Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Mason on May 10, 2011, 12:39:16 pm

Title: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 10, 2011, 12:39:16 pm
Well I did it.  I talked myself into pulling the trigger on an extractor and harvesting supplies from Brushy Mountain.

This is my 3rd year of beekeeping and I have one very successful hive, another producer to a lessor extent and a new package hive.

By the time I got bottle, caps, an extractor, capping bucket etc etc plus shipping it was over $600.  I'm cheap.  I don't like spending money so I had to mentally come up with a justification to get the equipment.  Here's how I did it.

I could rent the extractor from the local bee club for $15 a day.  I estimate two days per use at $30 per harvest.  Add to that 25 miles one way to get the extractor.  100 miles total,  15mpg, $4 per gallon is an additional $44 per harvest.  So the hard cost of renting the extractor would be $74 per harvest.  Not counting disposable costs like bottles and caps.

If I harvest the honey off my giant hive now I can reuse the boxes this year.  Now I don't have to go purchase additional boxes which is also a 50 mile round trip.

Now for the clincher.  I estimate those mediums to be at least 40 lbs.  3X40 120lbs less waste and wax we'll call it 100lbs of honey.  $8 per pound equals $800....extractor justified. Right?





Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: VolunteerK9 on May 10, 2011, 12:54:47 pm
LMAO. Are you trying to justify the expense to yourself or your wife?

Thats sounds exactly like a financial diagram I lay out to the wife whenever I want something.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: slacker361 on May 10, 2011, 01:40:31 pm
yes it works for me.... enjoy the new equipment
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Riggs on May 10, 2011, 01:46:36 pm
I just wrote all that down so I would have it to show my wife in a couple of years. :-D I hope it works out well for you.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 10, 2011, 04:10:07 pm
Yea,  I think the "stuff" is going to hit the fan when this order arrives. 

I'm just practicing on you guys.

Pretty good huh?

Any suggestions on how to handle the completely wrecked kitchen after my first harvest?  I have been told you will only extract and bottle honey in your wives kitchen once.  I'm going to make the most of it.

Should be a "sticky" situation...........HA!
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: dean0 on May 10, 2011, 04:48:19 pm
To further justify the expense of purchasing an extractor to your wife, you now own a piece of equipment that you can rent out for $15.00/day.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: iddee on May 10, 2011, 05:16:52 pm
I paid a hundred bucks for a used stainless extractor and 25 bucks for a used electric knife. One dollar each for food grade buckets with lids. 8 dollars a dozen for pints, 9 for quarts, with lids. Sure glad I didn't use your math. :D
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 10, 2011, 06:05:38 pm
Quote
I paid a hundred bucks for a used stainless extractor

Glad you got a good deal.  I saw a few on ebay for over $200 plus shipping, no warranty and they only held 2 frames.  The Brushy Mountain starter extractor will fit 4 mediums.  I have been looking for used but nothing has turned up and as always I'm on the bees schedule.

The extractor, capping tray, a bucket with honey gate, knife and scratcher for $415.  I could have done without the knife and scratcher and food grade buckets are easy to find.  The extractor separately was $295.  The capping tub (which really looks like a nice thing to have was $95 alone.  So I would have spent $390 for the capping bucket and extractor.  The package got me a bucket, honey gate, scratcher and knife for $25.  Shipping was also cheaper getting the starter kit. 

I ran the bill up another $200 getting some gloves, bottles, caps, fume board, Bee Go and a couple of capping bags.  $90 shipping was the only thing I think I really got hosed on.

This is what I am calling a "capping bucket".  It really looks like a nice piece of equipment.  Sure,  I could have done it another way  but a job is always easier if you have the right tools.

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Multi-Use-Straining-System/productinfo/295/ (http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Multi-Use-Straining-System/productinfo/295/)

I can always fall back on "I can sell it anytime I want" line
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: slacker361 on May 10, 2011, 09:11:49 pm
yes the shipping out of brushy really sux... I am not sure nut it looks like as most companies, they make a profit even on the shipping.... I will have to find the no shipping deals or a supplier with better shipping deals..
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: garys520 on May 10, 2011, 09:59:34 pm
Brushy Mt. late December.  I make a list and add to all year, then put my order in when the free shipping is announced.   The free shipping is a real blessing.  I did have to order  Mite Away Quick Strips and pay for the shipping, couldn't wait until Dec. 
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: joebrown on May 10, 2011, 10:06:24 pm
Just having frames of drawn comb after extracting is worth it to me! I love the fact that my bees do not have to pull comb during the honey flow. This is a waste of valuable time since the honey flow is typically only a month or so two times a year.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: hardwood on May 10, 2011, 10:56:01 pm
Sounds to me like you have a career in politics if you wish!

