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Author Topic: Wine press  (Read 4847 times)

Offline Orlando

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Wine press
« on: April 17, 2013, 07:43:10 am »
Hello,

Has anyone used a wine press or fruit press for crush amd strain? What are your results?

Thanks

Offline Vance G

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #1 on: April 17, 2013, 10:16:00 am »
wine and fruit presses are indeed used by those who have access to them.  A good one costs more than a good extractor.  A linen grain bag from your local homebrew shop or off the net is a good aid.  Wax is hard to get off everything including wine presses.

Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #2 on: April 17, 2013, 10:48:31 am »
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Combs are so valuable that it makes no sense to break them.
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If we think about Langstroth box full of hoiney, 10 frames have 25 kg honey.
To draw combs without foundations it needs 15 kg honey.

.....and every time when you brake them. With extractor you may use combs tens of time.
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Offline beehappy1950

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2013, 10:49:28 am »
But why would you use crush and strain and lose your comb? :idunno:

Offline Beeboy01

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2013, 12:19:51 pm »
I've used a small 12 inch in diameter grape press for crushing honey comb with limited success. It was for a hive I was given that hadn't been opened for years and was loaded with burr comb. My biggest mistake was tossing all the comb in the press without breaking it up and wrapping it in cheese cloth. It took about three days to crush the comb and get al the honey out of it. I would of been better just breaking up the comb and letting it drain overnight into a bucket but I didn't know any better at the time. It takes a lot of pressure on the comb to crush it and the press just couldn't apply the pressure needed. Maybe a bigger more robust press would work better than the one I used but all in all it just didn't work well at all.

Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2013, 12:49:30 pm »
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You get a good extractor with 300 dollar.
Some kind of wine press cost half of it.

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Offline beehappy1950

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #6 on: April 17, 2013, 01:32:27 pm »
In that case use a plastic filter that fits over a 5 gallon bucket , crush by hand the comb and then set it where it is pretty warm for a while. It will work and you dont need to wash out the wine press.

Offline 2Sox

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2013, 08:40:57 am »
I have an all stainless steel wine press - powder coated.  I bought it used on Craig's List fo $150 dollars. Just imagine a stainless steel bucket with hundreds of holes perforating the sides. It has about a 5-6 gallon capacity and I used it last season a couple of times.  This was my method: Took a five gallon bucket strainer for paint (Home Depot or Lowes", like $3. Or get a finer mesh from any bee supply). Cut a small hole in bottom center to fit the center post of the press through.  I used bull clips to hold the top of the filter bag firmly to the top of press housing while I packed it with broken comb.  Took the clips off, folded the bag over the comb and started pressing.

(This year, I'm going to place a metal band bucket heater around the press housing while I operate.  I hope it will create enough heat to speed the process without melting the wax.)

I had absolutely no trouble removing the "mash" inside the bag from the press.  No wax left on the inside of the press and it was a breeze cleaning everything. And I was able to just dump out the mash and clean the bag too.  Clean as can be.

Lots of people do crush and strain.  It's my understanding that this is even what Michael Bush does.

I do the double bucket gravity method too.  It works but it's very labor intensive, it has to be warm enough to work, and it takes a lonnnng time.  I just started to place water bed heater on the bottom of the buckets to raise the temperature and speed things along. Kept a cover on top of it all to keep the heat in.

I do all foundationless so that I can do cut comb honey for the niche market that seems to be arising.

Anyone know how I can attach a photo with this????
« Last Edit: April 18, 2013, 10:50:29 am by 2Sox »
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Offline Joe D

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #8 on: April 18, 2013, 09:13:42 am »
Are you in a local bee club.  Some will have an extractor that members can use or there maybe another member that will let you use theirs.  I have been using a friends extractor so far, that saves your comb, time and energy.  Good luck




Joe

Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #9 on: April 18, 2013, 10:46:09 am »
I

Lots of people do crush and strain.  It's my understanding that this is even what Michael Bush does.

I do all foundationless so that I can do cut comb honey for the niche market that seems to be arising.


that is pure wasting of bees' resourges.

.but it helps that you need not sell honey. Lazy man's beekeeping. Like Michael often teaches "do nothing".

