# Lyson 8/20



## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

I am looking at buying a lyson 8/20 from Blue sky. Does anyone have any experience with it. Quality or functionality of the extractor.


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## coastie (Feb 2, 2015)

I was at Betterbee this weekend looking at the Lyson extractors. They are very well made. I cant speak to the functionality of them but I am looking at picking one up next month when I go back.


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## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

Thank you. I have contacted bluesky and ask for more information and additional pictures. Will update as soon as I receive the information.


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## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

Blue sky just sent me this link. I think I will order it today or tomorrow. 

https://youtu.be/RUsRSzxsUbg


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## jdmidwest (Jul 9, 2012)

I have a Lyson extractor I bought last summer. It is the manual 4 Frame model. I was impressed by the quality of the workmanship for the price. Everything worked as expected. The design is the same as the others that are higher priced. And it is not made in China.

BetterBee is where I bought mine.


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## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

Thank you, I bought mine today from Blue sky bee supply. Hope to receive it within a week. I think this will be perfect for me as my apiarie grows. Thanks again JD and Coastie.


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## RJI_1968 (Jul 4, 2013)

Jake did you get the extractor and what do you think about it?


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## raku (Jun 13, 2016)

Got a 42-frame radial extractor direct from Lyson around 8 years ago. Works fine and had no problems since then. Only thing: the drum could be of thicker ss. But for the price ...


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## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

I got the extractor. Looks great, have not used it yet. Hope to use it, when I get back from vacation. I will post my opinion, hopefully soon.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

jdmidwest said:


> I have a Lyson extractor I bought last summer. It is the manual 4 Frame model. I was impressed by the quality of the workmanship for the price. Everything worked as expected. The design is the same as the others that are higher priced. And it is not made in China.
> 
> BetterBee is where I bought mine.


I hope that mine will work as well as yours does as I ordered it on Wednesday and it should arrive on Monday. Was impressed by how quick and easy ordering was. Ordered it from Better Bee at 2PM and FedEx had it on the way by 5PM. Blue Sky and Better Bee both offered the Lyson 4-frame manual for $279.00 but B.S. shipping was $54.00 and B.B. only $37.00 so I went with them. Hope to use it by Tuesday. Any hints, tips, information you care to share about setting it up, using and cleaning it? Thanks.


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## wfournier (Apr 23, 2013)

I'm looking at a new extractor for next year and have giving the Lysons a good look. Can anyone who has seen them give me some feedback on the premium vs economy line betterbee is selling? I called them yesterday and the main thing they told me was that the premium line is heavier duty but it looks like they both use 24g ss so I'm not sure what the real world difference is. I'm kind of between the Maxant 1400P and one of the 20 frame Lysons trying to weigh the pluses and minuses. The price of the 20 frame basic unit certainly is appealing.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

wfournier said:


> I'm looking at a new extractor for next year and have giving the Lysons a good look. Can anyone who has seen them give me some feedback on the premium vs economy line betterbee is selling? I called them yesterday and the main thing they told me was that the premium line is heavier duty but it looks like they both use 24g ss so I'm not sure what the real world difference is. I'm kind of between the Maxant 1400P and one of the 20 frame Lysons trying to weigh the pluses and minuses. The price of the 20 frame basic unit certainly is appealing.


I posted this in the Consumer Report Forum - Very pleased with my extractor, though i cna not speak about the 20 frame system. 

Had been looking for an extractor for several months and after looking at many types, sizes, companies, and reading discussions on the beesourse forum I choose a Lyson extractor. The model I choose was LEX2019N, a manual four frame extractor from Better Bee. Better Bee and another company both offered the same model for a cost of $279.00 which included the legs and a 2 year warranty. Better Bee’s shipping cost was $20.00 less and the service was great. 

I ordered the machine at 2PM and before 5PM FedEx had picked it up and I received it 3 day later. The only assembly required is screwing one bolt through the handle to the crank and three bolts and nuts to attach the legs to the extractor. Took less than 20 minutes after removing it from the box to having it ready to operate. Used it this week and on the second day (first time we were a bit slower) removed the supers just after 9AM, extracted 16 frames, replaced the supers on the hive, and cleaned our equipment and were done with that hive by 11AM!

Very please with how easy it is to use, very simple, and quick. This was my first time dealing with Better Bee and very impressed with their customer service. I had one question and emailed them about 8PM and received a reply by 9AM the next morning.


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## wfournier (Apr 23, 2013)

Thanks for the information, I actually happened to be in the general area so stopped at Better Bee earlier today to take a look at the extractors. First let me say that these are different then the model being sold by Blue Sky and are IMO based on what I can see in the pictures of the Blue sky model better built. The better bee models have a protective shield around the motor (not visible in the blue sky video) and the legs are different, the blue sky legs only attached at the bottom of the body of the extractor(similar to the smaller Lyson extractors sold by better bee) and the Better Bee models run the full height of the extractor and have a band that runs around the top making for a stronger construction (I wonder if over time the blue sky model would be more likely to develop cracks from metal fatigue).

Now back to the extractors I looked at, as you would imagine they are very similar. It most simply you could put it that the premium model is just a little bit stronger in almost every way (other than the body). The immediate difference is that the Premium model is all stainless steel while the legs and braces on the standard model are painted steel. Based on the specs on their website the drum is the same thickness on both and I would not be surprised if they were the same part.Next the drum covers are thicker on the premium model ~1/4" rather than ~1/8" on the standard. Similarly the reel is made of heavier material, the standard model didn't seem weak to me but the premium is beefier. The guard on the bottom of the premium model is a little better as well. Finally I didn't crawl under them and look but the specs say the standard model has a 1/3 hp motor while the premium model has a 1/2 hp motor.