Scott
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: VolunteerK9 on May 10, 2011, 11:52:43 pm

I ran the bill up another $200 getting some gloves, bottles, caps, fume board, Bee Go and a couple of capping bags.  $90 shipping was the only thing I think I really got hosed on.

I can always fall back on "I can sell it anytime I want" line

You will be thankful you went ahead and got the Bee Go...all that type stuff seems to disappear around June.

I tell my wife ..'You have your nails done which is a dead expense and with this I can make a profit' (So far, Im still in the red though)
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: AliciaH on May 11, 2011, 01:28:10 am
Any suggestions on how to handle the completely wrecked kitchen after my first harvest?  I have been told you will only extract and bottle honey in your wives kitchen once.  I'm going to make the most of it.

Should be a "sticky" situation...........HA!

My husband compained about the sticky kitchen...right up until I caught him in this position:
(http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/6185/honeystealinghusband.th.jpg) (http://img850.imageshack.us/i/honeystealinghusband.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

That's peanut butter toast he's holding under that line of honey!

He hasn't said a word since!   :-D
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Michael Bush on May 11, 2011, 09:42:09 am
It's like buying a new car.  You can't justify it with only a few hives.  But if you want to spend the money, go for it.

"All this seems obvious enough, and yet time after time I have seen novice beekeepers, as soon as they had built their apiaries up to a half dozen or so hives, begin to look around for an extractor. It is as if one were to establish a small garden by the kitchen door, and then at once begin looking for a tractor to till it with. Unless then, you have, or plan eventually to have, perhaps fifty or more colonies of bees, you should try to resist looking in bee catalogs at the extractors and other enchanting and tempting tools that are offered and instead look with renewed fondness at your little pocket knife, so symbolic of the simplicity that is the mark of every truly good life." --Richard Taylor, The Comb Honey Book
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: ziffabeek on May 11, 2011, 09:53:55 am
Alicia - that is priceless!  HA!

love,
ziffa
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: zzen01 on May 11, 2011, 11:53:40 am
Keep ALL of your receipts and you can take it off of next year's taxes.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: VolunteerK9 on May 11, 2011, 12:02:13 pm
I just think you are so far ahead of the game with drawn comb to reuse  than if you crushed and strained every year.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: iddee on May 11, 2011, 12:30:49 pm
Richard Taylor is right, but I do have an 8 X 16 foot garden, a small ford gas tractor, and a large ford diesel tractor.   :roll:  :roll: :-D  :-D
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 11, 2011, 12:44:21 pm
Quote
I do have an 8 X 16 foot garden, a small ford gas tractor, and a large ford diesel tractor

I'm so jealous.  I'll need to work harder to justify a tractor let alone two of them but someday...

This is looking better and better as the buyers remorse wares.  This weekend I can pull some honey and reuse my boxes and frames.

Brushy got the order out on the same day with Thursday delivery.  This weekend I plan to pull a couple of supers and re-use the boxes and frames.  Now I don't have to get more boxes AND get some honey.  Hopefully.

I think the gambling aspect of beekeeping is what keeps me interested.  Scared money never wins....it can't.

Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: wd on May 11, 2011, 01:28:32 pm
Sounds more like you're now officially justified to expand your operation
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: manfre on May 11, 2011, 04:25:10 pm
It's like buying a new car.  You can't justify it with only a few hives.  But if you want to spend the money, go for it.

"All this seems obvious enough, and yet time after time I have seen novice beekeepers, as soon as they had built their apiaries up to a half dozen or so hives, begin to look around for an extractor. It is as if one were to establish a small garden by the kitchen door, and then at once begin looking for a tractor to till it with. Unless then, you have, or plan eventually to have, perhaps fifty or more colonies of bees, you should try to resist looking in bee catalogs at the extractors and other enchanting and tempting tools that are offered and instead look with renewed fondness at your little pocket knife, so symbolic of the simplicity that is the mark of every truly good life." --Richard Taylor, The Comb Honey Book


It's very easy to justify with only a few hives. You may not agree with the justifications of others, but thankfully they don't control your wallet. We all put different values on the less cost quantifiable aspects of our lives. The convenience of owning an extractor, plus the actual current expenses from renting are enough for Mason to justify his purchase.

I only have 10 hives and still crush & strain. I'll probably get an extractor eventually, but my lack of storage space is a larger factor than the price or my relatively low number of hives.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: The Bix on May 11, 2011, 04:48:39 pm
Mason, too bad, could've saved quite a bit:

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,29880.0.html (http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,29880.0.html)
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 11, 2011, 05:20:43 pm
I looked at home built extractors.  Decided against them.  Even this guy admits his material cost alone was $200.  It's not stainless steel,  you have to scrounge up all the parts,  it's harder to clean.  It's a multi day project to pull one of those together.

