# Cheap Easy Honey Extracting



## Sickdog5 (Jun 8, 2016)

Anyone have any good ways to extract honey without sacrificing the drawn comb? Only have one hive and i want to pull a med frame of capped honey for myself but i don't want to damage the comb it is in. Maybe in the future if i get bigger i will look into a extractor but it doesn't seem feasible at this time. Thanks


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Sickdog5 said:


> Anyone have any good ways to extract honey without sacrificing the drawn comb? Only have one hive and i want to pull a med frame of capped honey for myself but i don't want to damage the comb it is in. Maybe in the future if i get bigger i will look into a extractor but it doesn't seem feasible at this time. Thanks


It's one comb, just scrape it and strain it.

That said, I think someone here was uncapping frames and spinning them in some sort of sling... as in swinging this thing over your head.

Might have been a video.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Re the 'sling' method described above, see post #10 and #11 of this thread:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...-an-extractor-without-ruining-your-drawn-comb

There is a video link in post #11.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Re the 'sling' method described above, see post #10 and #11 of this thread:
> http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...-an-extractor-without-ruining-your-drawn-comb
> 
> There is a video link in post #11.


You disappoint, as usual, Rader. :lpf: 






I'm thinking of a thread that must have happened quite awhile ago. But I'm pretty sure that's the video.


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## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

Check around, I am sure there are bee keepers in your area, I live in a relatively rural area and know of at least 3 extractors with 15 miles of me. There are likely more then that. Somebody would surely help you out.


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## Gumpy (Mar 30, 2016)

There's a video on YouTube about building a simple 2 frame extractor out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings. You chuck it into your electric drill and use three 5 gallon pales cut, drilled and stacked to catch and contain the honey. A fellow at our bee club built it and brought it in to show us at the last meeting. He said it worked great. Don't have the link, but I'm sure you can find it with a search.


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## ericweller (Jan 10, 2013)

Join a nearby beekeeping association. Most have an extractor that club members can borrow.


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

For 1 frame you will loose a lot of honey in a regular extractor, plus it would be unbalanced. Sacrifice the wax is easiest. You can uncap and drain naturally in the sun (protected from bees), but that takes heat and a lot of time.


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

Many bee clubs have extraction equipment which they to loan to members at no charge.

I know mine (SABA) does. You might want to check that out. 

Enj.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

Is that Acebird?


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## IAmTheWaterbug (Jun 4, 2014)

Gumpy said:


> There's a video on YouTube about building a simple 2 frame extractor out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings. You chuck it into your electric drill and use three 5 gallon pales cut, drilled and stacked to catch and contain the honey. A fellow at our bee club built it and brought it in to show us at the last meeting. He said it worked great. Don't have the link, but I'm sure you can find it with a search.


The Honey Spinner.

Buy complete or just pay for plans and DIY.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

http://www.reeleasyextractor.com/index.html


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## JohnL (Aug 27, 2016)

I've been using the Honey Spinner for three seasons now. This year we extracted about 200 pounds so far. Still working great. Inexpensive solution that works.


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## Sickdog5 (Jun 8, 2016)

JohnL said:


> I've been using the Honey Spinner for three seasons now. This year we extracted about 200 pounds so far. Still working great. Inexpensive solution that works.


 yea just ordered one. What do you use to extract into?


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## JohnL (Aug 27, 2016)

Sickdog5 said:


> yea just ordered one. What do you use to extract into?


You extract into the lowest bucket, which has a honey gate on it. When it gets full, pop the top buckets off and place another one underneath. I thought it was a little crude at first, but it's held up well. Very simple and low cost.


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## Sickdog5 (Jun 8, 2016)

Ohh it comes with a bucket? Must have missed that.


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## JohnL (Aug 27, 2016)

Sickdog5 said:


> Ohh it comes with a bucket? Must have missed that.


I bought the "Honey Spinner Original" from http://honeyspinner.com. It came with all of the parts, ready to use, including the buckets. The only thing I added was some better bucket strainers, the molded plastic type. I think the strainers came from Mann Lake.


