Warming honey in 30lb tubs - lid on or off

[Alabamaeee]

I have a home made warming cabinet which started life as a fridge. I have several 30lb plastic tubs (Thurnes) which contain OSR needing melted.

Before I begin, what is the opinion of the members regarding keeping the tamper proof seal on tightly, or opening it and just resting the lid on the tub?

I don't want any exploding tubs but also feel that less exposure to the air will better retain the honey's characteristics.

So I await your opinions

 

[YorkshireBees]

Lids on. That's what I did and worked fine.

No chance of any exploding

 

[TOBY-3652]

I always take the lid off

 

[VEG]

I just lift the edge of a lid, unless the honey has set then after a day warming I give it a stir then just place lid back on until the next stir.

 

[ROACHMAN]

.

Ha ha..... 3 different answers, you know what they say about asking beeks a question

 

[oliver90owner]

Think about it. It will be better for stirring to get it liquidised in the shortest time and at the lowest temperature. So lid will be off at times.

I always fit the lid when removing liquid honey from the warming cabinet - the seal is good should there be a mishap and also retains the bucket circular under the weight of the contents.

At forty something degrees, does it really matter? The vapour pressure is not going to be that high!! I leave mine on initially and replace at the end and probably not removed for long when stirring.

A tamper-proof seal has to be broken the first time the lid is removed.

Just keep things simple.

 

[local_beekeeper]

Lift the edge of a lid and will be fine.

 

[Poly Hive]

Keep the lids on but loose, helps evap off any undue moisture on the surface (if the lid has not bee as tight as may be desirable) and more importantly it keeps any muck out that may be inconveniently dropped. Murphys law at work...

PH

 

[RoofTops]

Lid on or off makes little difference at the temperatures involved but contamination is a significant factor. Do not assume a spider or ant won't make their way into the bucket if you leave them a gap.

So it really depends on whether the honey is already filtered or is going to be filtered again. As PH says, it can help reduce moisture content to leave a gap but I would only do this if I was going to filter before bottling - which I generally do.

 

[VEG]

I also filter before bottling.

 

[bobandbec]

Lid on and honey is filtered before going in the tubs so no need to filter after warming. At end of warming lid removed and honey stirred with drill and paddle. Emptied into settling tank and stirred again. Allowed to settle for 24hrs then bottled. Need OSR fairly runny after warming and don't leave too long otherwise will start to set before going into the bottle. It's a slow job then!
Peter

 

[Alabamaeee]

Thanks for the replies, and the extra tips for processing the OSR.