Which Refractometer?

[YorkshireBees]

Honey extracted from combs of fully sealed cells does vary in water content (typically within the range 17 -19% water) depending on the crop, time of year, the climate and also varies from year to year with the same crop. The value of the refractometer to me is two fold
a) I sell the honey with the highest water content first keeping the lowest water content honey as my "float" for the following year to keep my customers supplied in case an early crop like OSR fails so that I don't run out until next crop is in.
b) Hold back the honey with the lowest water content for the honeyshow (honey above 17.5% water rarely wins a prize)

with all the above

+ When you get a heavy flow from OSR like I did this year it sometimes is impossible to wait for fully capped frames before extraction. Either the bees don't have time or there is not enough of them to receive / process the honey and cap the cells.
I certainly had perfectly good honey (circa 17-18% water content) from frames that had almost no cappings.

 

[BCBEE]

mine came from USA and cost about 30 quid and works fine

 

[roche]

Bellingham and Stanley - Sensible price, UK company, works well.

 

[victor meldrew]

with all the above

+ When you get a heavy flow from OSR like I did this year it sometimes is impossible to wait for fully capped frames before extraction. Either the bees don't have time or there is not enough of them to receive / process the honey and cap the cells.
I certainly had perfectly good honey (circa 17-18% water content) from frames that had almost no cappings.

Conversely I have some honey a breath over 20% , I uncapped individual cells and checked , exactly the same and this being a particularly dry season. Bees will cap borage honey upto 22% !
I don't know what the trigger is for capping but it isn't purely water content .
VM


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[user 6228]

Conversely I have some honey a breath over 20% , I uncapped individual cells and checked , exactly the same and this being a particularly dry season. Bees will cap borage honey upto 22% !
I don't know what the trigger is for capping but it isn't purely water content .
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

honey we collect is mostly uncapped and is below 17%

 

[enrico]

My only comment would be not to calibrate it when it comes. It comes ready calibrated for honey if it is a honey one, the instructions were a little confusing. Just leave it well alone and use it! Mine from china is brilliant!
E

 

[FreeFall]

I didn't fancy an eBay one so got mine from Index Instruments (www.indexinstruments.com) in Cambridgeshire. Very happy with it.

 

[masterBK]

I have one from Index too. They have them made for them in the far east (probably China) but they do say they check and calibrate them before sending them out to UK customers. Quality piece of kit much better than one I bought from T.......'s a few years ago.

 

[VEG]

They are probably all from the same maker in china, only variation is the price they charge for it.


Craig