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## popeyemth (Feb 26, 2016)

Anybody know of plans for a radial basket?
We have a tangential little wonder but don't wanna pay $300 for a basket to convert it


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

pope
http://www.beesource.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/20frext.pdf

gww


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## Gumpy (Mar 30, 2016)

IAmTheWaterbug said:


> The Honey Spinner.
> 
> Buy complete or just pay for plans and DIY.


This is the one I was talking about. Finally had time to look it up.

https://kiltedcraftworks.com/tag/honey-extractor/


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## Sickdog5 (Jun 8, 2016)

enjambres said:


> Many bee clubs have extraction equipment which they to loan to members at no charge.
> 
> I know mine (SABA) does. You might want to check that out.
> 
> Enj.


ok thanks enj. Hoping I can make it next mon.


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## popeyemth (Feb 26, 2016)

gww said:


> pope
> http://www.beesource.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/20frext.pdf
> 
> gww


Thanks, that's exactly what I wanted!


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Gumpy said:


> This is the one I was talking about. Finally had time to look it up.
> 
> https://kiltedcraftworks.com/tag/honey-extractor/


Looking at this exact page and video.
Thinking to build one with few mods (for both low-volume extraction AND C&S too - in the same equpment).

Anyone tried making/using it?
Any ideas/suggestions?
Thanks!


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## little_john (Aug 4, 2014)

Greg - suggest you download either a .pdf or .djvu copy of:
https://archive.org/details/Plans_For_a_Complete_Beekeeping_System

There are plans for everything - smoker, beehive ... and extractor. 

'best
LJ


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Thanks LJ.


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## pjigar (Sep 13, 2016)

You can make relatively inexpensive 9-frame centrifugal extractor (around $100-$300) if you have some skills. You can make it cheaper depending what material you can scour for free. Here is how I made mine using bicycle wheels and a trash can! I can spin it fast enough to blow the comb and have used it for one season so far. Here is the build video:


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

pjigar said:


> You can make relatively inexpensive 9-frame centrifugal extractor (around $100-$300) if you have some skills....


Thanks, I have seen your vid - very cool.
But this is an overkill for me.
All I want - a few food-grade PVC buckets stacked up (compact to store, cheap, multi-purpose, hard to break).
Also importantly, this setup is perfect for small batch custom extraction jobs - do not want to be mixing different honeys.
I understand, I can do this entire project under $50.


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## pjigar (Sep 13, 2016)

If you are looking for $50 range then 2 frame tangential extractor powered by a drill is the best option. Visit a smoothie shop for almost free food grade buckets.


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## Saltybee (Feb 9, 2012)

The easiest way to take a little in the future is to run 9 frames. Trim off the extra long cells from a few frames and leave the rest.

About the single hive; Take a serious look at running a divided two queen set up.


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## little_john (Aug 4, 2014)

For anyone who's DIY-minded - consider using an abandoned washing machine ? 
What you can recover there is: a reversible motor with it's mounts; the appropriate ratio pulleys and a drive belt to fit; and the drum bearing assembly - with those you should be able to cobble something together for almost no money. 

... which is the kind of project I like 
LJ


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Lj
I would think that treadmills are sitting in all kinds of corners forgotten. You would think that the motors and speed controls off of them would give a good cheap start to powering an extractor.
Cheers
gww
Ps, I used a commercial sewing machine motor/clutch and have been getting by though I can't walk away from it while using.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Saltybee said:


> The easiest way to take a little in the future is to run 9 frames. Trim off the extra long cells from a few frames and leave the rest.
> 
> About the single hive; Take a serious look at running a divided two queen set up.


Deleted..
Basically, these things are irrelevant to me.