The bottom line seems to be that if you are going to beat on it the standard model is going to work just fine. I was only looking at it but nothing I saw made me worried about it breaking (please keep in mind I haven't used an extractor of this size before so I may be overlooking things that more experienced eyes would see). Yes the Premium models is going to be stronger but the question that would need to be answered is does it need to be? My impression and that of the guy I was speaking too at better bee was probably not, the standard model would be fine. If anyone else has some input on that I would love to hear it.


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## wfournier (Apr 23, 2013)

Last one:


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## Jake Owens (May 10, 2016)

I use my Layson 8/20. I am very happy ( only did one supper) with its proformence. Worked great and seemed rigid enough. Hope to get many years out of it.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

What sort of bearing is in the top and bottom? Is it grease-able?


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## RJI_1968 (Jul 4, 2013)

I picked up the Lyson W230 from Blue Sky on Friday night, great people to deal with they stayed after hours so I could pick it up. I looked at the 20 frame Maxant and the new Lega line they are selling but for the money I went with the Lyson. I put it together Saturday morning and pulled 20 frames that I needed to extract and tried out the new machine and I am very happy with it, what a difference over my old 3 frame hand crank from A.I. Root . I got around 6 1/2 gallons out of 20 mediums and I would say the frames were **** near dry after extracting. The only thing I would suggest they change is where the controls are mounted on top, not a concern on loading or unloading but when it's time to clean up it becomes a pain.


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## RJI_1968 (Jul 4, 2013)

Sealed bearings


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## biffsbzbees (Mar 31, 2012)

How did you go directly to Lyson, and was the cost with shipping any cheaper seem
s it wouldn''t be. I like the controller on the Lysons.


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## blueskybeesupply (Dec 11, 2007)

We sell all Lyson models, even if not listed on our site. Call for a quote: (877) 529-9233. The 8/20 W230's are on sale right now at a great price. We have sold 100's with no issues. It's a solid unit. Pick one up while the deals last!


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## Sparky2 (Oct 7, 2019)

Does anyone have picture of the Lyson 20/8 with deep frames in it? I run only deeps and want to know if this will fit my need. 
If you don't have picture, but have experience with deeps in this extractor I am very interested in your opinion. Thanks.


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## Boondocks (Sep 16, 2020)

Sparky2 said:


> Does anyone have picture of the Lyson 20/8 with deep frames in it? I run only deeps and want to know if this will fit my need.
> If you don't have picture, but have experience with deeps in this extractor I am very interested in your opinion. Thanks.


You may want to look at this recent thread. High pitched noise from the Lyson controller. I would ask if you could turn one on before buying it.








High frequency pitch from extractor


I bought a Lyson Optima twelve frame extractor and it has a really irritating high pitch frequency associated with the controller. Is this a common issue with extractors or just this model or is it effective? The distributor didn't have an answer.




www.beesource.com





And here is a video of the 20 frame model:


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## HTB (Aug 12, 2020)

There is no high frequency noise associated with this 30 frame Lyson. I'm guessing it has a different controller than the 12 and 20 frame units.


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## Tim.Angelone (Feb 24, 2015)

Jake Owens said:


> I am looking at buying a lyson 8/20 from Blue sky. Does anyone have any experience with it. Quality or functionality of the extractor.


I purchased this exact unit from
Blue sky and have had it for about 3 seasons. It works very well. I drilled it into my basement floor and bolted it down. Only complaint is I wish it had stronger legs but it’s gets the job done. I extract about 75 supers twice a year.


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## Sparky2 (Oct 7, 2019)

Tim.Angelone said:


> I purchased this exact unit from
> Blue sky and have had it for about 3 seasons. It works very well. I drilled it into my basement floor and bolted it down. Only complaint is I wish it had stronger legs but it’s gets the job done. I extract about 75 supers twice a year.


Hi Tim, just wondering if your supers were mediums or deeps? I will be running about 40 deeps twice a year and wondering if this would do the job. 
Also, is the high pitch sound barrable? or do you just wear ear plugs lol...


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## GFWestTexas (Jul 10, 2021)

I have the Lyson 20 frame, and I am quite happy with it. Only issue I had was shipping, and Better Bee fixed all that up for me. Blue sky was close in price but could come no where near on shipping so I went Better Bee. On a flat surface I can run this thing without bolting it down, clean up was easy, and I have a battery converter if I need to take it to another yard for extraction. I really do like this thing. I did get the model with legs going up the entire length it has top ring the legs fasten into distributing weight better.


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## GFWestTexas (Jul 10, 2021)

Sparky2 said:


> Does anyone have picture of the Lyson 20/8 with deep frames in it? I run only deeps and want to know if this will fit my need.
> If you don't have picture, but have experience with deeps in this extractor I am very interested in your opinion. Thanks.


It will run deeps just fine eight at a time.


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## Blue Tick (Jan 5, 2018)

GFWestTexas said:


> It will run deeps just fine eight at a time.


I’ve been debating this model myself. Do you have any problems loading the deeps in it? The dealer I’ve been talking to has said deeps can be an issue with this model.


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## GFWestTexas (Jul 10, 2021)

Blue Tick said:


> I’ve been debating this model myself. Do you have any problems loading the deeps in it? The dealer I’ve been talking to has said deeps can be an issue with this model.


Runs them just fine.


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