cabinet was simply an old fridge with a 100W light bulb in the base, it held a single 30lb bucket and would melt down in around a day and a half. It worked & didn’t cook the honey but was some what limiting due to size.
We then upgraded to some insulated cabinets, each one being approx 1m3-ish constructed under a work surface. Temp control is via an Eliteach E-1000 which allows for a powered switch to drive a fan unit. Heating after playing about for a bit is via 4*180W tubes (Woodside Products), some people have issues with suitable temps being reached, through trial & error we settled on 4. This allows for temps to be reached quickly and easily held. The cabinets are used for melting tubs and also holding supers prior to extraction - a real benefit, warm honey spins out so much easier.
View attachment 21450View attachment 21451

thats really helpful and I think a project for next year, what temp setting do you use for supers?

 

[WoodenBeam]

30 degrees