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## pjigar (Sep 13, 2016)

There are number of cheap drive options like washer, dryer, treadmills, razor scooters and gocarts, etc. The devil is in the detail on how you create the mounts and gearing to achieve the correct speed and power. I initially planned to use motor and speed control from razor gocart for my project but I got lazy and settled on using mortar mixer to keep the build simple and fast.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

little_john said:


> For anyone who's DIY-minded - consider using an abandoned washing machine ?
> What you can recover there is: a reversible motor with it's mounts; the appropriate ratio pulleys and a drive belt to fit; and the drum bearing assembly - with those you should be able to cobble something together for almost no money.
> 
> ... which is the kind of project I like
> LJ


My entire suburban property is 9000 square feet (this includes my dwelling), LJ.

So the simplicity, compactness and multi-use is very high priority for me.
Buckets are the way to go, I think.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

pjigar said:


> There are number of cheap drive options like washer, dryer, treadmills, razor scooters and gocarts, etc. The devil is in the detail on how you create the mounts and gearing to achieve the correct speed and power. I initially planned to use motor and speed control from razor gocart for my project but I got lazy and settled on using mortar mixer to keep the build simple and fast.


It is true.
But at some point it reaches the cost/benefit cut-off.
The DIY should be really cheap and effective OR just buy an extractor and call it done.
To be sure, I am not crazy about building this thing as it is yet another distraction for me - but pretty much I must have this equipment going forward.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

pjigar said:


> Visit a smoothie shop for almost free food grade buckets.


This is a great advice!
Will have to do; I like the "almost free" idea.


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## PaulT (Sep 2, 2015)

Unless you are looking for a DIY project which I was not, I spent $139.00 for a cheap S.S. hand crank extractor from Amazon that works great for me.


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## Steve in PA (Jan 26, 2015)

PaulT said:


> Unless you are looking for a DIY project which I was not, I spent $139.00 for a cheap S.S. hand crank extractor from Amazon that works great for me.


I probably have the same one and have no issues. When I outgrow it, it will have served its purpose.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Neh; not paying $139 for a thing to be used 2-3 times per a year (and still stored somewhere - an issue for me).

Instead, I want this C&S device (linked from bushfarms)
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/DoubleBucket1.jpg
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/DoubleBucket2.jpg

But also modified so it can extract frames too, at dirt cheap.
So you get *double-functionality* at fraction of the cost (and very compact to store away).

Essentially, it will be two buckets.
The honey receiving bucket at the bottom.
The extraction/crashing bucket at the top.
Stupid simple.

I am fine with DIY hacks (it is the time the issue, not the work as for me).


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## justbee01 (Jan 5, 2017)

jwcarlson said:


> You disappoint, as usual, Rader. :lpf:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is ingenious, for a single frame with no special equipment. Maybe I'll just use it as a trick to impress friends


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

justbee01 said:


> This is ingenious, for a single frame with no special equipment. Maybe I'll just use it as a trick to impress friends


There are several videos similar to this and the ideas are not very original (reinventions of the wheel, so to speak).

Here - hard to make it more simple than this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkTY8up-Lv0

Here is a cool one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msjf9wySDUo

A good experiment and a good show, but that is where it ends - sub-optimal practical applications.
"Cheap Easy Honey Extracting" also needs to be practical in long term and have decent productivity to make it worth the time.


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

This one is pretty cool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm42N8jEIMw
But I would prefer inserting/removing the frames without any dis-assembly.

Also cool:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3EMnhan_68


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## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

GregV said:


> Looking at this exact page and video.
> Thinking to build one with few mods (for both low-volume extraction AND C&S too - in the same equpment).
> 
> Anyone tried making/using it?
> ...


OK, here is the final product and works great for my small operation.
Extracted about 20 frames today.

Honestly, for a 2-frame spinner, this is a great DIY product and will give run for the money to similar store-bought rigs.
The drill thing is a killer - zoom-zoom-done.
It can also dub as a C&S device immediately as is.

One mods that I did and very happy about it:
- the base from 2x10 so I can stand on in while pressing the drill trigger.
- the cross-bar 
- the straps - holding the cross-bar to the base

The stability of the rig is superb with this base.

Few minor mods I already did too.
I still want more to do.
Had no time now.

Cost - some $20.
I had most everything already but the PVC parts for the spinner.
Buckets are free.


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