# Dadant 20 Frame Extractor



## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

I have an older Dadant 20 and they are belt drive, haven't seen the new one personally. I see them on craigslist occasionally, but my Dadant works fine...


----------



## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

I am at the EAS show now. Had a nice talk with Gabe Dadant. They are a great group of people to work with too.
Was checking out their extractors again, and they are nice ,and offer some features we dont. Either way you cant go wrong.
I dont know what a larger outlet will accomplish? 20 frames will not net such a vast flow that would warrant a larger opening.
Our 30 Frame extractors have a 3" outlet, which is sufficient.
We try hard to get the best possible shipping rates for our customers. Let me know if you have anymore questions, and good luck. Buying without seeing is tough sometimes, but at least you are going in the right direction by choosing an American manufacturer, family owned business!


----------



## Adrian Quiney WI (Sep 14, 2007)

I was using my Maxant 20 frame yesterday afternoon. I'm very happy with it. The outlet does not impede the flow of honey.


----------



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

We have an older belt drive 36? frame Dadant that is very gentle, yet has a 20 minute cycle time. It has a 2 inch outlet, which works fine. It is an extractor, not a tank.

Crazy Roland


----------



## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

my partner is not to happy with his 20 frame dadant. he has had it 5 year and had the bottom bearing fail 4 times so far and this year had to replace the controller. we do alot of honey but don't overload it and maintain it properly. he buys the bearings two at a time and it only takes a few minuites to replace after he remembers where he put the new bearings. the maxant that I have has a grease fitting on the 10/20 the dadant doesn't. Mine hasn't failed in 20 years and I bought it used.


----------



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

A couple of things to consider. The Maxant 20 can be purchased with legs. The Dadant has an optional stand. On the one Dadant 20 I saw, the owner had to pass a couple of straps across the extractor to hold it on. It wasn't very impressive. I usually prefer the attached legs. Having said that, if you are extracting into a standard 5 gallon plastic bucket, the legs on the Maxant are a bit too short. if you are planning to extract into those pails with a Maxant you will need to mount it several inches off of the floor to get good clearance.


----------



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I have the Dadant 20-frame and I bought it used. I built my own stand for it out of 2x4s and plywood so I strap it down. Not very impressive, but it does the job. The stand is high enough for a five gallon bucket. I generally only do 20 frames at a time but now I'm curious about loading more!

Yep, I replaced the bottom bearings and acquiring the bearing unit was no big deal. One e-mail to Dadant and they had one in the mail.

I have no experience with the Maxant and I'm happy with my Dadant. I run 150 hives.

Grant
Jackson, MO


----------



## BerkeyDavid (Jan 29, 2004)

I have the Maxant 20 frame, very nice. I can't understand why you would want a bigger outlet? I had used the Mann Lake 18 frame extractor for years ... and the Maxant is a dream... I just ordered the Maxant Model 600-2 bottling tank. I am sold on their stuff.


----------



## SWM (Nov 17, 2009)

I have a 20 frame Dadant that I bought new in 1989. It has a variable speed direct drive motor, which I prefer...no belts to mess with. I replaced the lower sealed bearing about 10 years ago and have an extra if I need it. It has 'slots' for 20 frames, but there is room to place a frame between some of the slots for a 36 frame capacity. I bought it with the stainless steel stand (no paint anywhere) which connects to the tank with two short pieces of chain and secured with turnbuckles. 

I think the newer version is pretty much the same except they have upgraded the motor which has an automatic speed advance. This is a sweet machine and still works and looks as good as the day I bought it.

As for Maxant...I've only heard good things about their equipment, I just don't have any experience with it.


----------



## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

I too looked at both Dadant and Maxant machines, and for me the deciding factor was shipping, and capacity. Bought the Dadant two years ago, and haven't regretted it one bit. Only run 36 hives now, growing to 50. 

Got the Dadant with their stand, and the turnbuckle arrangement that keeps the extractor on the stand. No problem. Machine doesn't walk the floor. I simply love it!

But, you can't go wrong with either one.


----------



## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

MAXANT said:


> I am at the EAS show now. Had a nice talk with Gabe Dadant. They are a great group of people to work with too.
> Was checking out their extractors again, and they are nice ,and offer some features we dont. Either way you cant go wrong.


I gotta say, what a class act Maxant is!
When I was building my extractor, I received much help from both Maxant, and Dadant. I used the Dadant 20 frame carriage in my build. Both great companies!


----------



## ronnyclif (Jul 5, 2004)

I have the maxant 20 frame and the only thing I will change will be the outlet. From 1 -1/2 to 2 inch. If you have a frame blowout it will stop up the 1-1/2 outlet verses 2 inch which I have seen in use. Maxant is dependable and worth the money!


