Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Harvest Helpful Hints  (Read 2562 times)

Offline fcderosa

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 132
Harvest Helpful Hints
« on: June 03, 2007, 09:12:41 am »
Harvested honey yesterday - geeez what a mess. Extractors, buckets, screens, bottles, clogged screens\colenders.  I looked on as the mess accumulated and somewhere in the process had an epiphany.  An inexpensive trick us moonshiners use to separate grain from wort.  Went to Lowes and purchased a nylon paint strainer bag - $1.98.  Fits perfectly in a five gallon bucket and is secured with an elastic band. Poured the honey in straight from the extractor. When it was full I removed the bag with all its impurities, due to the super fine mesh the honey was super clean.  It worked so well I poured the stuff from the cappings tank into the last bucket.  Honey came out clean and the wax remaining in the bag I soaked in some warm water, and I scored the best, cleanest wax harvest yet.  Now for the best trick, the bags are reuasable - they wash clean and dry quickly.  I took the first jar over to the inlaws to be scutinized over - it passed the test. :-D

Soooo,  Does anyone have any tricks for getting honey off the kitchen floor, other than multiple scrubbings? :-P
The good life is honey on a Ritz.

Offline buzzbee

  • Ken
  • Global Moderator
  • Galactic Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 5930
  • Gender: Male
    • N Central Pa Beekeepers Facebook Page
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2007, 09:21:18 am »
Bring your hive in,the bees will clean it!! :-D :-D

Offline Cindi

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 9825
  • Gender: Female
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2007, 09:27:59 am »
fcderosa.  Yes, I think LindaT was making a post where she suggested putting down flattened cardboard boxes to help to keep the sticky stuff off the floor.

I don't know why, but when I extracted all the honey last year, I was lucky, there was hardly any mess on the floor or anywhere.  Guess those were my lucky days.   I got the paint strainer from our paint store for straining stuff too.  Yes, works so good, gotta love it.  Have a wonderful day, great life, love your life you're livin'.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline gunny

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 69
  • Gender: Male
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2007, 10:25:24 am »
Thanks or sharing.  I just went through the same experience, collanders, cheese cloth and a big mess.  I did it outside so the girls got to clean up all the spills.  I'll be getting a paint strainer and more buckets from Lowe's today.

The honey I harvested was unusually dark, strong flavored, smelled and tasted like strawberries.  Nearest strawberryfarm is about 3 miles away.


Offline newbee07

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2007, 08:14:44 pm »
We harvested or first super today. Looks just like karo syrup and the bees did it all naturally on this hive. No feeding was done or neede during honey flow. I just ran into a problem of not having the right equipment. I etracted and drained through a course strainer but now need to fine strain it. And also need to heat it up i guess so it will not crystalize.

Offline doak

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1788
  • Gender: Male
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2007, 08:27:39 pm »
Don't forget, leave the gate on the extractor open when extracting.
NEXT, extract only as fast as your strainer system will take it.
NEXT. I use the double bucket rig that has the bottomless top bucket.
When I extract the top bucket will fill over half full to begin with. After going through the strainer, when I continue I have to watch and make sure I don't get more in the top"strainer" than  the bottom will hold.
Over the 7 yrs. of beekeeping the only honey spill I have had was when a gate broke.
Some one else happened to be nearby and I had another clean bucket, I held it in place till they   got the bucket in place.
Lost about 1/2 pint out of 5 gal's.
doak

Offline newbee07

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 68
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #6 on: June 04, 2007, 12:16:26 am »
Me and my brothers first honey harvest about 1 hour ago. Still has bubbles in it. I heated it in a pan over boiling water at 145 deg. for about 6 min. and poured through a fine strainer while hot into jar and capped it. So clear i can't beleive it's honey.

Offline doak

  • Super Bee
  • *****
  • Posts: 1788
  • Gender: Male
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2007, 12:36:44 am »
Strain as you extract. don't heat.  "Unless" you want to kill the yeast.
If using mason type jars just tighten lid as tight as you can  to keep air out.
Let it settle a few days in a setttling tank, the bubbles and any small wax particals will rise to the top. Then skim and bottle.
No heated honey comes from my house.
doak

Offline JP

  • The Swarm King
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 11709
  • Gender: Male
  • I like doing cut-outs, but I love catching swarms!
    • JPthebeeman.com
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #8 on: June 04, 2007, 06:09:53 am »
Ditto to what Doak said, don't heat that honey newbee07 !
My Youtube page is titled JPthebeeman with hundreds of educational & entertaining videos.

My website JPthebeeman.com http://jpthebeeman.com

Offline Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19805
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #9 on: June 04, 2007, 07:28:02 am »
I run mine straight into a bucket and then dump the bucket into a double bucket strainer.  I have several double bucket strainers.  The paint strainers work well.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline Cindi

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 9825
  • Gender: Female
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #10 on: June 04, 2007, 10:02:21 am »
I am sorry, I have lost the concept of what the use of the double bucket strainer.  I looked on Michael's site and I still don't understand why it is necessary or the function.  I have problems learning by looking at pictures some times, please elaborate and explain?.

I believe that leaving honey unheated is the best as well. It does not alter the natural order of the chemicals and ingredients in honey -- pure, clean and one of the most beautiful natural products on earth in my eyes.  Could anyone ask for anything more?  Have a wonderful day, great life, love this life you're livin'.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Brian D. Bray

  • Heavenly Beekeeper
  • Heavenly Beekeeper
  • Galactic Bee
  • ********
  • Posts: 7369
  • Gender: Male
  • I really look like this, just ask Cindi.
    • http://spaces.msn.com/thecoonsden
Re: Harvest Helpful Hints
« Reply #11 on: June 04, 2007, 08:04:11 pm »
Impurities in the honey, wax and pollen, etc., are oftenof different sizes.  Having strainers of different sizes insures that what goes through one strainer (the most porious) won't go through the next (smaller mesh).  It is not uncommon to use 3-4 different sizes of mesh strainers so that one strainer isn't clogged up too quickly and to insure the best product.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

 

anything