# Extractor bases - wheels or fixed base?



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I am impressed how well a friend's Maxant on castors works. We tested it in my extracting room that has slightly a sloped floor to a drain. We bungied it to the wall and it just kept spinning along. Some say it has to be three castors, others disagree. I liked it as it is portable and not fastened down. Another friend made his out of all steel and can fasten it to the back of his SUV on the 2" two receiver. Here is Bob's final setup. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxdBnVp6rk


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

With a flat floor do you think it would stay stationary on castors?


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I put casters on mine and love it. It takes a LOT of imbalance to get it walking much and usually that's only at the beginning. It has saved me so much time since I can do things while the extractor is working now. Before I had to babysit it unless I pulled it into the barn and screwed it to the floor. That worked but the bees can get in making for an entirely different problem!


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## Armstrong and Family (Dec 24, 2016)

We took a mobile machine base, and mounted corian countertop to it, then the extractor to the base. Its easy to push around, and with the flip of a pedal, it is won't go rolling around the garage. 

Robbie


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor. You'll be glad you did.


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I am with sqkcrk on that. I have ran mine both ways. It Made life a lot easyer once I anchored it. I just used a couple turnbuckles, chain and a couple piece of stainless steel angle about 4" long and 1" legs. Angle was bolted on where the top bolts onto the tank. The anchor when not in use get Allen screw in them to keep the dirt out of them.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

sqkcrk said:


> Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor. You'll be glad you did.


+1


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

sqkcrk said:


> Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor. You'll be glad you did.


As another old fart fixed in my ways.....I also for 45 years bolted down my extractor and still do. But all you other doubting old farts should give these castor stands a look see. It is amazing. I have no idea if it works for big extractors, but this Maxant hobby extractor just beautifully spins and extracts not flying across the floor like you would expect. The castors somehow absorb the energy and they just slightly wiggle a bit.

Another video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GepBgnhbEGk


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Well, since you put it that way.  Were I to own and use such an extractor I try that castor stand thingamajob and see how well it works. You can always bolt it down later, if it seems like a good idea.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

I didn't like my Dadant 20/36 on casters. It seemed to want to walk away from whatever bucket it was pouring into too consistently. I put it on 2 fixed wheels with rubber isolators. Tilt the unit back and the fixed wheels come into contact with the ground and allow the unit to get wheeled about. Set the unit down and the isolators lift the wheels off the ground and it becomes "fixed." To be fair though, just this weekend I put my new Maxant uncapper/spinner combo on lockable casters. I'm hoping that because it's got more weight when empty and the load (wet cappings falling in from above) will be self balancing it'll work. It's easy to move around but I won't know if it works with castors until July.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Calling all old farts. You know who you are! Try a moving dolly. Works great and you probably already have one laying around somewhere in your old fart pile of junk that you guys alway hang onto.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

My usual primitive pete solution was to mount my extractor base on a piece of 5/4 flooring material to get the needed extra height for a five gallon bucket under outlet and used silicone rubber to glue the flooring to the concrete floor. When done and need to move the extractor out of the way, I chisel things loose and skim the rubber off the floor. Anchors in the floor might be better but I never make up my mind where the absolute best location for things are. The day I put the holes in the concrete, a shining light will tell me to move things. This is an old 32 frame dadant.


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

D Coates said:


> I didn't like my Dadant 20/36 on casters. It seemed to want to walk away from whatever bucket it was pouring into too consistently. I put it on 2 fixed wheels with rubber isolators. Tilt the unit back and the fixed wheels come into contact with the ground and allow the unit to get wheeled about. Set the unit down and the isolators lift the wheels off the ground and it becomes "fixed." To be fair though, just this weekend I put my new Maxant uncapper/spinner combo on lockable casters. I'm hoping that because it's got more weight when empty and the load (wet cappings falling in from above) will be self balancing it'll work. It's easy to move around but I won't know if it works with castors until July.



I would like to see some pics of your set up,sounds good.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

GI extract in the garage. Concrete floor and I didn't want to drill and lag or stuff like that. When I'm done, the unit has to be stored so it doesn't stay in one spot. I can haul it to the barn and screw the legs down but as I mentioned, the barn is open to the bees and they find the honey quickly. Plus, I loan out the extractor from time to time (Maxant 3100 P). 

So, I built a triangular base with heavy duty casters. I bolted the extractor to the base. Now, I can wheel it around for storage or cleaning; use it for extracting allowing the wheels to absorb the energy or lock the casters when it's in the bed of my truck. It worked out quite well.


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## Mefco (Oct 16, 2015)

Try it on casters, works great, got mine on casters, the bucket on a wheeled platform too, bungied to the extractor, see it here. If it moves a bit more, bungy it to the wall. Way easier to move around to get it out of the way the 362 days a year you're not using it....Old Fart is a state of mind, not a chronological age...

https://youtu.be/QzijpCAc5o0


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Flyer Jim said:


> I would like to see some pics of your set up,sounds good.


Which one? All my stuff is mobile as I set up and break down within a weekend. I don't want to carry or manhandle anything above what I have to during harvest.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

I have the Maxant 18. I tried the casters and we ended up doing the "fast dance" all around the garage! It wanted to lead the entire time! So, I put lags in the cement and bolt it down when I use it. When finished, I remove the lag bots, put casters into the pre-drilled holes in the legs and roll it outside to wash it out and dry then roll it into a corner of the garage where it sits until needed needed again...........
I cover the lags in the garage floor with duct tape ....it matches the cement and you can hardly tell where they are there...

Works for me.........