----------



## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

The 1 1/2" outlet is fine. I have 3 Dadant 20's with the larger outlet and if we have a frame blowout they still get clogged. My brother had 2 of the Dadant 84 frame models which have a 3 inch outlet. It takes 2 or 3 blowouts to clog them but it can still be done! You're talking a minor irritation here; just shut the thing down and dig the debris out and keep on trucking! What else do you have to do while extracting anyway? Most of your time is spent waiting for the extractor to do its thing.


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

I have now used my manual extractor for the last season. I appreciate the posts here and general information regarding both Dadant and Maxant. One thing that has me leaning towards purchasing the Dadant 440 is the larger frame capacity. You can stack up to 36 frames and extract all at once, so that is almost twice the capacity of the Maxant. What am I missing here? I can cut down my extracting time and use the machine less to extract the same amout of boxes. Do you Dadant owners see this as a benefit? This makes the Dadant really a 30 frame extractor for about the same purchase price as Maxants 20.


----------



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

Just bought a Dadant 20 frame for backup to our automated extractor. Piece of junk!!! Even empty, it is so off balance that it shakes like it's going to jump off the stand and walk across the room. We have never gotten the speed past about 60 percent for fear of the thing shaking itself apart. It does not drain well as the drain sits higher than the bottom of the tank and it is very hard to get to the bottom of the extractor to clean it out. The frame rests are too far apart and it is very hard to put deep frames into the narrow opening. Wish we had looked a little farther before purchasing this extractor.

By the way, we will be selling ours after extracting season is done so if you're interested in a slightly used one, email me!


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Hey Dan I will be over to make a deal with you, I'll be needing another one after I take the sledge hammer to mine (don't laugh I did that to a phone this summer, still finding little pieces of plastic). In fairness they are probably not too bad for folks that arent too demanding, its just that when you throw all your broken frames in there you are lucky when you can get it balanced well enough to get any speed up at all. I hear you are you are calling yours "Mini Me" as well.


----------



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

Suppose I shouldn't have made those bad comments before trying to sell the thing! And, yeah, in all fairness, we are putting all broken frames in the extractor so it really isn't fair to say it wouldn't work if, 1) you were extracting good frames and 2) If you weren't extracting 8 pallets of honey a day so you had more time... But I am dissappointed to hear about the phone because I was going to find out who you guys use for cell phone service since ours sucks so bad! (and by the way, this is Carol, not Dan) Dan never has quite entered the information age yet (he hasn't even figured out how to text yet) but he does feel he has to approve my posts...


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Actually it wasn't a cell phone it was one of those funky phones that announces who is calling, had trouble with it at home and somehow thought it might work in the honey house. One day it wouldn't let me answer and wouldn't shut up. I took it off the wall and well.......I know, I know t:


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I can fit four 11 1/4" deep frames in my Dadant 20. Have a few of those occasionally. My Maxant 20 wont take them.


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Thanx everyone for the feedback. So if the Dadant and Maxant are so evenly matched, I assume that the Maxant wouldn't meet the needs of a commercial beekeeper either. Thats the first time I have read really negative user reports concerning the Dadant. "Piece of junk" tends to leave a lasting impression. Not too many people running under 100 colonies are going to run out any buy anying other than a 20 frame extractor i'm sure, as the cost would be preventative in a non-commercial operation. The negative posts sounded more like user error, but I don't know as I have never used the Dadant extractor.


----------



## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

The Dadant extractors are fine. I use 3 of the 20 framers and have no problem with them. You need to have them strapped down tightly as with any extractor; they come with chains and turnbuckles to do just that. I built 2x4 and plywood stands to get them up to the correct height and strapped them down. No wobble! That "piece of junk" guy just has no clue! Any extractor will wobble as it's almost impossible to get a perfectly even load in them; some frames are heavy, some light. Would take forever to sort by weight. Just strap it down as designed, get a smile on your face, and extract!


----------



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

That "piece of junk" guy has the extractor strapped down on Dadant's own extractor stand with the provided chains and turnbuckles and still contends that, even empty AND TIED DOWN the extractor wobbles like crazy! And the stand is bolted to a level floor! 

Want to buy a fourth one fish stix?


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Just a little background fish_stix. BeekeeperSD and I have the same set up. We run inline autoload extractors and use the 20 framers for the frames that are too broken up to run through the system. The Dadant 20 frame extractors just arent built heavy enough deal with the imbalances that regularly occur when you use them this way. We also have them anchored down very well but it just dosent help much, you have to just settle for letting them run slowly for a longer time. I am sure these work well for most situations but they most definitely arent built well enough for what we ask them to do.


----------



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

beekeeper_sd said:


> And, yeah, in all fairness, we are putting all broken frames in the extractor so it really isn't fair to say it wouldn't work if, 1) you were extracting good frames and 2) If you weren't extracting 8 pallets of honey a day so you had more time...


