My First Honey Extractor
The pallet just fit in the back of my Ranger.
Up until last year, I had no need for an extractor. Top-bar hives only require a knife, a bucket and a strainer. I still have tubs of honey-comb in the freezer that I take out once and a while to chew on some for a snack. I could probably leave the comb out now – I put it in the freezer to ensure that any wax-moth eggs are killed. However, for serious honey production, especially for a side-line honey business, an extractor is an essential tool for the job.
An extractor is a device that uses centripetal force to sling honey out of combs. The honey then dribbles down the sides of the extractor and collects on the bottom where it’s drained off to be strained and bottled. Some extractors position the frames so their sides face the wall of the container and you have to flip them to get the honey from the other side. There are extractors with reversible baskets that can do that automatically too.
The extractor sitting happy inside next to my stacks of bee equipment.
However, very popular among side-line and commercial beekeepers is the radial extractor that has the frame sitting with the top-bar facing the direction of the centripetal force so that the honey drains from both sides at the same time. I figure that sooner or later I’m going to upgrade from anything I get today, but before I upgrade I want to still be as productive as possible, so rather than opting for a cheaper and lower capacity tangential extractor, I bought the biggest one I could afford – in this case, the Mann Lake 18/9 Radial Extractor. I could have gone bigger if I waited a few months – but my numerous projects are money-hungry so I figured I’d better get this one while the getting is good.
I also opted for the hand-crank version now too. I won’t be producing a whole lot of honey this year anyway so cranking it won’t be so much of a problem. However next year I’ll make sure I’ve got the motor-kit purchased and installed as I’ll have a lot more to extract. Hand-cranking a radial is going to take a fair bit of work tho. Radials spin a bit faster than tangentials which means much faster cranking by yours truly. But the exercise will be good and I can always delegate the cranking job to one of the kids too.
Stainless steel everywhere. Brilliant to behold. Easy to clean.
The folks at Mann Lake were very helpful and forthcoming with information even back when I was just kicking the tires. They went so far as to calculate the shipping for me for the truck service that was needed to ship this extractor. I’ve had others tell me they couldn’t estimate the shipping until I actually placed the order. However, I needed to know the shipping so I could budget for it. Which is a reason why Mann Lake got my business for this tool.
I ordered thru the web and indicated that I had a commercial shipping address with forklift access – something that can reduce the price of shipping in some cases. Of course, I placed the order over the weekend with a holiday that next Monday, so the order didn’t get processed until after that. There was also a slight delay because they were getting a new batch of extractors in from Italy. Fine by me – I won’t be using it until July anyway. But once they got it in they didn’t waste any time getting it shipped. What was most impressive was that it shipped out Friday – and was here Monday. When they said, “Some time next week,” I figured Wednesday or Thursday. Monday was good – Tuesday became a real snowy mess so I’m glad I got it when I did.
Loaded up with empty frames to test the fit and spin.
The crating job was top-rate. Only gripe I have is that they used hex screws rather than Phillips. I didn’t have a hex screw-driver so getting the crate unscrewed was a bit of a challenge. I didn’t want to demolish it tho – the crate is made of new wood that I can use later when I build a new chicken-coop or something. In any case – the crate just fit in my Ranger pickup. My wife, my oldest son and myself were able to easily hoist it out of the truck and over by the door. There I removed part of the crate and got to work unbolting the extractor from the pallet.
Once I got it unbolted, I was rather surprised at how light the extractor itself was. I wiggled it out of the crate by myself then carried it up the steps without a problem. Well, it is basically just a barrel with a cage in it. The crate itself was the heaviest part of the package. I found a temporary home for the extractor in the house and there it sits waiting for a permanent home and to be fed frames heavy with honey. Aside from a decent straining bucket and a decapping tub, I’m ready to start harvesting honey. Now if the snow would just stop and the nectar start flowing…
The honey-gate. I may change this one out for a stainless steel honey-gate.
In deference to familial harmony, my next project will be rebuilding a shop on our property next door to make for myself a honey-house in which this and all my beekeeping stuff will go. This stuff does take up a lot of room and the wife’s patience is surely wearing thin. Of course, it doesn’t do me much good either, sitting in a corner. I could use it in the kitchen if I had to, but extracting honey is a messy affair and it would be better to have a more permanent location for it. Once it’s at it’s new home, I’ll place this on a sheet of 3/4″ plywood and bolt it down. That’ll help it stay steady while I’m spinning heavy frames of honey. The plans continue to unfold before me, but this is just one more tool along the journey of getting equipped for my side-line honey business.
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