# Which Method Do You Use, The 5 Gallon Bucket Heater OR Home Built Honey Heater Box??



## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

You may not many responses to this thread as their are TONS of posts on BS already about this.... a little searching will have you reading for a long time..


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

Thanks for your output! I have read the old posts....Was looking forward to perhaps maybe new improved ideas! I read about the garbage can idea and the old frig and/or freezer etc....Great ideas! So does this mean you dont have a preference?


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

i have a closet that i run a small radiator/oil heater in. i keep it set at 90 degrees and when i take a bucket i move the next one in. there are always about 20 buckets in there.


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

hahaha....Thats a very creative idea.....Do you by any chance see a difference in the electric bill from using a space heater vs maybe the box heater method that uses a 60-100Watt light bulb? How many days does that method usually take for a 5 gallon bucket justin?


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## DC Bees (Sep 24, 2009)

I use an old fridge for my warming cabinet but I already had the fridge in the basement so that is what I used. If I had to start over I would build one to fit my needs. I have never used a bucket heater and never will, as far as I Know you can not warm bottles with a bucket heater.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEvRAqP2eXY


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

I liked the aluminum garbage can idea along with a digital thermostat to monitor the temp & a 100watt light bulb! It seems like it would be quick & really easy setup! You wouldnt have to spend that much time putting it together!
DC Bees im originally from Pa.....I used to work in Lock haven many years ago....I used to work with a guy named charlie that lived in Tyrone Pa....Cant remember his last name....It was 25 yrs ago...He drove one of them old datsun 280z... Back then it sounded good! hahaha


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## justin (Jun 16, 2007)

i don't know if the energy usage would be different. i think the closet works well. it is a lot of warm mass. it might take 3 days to melt one, but because there are lots of them they are there longer than that. it is in my basement so any lost heat stays in the house.


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## honeybeekeeper (Mar 3, 2010)

I just might have to try that out then since i have one of them oil filled radiator space heaters.....I usually extract in june/july and i start seeing a slight sign of honey crystallizing around oct/nov....Last year i had several beekeepers call me at the end of oct and wanted my excess honey since they ran out. I sold my last few buckets & that was the first time i ever sold by bucket, i usually bottle every bit of it every year. I guess you can call it being lazy...I liked the idea of the fact that i was done selling honey and i could focus on other things i needed to do! This year around sept i will place the 5 gallon buckets in my closet and try the radiator space heater. It would be nice if them stainless steel heated honey tanks wouldnt cost so much....hahaha


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

It just seam smarter to use a warming box. I used a neighbor freezer last spring. That work ok till I build my box. It gets used double duty. My scales are on it and we bottle honey on it. It holds a five or two shelves of jars
David


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## zookeeper (Oct 21, 2009)

I built a warmer box out of 2" foam insulation board. It's modeled after the one in "The Backyard Beekeeper" by Kim Flottum, but a lot cheesier. I can fit 2 buckets in at once. Added a Johnson Controls temp controller, and away we go! 

It will have to do while I wait for my husband to finish the fancy warming cabinet he's been working on for two years........


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

My warming cabinent is in an unheated portion of my basement. It is well insulated and the 100 watt light bulb is controlled by a powerstrip from the reptile section of petco that will control up to 1500 watts and up to 104 degrees. When Not warming honey which is most of the time, it provides stable temperature on the low end for primary fermentation of mead and beer. :<} I am all about multitasking. But I produce NO green beer!


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