Just as I tried to point out in an earlier post. The extractor is probably okay, just not for commercial use and definitely not for broken frames.


----------



## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Jim and Carol (beekeeper sd) thanks for clarifying your use of the Dadant 20 framer for folks. That makes a difference in how people who aren't commercial might approach the extractor.

Personally, I'm nearing 50 colonies, and extracting shallow, medium, and deep frames. It's easy to keep it balanced as I load it. While I have the chains and turnbuckles attached to the extractor stand, I don't have it bolted to the floor or anything else. It has only walked on me once, when I advanced the speed control too fast for the extracting. It seems to be a great machine for it's purpose, which is not a large commercial operation, I would think.
Regards,
Steven


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Jim & Beekeeper sd

Kindly inform the forums (non-commercial) users what might be a more appropriate extractor to make as an investment. I'm sure neither of you started out with 1000 hives. Save us the misery of buying something that won't be a better over-all investment into our 50-150 colony apiaries. Would you recommend Hubbard? Cowan, others as being a more worthy investment. I'm sure that Dadant doesn't mind a few slams every now and then provided you still find the need to purchase their extractors. We ran a 3500 colony operation in Virginia 20 years ago and used the Maxant parallel radial and a couple smaller 20 framers and extracted a lot of honey. Most years we turned in around 300-400 drums to the governement CC programs . I can't remember having to throw many broken frames into our extractors either, I guess thats what we used our melter for. Thanx for the input.


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Riskybizz: To be completely honest with you I am not an expert on radial extractors except to say that by all accounts the Hubbard (if you can find one) was the best ever made. I spent years running Woodman 50 framers but those are a thing of the past. I would have to defer to someone else on here about how the new Dadant, Maxant, or Mann Lake hold up, would guess you get about what you pay for. The auto load Cowen or Cook & Beals are pretty amazing but I would have trouble recommending that kind of investment for someone running under 500 hives. I guess my best advice would be to keep an eye out for a good used machine larger than the 20 framer being discussed here. They are essentially pretty simply machines that can be easily repaired and maintained by someone with a little mechanical knowhow or a good blacksmith. One more point if I may, those broken frames really need to be extracted in some manner before being melted, the honey is worth far more than the comb. The best method is "double loading" or squeezing them between two good frames. Sure they occasionally blow out and plug your machine up but that is just one of the joys of extracting. One of the best aspects of the inline system (I am rambling now) is how few frames are damaged even running at high speeds because the frames are tight together and not aligned at an angle to the next frame as radials are, we are able to run a lot of bad combs through them as long as they arent on the outside of a rack. Hope at least some of these thoughts are helpful.


----------



## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Our machines are designed to be used by the hobbyist to the commercial sideliner.


----------



## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Thanx Jim, I appreciate your feedback.


----------



## beekeeper_sd (Oct 30, 2008)

The extractors we had before going to our auto-load were three 72 frame Kelley radial extractors. I think they were brought over on the Mayflower but they were excellent extractors and very simple mechanically so they were easy to work on.


----------



## bermybee (Nov 2, 2008)

I have used a Dadant12 framer for 12 years and for the past 5 years I’ve used Dadant 60 framer. Though Dadant’s 12/20 frame bottom bearings is probably not the best I’ve never had to replace bearings and I USED the 12 framer to the MAX so I always have to wander when people say they are constantly replacing Dadant bearings the top bearing on my 12 framer has a grease nipple which I grease yearly after clean up, as for the bottom bearing a good cleaning & a little Vaseline yearly goes a long way. My take on most bearing issues is poor cleaning, the honey gets in the bottom bearing crystallizes and this is what causes most of the problems. As for the gate size of the Maxant phaaa my 60 framer has a 3 inch center bottom drain the honey flows through a 3 inch butterfly valve the honey flows through 2 inch SS tubing through 2 inch butterfly then to the 1.5 inch input of my clarifier. I have never had a blockage. So I don’t see the size of a 20 frame Maxant side output is not the real big issues, the fact that Dadant uses a welded coupling though….. The drain placement of these extractors Maxant or Dadant is not the best and they will hold some honey (cost thing). Maxant uses a filler to make them easier to clean because the gate is nylon it has to be that much higher. 
As for the balance thing if you bolt it down like ever commercial/side-liner extractor manufacture instruct you to do and tighten the straps it will not walk or tip/tilt and you will be able to get it up to full speed right away and blow all your full frames, if that what you want. If you do get the SS stand it will slide around about a half inch (metal on top of metal). I used that slide to judge when I could up the speed of the extractor but you could put a shim in-between the tank & one of the stubs on the stand it if it means the much to you.