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## Flyer Jim (Apr 22, 2004)

D Coates said:


> Which one?


Both please, the Maxant uncapper/spinner combo on lockable casters and the extractor on 2 fixed wheels with rubber isolators. I have a Dadant 20/36 on casters and a Maxant 20, the good old good one, and I need a new uncapper. Thanks


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## BaK (Jul 24, 2015)

My partner beak owns the extractor, three legs with locking castors. First year it walked all over, even with the castors locked. We took a 4x4 of 3/4" plywood, screwed a piece of 2x6 with two holes drilled all the way through spaced out for leg dimensions. We flop the plywood on the floor, wheel the extractor over and drop it in the holes, and go to extracting. The extractor dances a little but stays in one place and life is good.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

When I had my Maxant cappings spinner Jr. I had lockable casters on it too. It started walking all over I put the casters in my kids yard shoes and they acted to hold the legs in place. Looked funny and worked but I took 2 of them off and replaced them with a couple isolators.

Flyer Jim I'll get the photos on here.


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## Bkwoodsbees (Feb 8, 2014)

I have my Maxant 20 frame mounted on a pallet. It wobbles real bad and I am going a different route this year. I was thinking of bolting it to cement floor. I like the castor idea which will be good for moving out to rinse out. I also like to be able to tilt foreward after extracting to get the honey out of bottom. Leaning hard towards bolting to floor and unscrew after extracting to drain then clean. Robert


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## dp2k (Apr 22, 2012)

for a small unit, casters are the way to go. The only shaking is early in the cycle when frames are still unbalanced. I use them on my 12 frame Italian motorized unit, and they work great. If I had a permanent set up I'd probably bolt it down, but needing to move the extractor into storage when I'm not extracting, is another benefit to having it on casters, I can just roll the whole thing around.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

sqkcrk said:


> Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor. You'll be glad you did.


X2. 

Sink threaded anchors into the floor. Use turnbuckles to secure it during use.


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## svtkpr (Mar 16, 2011)

I have a plywood base with a swivel caster bolted under each leg of the extractor. I bungee a 5gal pail to the legs and load the extractor with 9 frames. I start the extractor and go back to uncapping. It's a maxant motorized 3100 extractor.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Here are the promised photos.

Uncapper Spinner combo http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Dr...ent set up/Spinner wheels.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 

Extractor http://s196.photobucket.com/user/Dr...t set up/extractor wheels.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1


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## ericweller (Jan 10, 2013)

I have my 3100P mounted on casters and when the load is unbalanced, it does march around quite a bit. After a few minutes, the load balances out and it stays put. The only thing I would suggest is that if you get casters, don't get the ones with soft black wheels. They really mark up our kitchen floor. I will swap them out with the non-marring casters this year.


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## becsbeehive (Oct 29, 2016)

I have these (no wheels) https://www.becsbeehive.com.au/products/honey-extractor-italian-2-frame-lega


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

sqkcrk said:


> Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor. You'll be glad you did.


Just not able to do that in my "wife's" kitchen. Welcome other ideas.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

odfrank said:


> As another old fart fixed in my ways.....I also for 45 years bolted down my extractor and still do. But all you other doubting old farts should give these castor stands a look see. It is amazing. I have no idea if it works for big extractors, but this Maxant hobby extractor just beautifully spins and extracts not flying across the floor like you would expect. The castors somehow absorb the energy and they just slightly wiggle a bit.
> 
> Another video:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GepBgnhbEGk


Another great idea. How do you think it would work by bolting the extractor to a funiture/moving dolly? Oops sorry, just saw post #12.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Groundhog,

Thanks for not taking credit for my sheer genius!!!


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

Mounted my Dadant 6/12 onto a 7/8" piece of plywood. Left enough space to set a bucket in front of it. Put 4 casters under it. If it does walk a little, the bucket is already on the platform. Does it's little dance right in one spot while extracting.


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## angryhippie (Mar 11, 2010)

I have an old AI Root 24 frame just mounted to a heavy duty pallet so that I can move it outside with the forks on the tractor for cleaning. It works great and I haven't had any issues with it walking.


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## tikkay (Feb 10, 2017)

Do swivel casters or fixed seem preferable?
It seems both have been employed by people. Combination of the two? 
Two swivel, one fixed with a brake? Has anyone tried that combination?


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

tikkay said:


> Do swivel casters or fixed seem preferable?
> It seems both have been employed by people. Combination of the two?
> Two swivel, one fixed with a brake? Has anyone tried that combination?


I have 4 swivel with brake and never use the brakes.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

appalachianoutdoors said:


> I have 4 swivel with brake and never use the brakes.


Same here although I do brake the unit when I'm transporting in the pickup truck. Never when extracting.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

sqkcrk said:


> Bolt that sucker down securely to the floor..


I am with sqkcrk on this one. Mine is bolted to floor, and secured with turnbuckles. Turnbuckles makes it fast to unscrew for storing or taking it outside for cleaning. Has to be really out of whack to get any wobble.

cchoganjr


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## appalachianoutdoors (May 16, 2015)

Just a side note...mine on casters doesn't wobble much, but I use a hot knife to uncap. If you use a scratcher and then load semi unequal frame into an extractor, it will almost always walk around. A hot or cold knife is the way to go with an extractor.


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## tikkay (Feb 10, 2017)

I've two swivel and one fixed caster to play with. They're off of a big upright freezer. 
I'll give it a shot and see how it goes. 

Planning on the swivels being placed at the "bottom" of the triangle and the fixed at the "top" of the triangle. 
Thaks.


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