extractor use

[bill]

I have a huge extractor. I cant remember how many frames it takes but it will do a huge amount of frames. trouble is I only have one small super about full..  can I do just that much. and not lose half the honey trying to get it all out of there? I have no honey and you know how that is I guess. Anyway I have never used it before. It is not installed anywhere yet either,I don't want to destroy my drawn frames and I can't get the honey out without destroying the wax. I tried that with a couple of frames I removed last time. The size of this looks like it would hold about fifty or sixty gallons. I am hoping in the heat of the day( 100F) I should be able to drain most of it. Is that a reasonable assumption? thanx

[Miss Chick-a-BEE]

That is a big extractor!

I'd say.... even though you will have some loss, due to the wall space on the extractor, I think I'd still go for it. The benefit of giving back the wax is there. And you won't really lose too much. Maybe something like a quart? Michael might know better about how much stays on the walls of those big ones.

Any way you can reach in and scrap the sides with a spatula?

Beth

[Phoenix]

Unfortunately Bill that extractor is way too big to extract just one super, you will lose qute a bit of honey, not only on the sides, but on the bottom and near the valve.  But then again, some honey is better than no honey.

[Miss Chick-a-BEE]

I've never even seen one that big myself. Only trying to imagine it. So don't fully listen to me.  

I tend to squeeze most of my wax for the honey. It's messy, but the bees do alright building the wax back up.

Beth

[Michael Bush]

>I tend to squeeze most of my wax for the honey. It's messy, but the bees do alright building the wax back up.

Trust me, extracting is every bit as messy.

[bill]

When I said It would hold about fiftyt gallons I was just comparing it to a fifty five gallon drum, it of course doesn.t hold that much honey I guess. I have the bee escape in and I will try to extract it in a couple of days. I will let you all know how it comes out. how much is in a small full super? it feels pretty heavy.. :D

[Daddy-T]

We bought a Walter Kelly 33 frame extractor this spring, used. It holds 33 Small, Med, or Large frames. It is about the same size as what you are describing. Ours has 3 settings on a manual clutch setup. We will be using it the first time the 9th of July. We have about 8 small honey supers capped to extract. We invited the whole family to help, and we made a picnic out of it. I was surprised, I have 8 siblings and when I started inviting a few of them, I started getting calls from the rest wanting to come out and help. Now they told their friends and some of them are coming too.. Should be fun...........

Tim :D

[bill]

I have decided to set mine up in the greenhouse and try it . I need to learn how to run it anyway and I do not want to crush my wax up I will post how it turns out