----------



## northbee (Apr 16, 2009)

jim lyon said:


> Just a little background fish_stix. BeekeeperSD and I have the same set up. We run inline autoload extractors and use the 20 framers for the frames that are too broken up to run through the system. The Dadant 20 frame extractors just arent built heavy enough deal with the imbalances that regularly occur when you use them this way. We also have them anchored down very well but it just dosent help much, you have to just settle for letting them run slowly for a longer time. I am sure these work well for most situations but they most definitely arent built well enough for what we ask them to do.


Jim 

Am looking into buying a 20 framer. Have you or beekeeperSD used the Maxant 20 in your operation to compare to the Dadant 20?

Also any thoughts about the durability of the newer direct drive dadants vs the older belt driven units? 

Any comments/experiences by others would be appreciated.

Thanks, Yuuki


----------



## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

No Yuuki, can't help you with any first hand experience on the Maxant 20. I am betting someone will chime in, though, that can advise you. Most everything I have heard about the Maxant line is pretty positive.
Best of luck
Jim


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I have one of each, both 30+ years old. I am not experienced with either manufacturers current design.The frame in the Maxant is easier to load, and the honey does not get trapped between the frame and rack, which a small amount does in the Dadant. The Dadant can be doubled up to hold I think 44 medium frames. Both hold ten deep frames. The Dadant can also fit four of my 11 1/4" frames.


----------



## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

The Dadant actually holds 20 deep frames by design. With medium frames you can get 36 frames in by placing one between the normal spacing clips/frames.


----------



## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

I have an older direct drive dadant 20 framer and it runs smooth as glass. It is chained to the floor. I run it slow for the first five minutes or so with 20 frames and crank it up finishing the last 5 minutes at full speed , no problems. I also have the maxant jr cappings spinner and it is a very nicely made machine.


----------



## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

I have a maxant 30 which is about 25 years old and a dadant 20 which is about 9 years old
I prefer the maxant. I find it easier to load the drum because it is not as tight fitting. I find the maxant does not wobble as much as the dadant. both extractors are on a separate stand. The maxant is on a 4x4 plywood base with 4x4" wood legs and braced with 2x6's. The maxant is bolted to the base. The dadant is on a 4x4 base (how we got it) and instead of bolted down, there are 4 wood blocks screwed in the base which keep the dadant in place. These work nice because at the end we can tilt the dadant and twist the blocks to drain the extractor.
We have replaced the controller on the dadant and working on replacing it again. Why? Because sticky honey hands have clogged up the on off switch. A little bit of water goes a long ways to cleaning up the switch but in end it has to get replaced. 
We have replaced the love-joy on the dadant. No bearing problems as of yet.
On the maxant, nothing but grease it up and replace the belt.

I have to say i like the manual speed shift on the maxant.
The maxant is older, and the seals in the bottom have worn away, so it leaked abit on the base. Fixed that problem with melting beeswax into the weld.
I should say the maxant when not running a balanced load will walk away quicker than the dadant does. But starting slow and then if need be, re adjust the frames mid spin resolves that problem easy enough
The dadant instead of walking, the extractor starts to shift on the base, shifting the direction of the spout. This can get a bit messy. Best think is to start slow and go from there, rebalance if need be
Run around the 200 hive mark.


----------



## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I do not have the numbers to justify it and probably never will, but I found a 32 frame dadant for just a little more than a new twenty framer and I am overjoyed I went that route. It is heavy and the stand is supposed to be bolted to the floor. My honey house is only that in season so i did not care to drill holes in my floor. I put a wood base under it and put down some rtv at the corners to hold it in place. Works like a charm. I cut the silicone with a chisel and move it out of the way when done for the year. Bigger is better. When in doubt or when opportunity allows, go bigger.


----------



## northbee (Apr 16, 2009)

Thanks for the insights so far. I am going to keep looking and hopefully I can find some beekeepers in my area that have some of these models for me to look at. 

It seems that there are pros and cons to both the Maxant and Dadant.

Honeyshack, 

What is a love-joy (on the Dadant)? does the Maxant not have a switch to get all gummed up with honey and eventually fail? 

Thanks, Yuuki


----------



## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

We use a belt drive/pulley system. The motor is on the side of the extractor on the 1400.


----------



## honeyshack (Jan 6, 2008)

a love joy is two peices of rubber which connect two separate shafts with a space between. When the rubber meets together, they interconnect like lego. This allows the shaft a bit of give especially with unbalanced loads

http://www.lovejoy-inc.com/?gclid=CMjr3Im0sq0CFYUZQgodNnO0nQ Not to worry, it is a safe site

As for the switch, the dadant switch has diaodes (sp), solder spots. An electronic hardware board. In have tried taking the controler apart and cleaning it. Just can not get it clean enough to work again
The maxant ( or atleast mine does) has a light switch for turn the motor on or off. It is gets clogged, and it has not yet, take the cover off and clean UNPLUG first please.


----------