 
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Offline dfizer

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #10 on: April 18, 2013, 11:49:05 am »
I believe in capitalizing on all the work the bees put in.  I do not believe that it's a good practice to waste such effort they put in.  I do everything I can to enable the colony to thrive therefore to intentionally cause set backs for them go against everything I believe.  There is a better and equally cost effective way to extract your honey.  Just my way of thinking albeit old fashioned. 

David

Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #11 on: April 18, 2013, 11:59:57 am »
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If you brake combs and bees draw combs without foundations, you loose 50% of your yield.

.then when calculate incomes-cost, profit may bee many fold compared to cave man's style.
But cave man ate larvae too.
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Offline D Coates

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #12 on: April 18, 2013, 12:07:33 pm »
I'm not interested in crush and strain but I get enough cappings that I'd love to find a fast way of emptying them.  Currently I use gravity but it takes quite a while and it still leaves a pound or two.  I don't have a wine press but I have a SS 15# sausage stuffer that I use for making venison sausage.  I've though about using for it for squeezing the honey out of the cappings but haven't done so.  I've got one of those paint filter bags too so I'll be trying it this year to try to save some time.
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Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #13 on: April 18, 2013, 12:19:01 pm »
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Honey in cappings is a tricky job, because honey crystallizes very quickly.
Amount of honey in capping is big.

Did I told, I bought a fruit press to sqeeze honey from capping.
It presses capping to small volume too.

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Offline 2Sox

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #14 on: April 18, 2013, 03:03:48 pm »
I lost all sixteen of my hives over the winter. (Discussed in a previous thread) I have so much honey, it's crazy! Maybe 300lbs or so. (I don't feed sugar so I always leave extra honey. This year all this honey unexpectedly bit me in the butt.)  Some of it is real pretty so I'm cutting it to sell as cut comb.  But over half is crystallized , so I had an idea that seems to be working:

I was given 30 or 40 one gallon food buckets by my cousin in the restaurant business. In 4 of them, I drilled three or four holes on the sides just above the bottom.  I placed crushed comb - crystallized, liquid, everything - into these buckets and placed them on the edge of my worktable.  A waterbed heater is under these buckets.  Honey melts and goes to the bottom, out the holes, drips into filtered buckets on the floor below.

I just started this process but when most of the honey is drained, I plan on putting this warm "mash" into my wine press to get the remaining honey out.
I'd imagine the same thing can be done with cappings.

But someone else on this forum gave me an idea that I'm DEFINITEY going to try: Stack up the boxes with crystallized honey on top of a couple of empty boxes.  Before you do, place a light bulb on the floor inside the empty boxes.  Hopefully, this will heat and liquify the honey enough to put into the press.  It seems that this light bulb idea can be adapted for any situation you can think of.

I'm going to try this as soon as I can!
"Good will is the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful." - Eli Siegel, American educator, poet, founder of Aesthetic Realism

Offline Finski

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2013, 04:17:44 pm »
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I have feeded back to hives hundres of kilos crystallized honey, but I do not understand what you are doing.

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Offline 2Sox

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #16 on: April 18, 2013, 06:12:48 pm »
I have no more bees to feed the honey back to.  That simple. I indicated that I lost all my hives this winter.  And I don't have the space to store all this stuff!  I've got to do something with it before the wax moths get it.  I suppose I could wrap the boxes in plastic bags.  I considered that. But I'd rather process it.
"Good will is the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful." - Eli Siegel, American educator, poet, founder of Aesthetic Realism

Offline greg755

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #17 on: April 18, 2013, 07:28:11 pm »
If you have time you can buy a gravity drain kit for about 70 dollars or less.  It is slow but at least you have the option of saving your comb. 

Offline 2Sox

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Re: Wine press
« Reply #18 on: April 18, 2013, 07:59:37 pm »
If you have time you can buy a gravity drain kit for about 70 dollars or less.  It is slow but at least you have the option of saving your comb.  

I just purchased one of those double tub ones used for cappings and I thought I'd put it to use with one of those water bed heaters underneath to help things along.  The trick is to provide enough heat to liquify the crystallized stuff.
"Good will is the desire to have something else stronger and more beautiful for this desire makes oneself stronger and more beautiful." - Eli Siegel, American educator, poet, founder of Aesthetic Realism

Offline Orlando

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Re: Re: Wine press
« Reply #19 on: April 18, 2013, 10:16:48 pm »
I am pretty committed to the crush and strain for a few reasons.

I am trying to see if a wine press is a better way than my current 5gal bucket system

 

anything