# Using to strain honey



## Morphic

What do you all use to strain your honey with? There was a small strainer in a honey bucket i got with my hive, but the screen is so small it wouldnt go through, or it must need to drop SUPER slow to go through. WHat do u all use? I finally used cheesecloth but that left a few small pieces in honey still.


----------



## Michael Bush

Some people want to filter it so that no particle of wax or pollen gets through. Some customers LIKE som bits of pollen in it. The bits of pollen and wax make it crystalize sooner. I like mine coarsely filtered, so I use a nylon screen door screen for a filter.

Of course honey runs through anything more quickly when the honey is warmer, but I hate to heat mine. Sometimes I will try to keep the temperature in the kitchen about 90 degrees or so to speed things along.

Honey does not run very quikcly through a clogged filter. The finer the filter the sooner it clogs. All of the clog eventuatlly. Depending on what they are made of (metal, nylon etc.) you can try to wash them out and get them working again. This is good for some time, but eventually it seems like the filter gets such a coating of wax on everything that it's hard to get it all off and a new filter works much better.


----------



## OldScout

I used a paint strainer I purchased from the local Ace Hardware. Fits perfectly over a 5 gallon bucket. I'm told its the same strainer as sold by the beekeeping supply sources but without the fancy packaging and a lot cheaper. Cleans up with hot water and therefore reusable.


----------



## BULLSEYE BILL

When I extract, I first use a double sieve strainer seen here:
http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catalog/proddetails.asp?pg=page64.htm 

Then when I transfeer to the botteling tank I run the honey through the 600, 400, and the 200 micron filters.

The first year I extracted, I used the paint filters and the honey did not crystalize until the second year. The next year I used just a screen and it crystalized within three weeks. I went to the triple screen in hopes to keep it from turning so quickly.
http://www.beeequipment.com/shop.asp


----------



## Guest

Throw out the cheesecloth!

Welcome to the 21st century, we hope you
enjoy the ride.









For small-scale work, I REALLY like the 400
micron and 200 micron plastic "paint strainer" 
type filters sold by Dadant and others. They 
fit nicely on a 5-gallon pail, and if one sets
a colander across the top of the strainer,
one has a foolproof system that yields nearly
show-quality honey with minimal clog/clean
cycles.

They won't last forever, but what do you 
expect for $4.00?


----------



## Keith Benson

Jim,

What do you do for show quality honey?

Keith


----------



## suttonbeeman

use nylon..cheese cloth will leave tiny lint pieces in the honey...The type of strainer WILL NOT (unless you pressure filter like the big boys) affect granulation that much. floral source and heat are the biggest tow factors. I have a jar of locust honey 20 yrs old no granulation...aster honey will granulate in 30 days of less


----------