The extractor from Brushy was only $95 more than the material costs of this homemade model.

I see why some people build their own.  If I were retired or not as busy with work I might have considered it a better option but it just wasn't right for me at this time.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: The Bix on May 11, 2011, 05:44:01 pm
I understand the cost factor and effort needed to build an extractor.

I just looked at the Brushy website and see that it's the hand-crank 4 frame extractor, unless I'm mistaken it's a tangential extractor.  The homemade version is an 8-frame radial (no flipping) with a motor (drill).
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 11, 2011, 06:00:40 pm
They are not hard to crank.  I don't see a need for a motor on an extractor this small.  It would be nice not to have to flip the frames but it only takes a few seconds to flip them and less than a minute to crank it up.

You don't want to spin the frames too fast or too long.  It will cause the wax to separate from the foundation. 
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: AllenF on May 11, 2011, 07:51:13 pm
I have been hand spinning for years.   Last year I talked my wife into it because she wanted/ needed honey that night.  She got through one side of the frames and she was done.   You can do it, but 4 frames at a time takes a while to do and is hard on the arms, shoulders, and the elbow.  One day I will get to upgrade.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 12, 2011, 06:31:52 pm
I got my stuff today.  Nothing on back order and it went out quickly.

Brushy overcharged me for shipping.  The credited me back $44.  They have more than doubled the shipping weight.  I matched it to the UPS shipping charts and called them out on it.  There as no problem and they gave me my credit.

It's not a triangle shaped basket.  It's a large rectangular basket that will hold 2 deeps or 4 medium frames.

Saturday is the day........  I'm so excited to get to play with my new toys.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Shanevrr on May 12, 2011, 09:41:41 pm
let us know the quality, and i like your reasoning.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: AllenF on May 12, 2011, 10:01:55 pm
So Saturday you are starting extracting honey.   You are going to love the exercise. 
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: slacker361 on May 12, 2011, 10:04:38 pm
can we count on a video being posted?
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: wd on May 13, 2011, 12:59:42 am
congrats mason!
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 15, 2011, 11:29:06 am
SUCCESS!!!!!

60lbs off one hive.  The other looks like it is producing too but we left it alone for now.

Everything worked as advertised.  Turns out my plan was pretty solid and everything went far smoother than I expected.  What a great day.  I slept like a baby last night.  Pheww! All really fun things are exhausting.

Time to cash in on the liquid gold and recoup my expenses....at least some of them anyway. 

Capping bucket-  invaluable piece of equipment.  I could see how it could easily be homemade but would suggest looking at the Brushy model before trying reverse engineering one.

Extractor-  Worked well no complaints.  The better you have it anchored the easier it is to use.

It's ideally a 3 person job.  One capping, one extracting and another bottling.

Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: slacker361 on May 15, 2011, 11:38:09 am
congrats Mason, glad that everything went as planned and even better, that rarely happens....
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on May 15, 2011, 11:44:37 am
Quote
congrats Mason, glad that everything went as planned and even better, that rarely happens....

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. 
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: AllenF on May 15, 2011, 03:57:02 pm
Where da pics?    On bottling, I always do it later after letting the honey sit for while to get the air out of it.   It gives me an "excuse" to do it later. Bottling can be just as hard on your back and arms as spinning the extractor.  I have 4 shallows in the freezer I pulled Saturday ready to go as soon as I wash out everything.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: ronwhite3030 on May 16, 2011, 02:36:51 am
I justify an extractor as saving the drawn comb is like saving gold opposed to destroying it after each season, plus I have never crushed and strained purchased an extractor my first season which was 10 years ago and what cost me 350 then would cost me 650 now so in my thought buy one as soon as you can. it will one save you time, two save you the inflation prices and two if you sell your honey, make you more money in the seasons to come because your bees can get right to filling ur frames with honey from the get go because they wont have to build so much wax before willing the combs, just my .02.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: Mason on June 14, 2011, 05:19:56 pm
Just and FYI follow up.

I sold almost all of my honey.  $5 for 8oz and $10 for 16oz.  I would have sold it all in one day if I had taken it to the local Farmers Market.  It was not EASY money but paid for my extracting supplies.
Title: Re: Extractor justification
Post by: AllenF on June 14, 2011, 05:23:05 pm
Extractor paid for?      I have 6 supers in the freezer.   Just can't get my butt up to extract with the old hand crank.   Orders are piling up though.   May have to go downstairs and wash everything up to start.