# Honey Extractor



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

As you appear to be in the metro Denver area, consider joining the _High Land Beekeeping Club_. They offer a club "honey house" and club extractor for _free _use by members, with a $25 annual membership fee. :thumbsup:

http://home.comcast.net/~high.land.beekeeping.club/site/?/home/


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## skylermirante (May 23, 2013)

I'm actually in SW Louisiana. We have a club I am a member of but no equipment yet.


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## KPeacock (Jan 29, 2013)

depending on ho handy you are, you could just build a simple 2 frame extractor. I did this for about $40 worth of new materials and some scrap pieces of this and that. mine is run off an external electric motor and a router controller for speed adjustments. I made mine 2 frame tangential, and am regretting it. though i havent extracted with it yet, i can already see that a radial arrangement is going to be preferable.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

skylermirante said:


> I'm actually in SW Louisiana.


You can send a PM to _Barry _and ask him to update your profile with your current location. Lots of issues in beekeeping vary with location, and advice for CO may not be appropriate for LA.


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## skylermirante (May 23, 2013)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> You can send a PM to _Barry _and ask him to update your profile with your current location. Lots of issues in beekeeping vary with location, and advice for CO may not be appropriate for LA.


Just sent. Thanks


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Plans for a 4 frame extractor (and a 20 frame extractor) largely made of wood are available free in the _Build-it-Yourself _section:
http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/4-frame-honey-extractor-2/

Also various members have posted threads with photos and descriptions of their home-built extractors of their own design. Here's one I like:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?271001-My-home-made-extractor!


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## jsbyers (Dec 3, 2012)

I bought the Reel Easy extractor on eBay and it is really well made. Stainless steel and holds two medium frames. You connect it to a drill. All you need then is to find some kind if a trash can or bucket. I'll throw in the link her.
http://bit.ly/17zdJ1x
Good luck.


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## bbbthingmaker (Sep 26, 2010)

Twenty frames ? Crush and strain.


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## honeybeebee (Jan 27, 2013)

Twenty frames is about 7 gallons.....$5 a pint x16 pints/gallon x7 gallons = more money than an extractor costs...get a maxant two frame manual radial for $299......it will last almost forever...and keep it's value


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## kaeckman (Mar 22, 2013)

skylermirante said:


> I am looking to purchase a very economical low end extractor to start my hobby. I only have about 20 frames to extract.
> 
> What product do you recommend.


Chack out kinghoney.com


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## larrybeach (May 25, 2013)

I have a plastic 2 frame extractor that came from Betterbee. I like it for my small operation. The cheapest option would be to borrow or rent from a friend, but I just prefer to have my own. Sometimes I just harvest in the spur of the moment, and it is nice to have it already. I think I paid about $120 for it. I was not sure what to expect at that price, but for me it works well.


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## kaeckman (Mar 22, 2013)

larrybeach said:


> I have a plastic 2 frame extractor that came from Betterbee. I like it for my small operation. The cheapest option would be to borrow or rent from a friend, but I just prefer to have my own. Sometimes I just harvest in the spur of the moment, and it is nice to have it already. I think I paid about $120 for it. I was not sure what to expect at that price, but for me it works well.


I just got done using my rotoblast H-1000 stanless steel i got from kinghoney I love it,It comes with legs no hidden charges,I payed $309.00 with free shipping.


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## larrybeach (May 25, 2013)

kaeckman said:


> I just got done using my rotoblast H-1000 stanless steel i got from kinghoney I love it,It comes with legs no hidden charges,I payed $309.00 with free shipping.


Sounds nice. When I retire (hopefully in about 5 years) I want to get more hives and I will be looking for a high quality extractor. I will definitely consider this one.


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## rwurster (Oct 30, 2010)

I bought this one to clear out honey bound brood boxes. It's simple, economical, and actually a solid extractor. I liked it much more than the Mann Lake plastic bodied economy extractor which runs about the same price. If you are going to be doing more extracting in the future, Maxtant sells a 2 frame extractor that can be upgraded to a 9 frame motorized extractor (uses the same 'can' and was my second choice + $100). Best of luck 

Forgot the link lol
http://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=35_72&products_id=1096


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## therub (Mar 15, 2013)

jsbyers said:


> I bought the Reel Easy extractor on eBay and it is really well made. Stainless steel and holds two medium frames. You connect it to a drill. All you need then is to find some kind if a trash can or bucket. I'll throw in the link her.
> http://bit.ly/17zdJ1x
> Good luck.


Is it possible to use that with a 5ga bucket instead of a garbage can? I'd rather not process my honey using garbage cans. Otherwise, the design does seem nice.

One wonders why nobody makes a low-end manual extractor with the ability to hook up a hand drill.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

therub said:


> I'd rather not process my honey using garbage cans.


It's not really a garbage can until it's had garbage in it.


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## honeybeebee (Jan 27, 2013)

I modified my excellent maxant two frame manual extractor for two bucks to run off a drill....works perfect once you learn ''the trick''....now it's more excellent !


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## therub (Mar 15, 2013)

cg3 said:


> It's not really a garbage can until it's had garbage in it.


Where could I buy a food grade garbage can?


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## therub (Mar 15, 2013)

honeybeebee said:


> I modified my excellent maxant two frame manual extractor for two bucks to run off a drill....works perfect once you learn ''the trick''....now it's more excellent !


Nice! I'll keep that in mind.


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## marshmasterpat (Jun 26, 2013)

Skyler - What part of SW LA are you in? A bee keeping club there might be closer option than what I have found here in SE TX.


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## NewJoe (Jul 1, 2012)

therub said:


> Where could I buy a food grade garbage can?


Lowes sells the gray colored Brute trash cans. They are food grade plastic. The one I used for my extractor was about $29.00


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## dart96 (Mar 4, 2008)

honeybeebee said:


> I modified my excellent maxant two frame manual extractor for two bucks to run off a drill....works perfect once you learn ''the trick''....now it's more excellent !


I'm also a hobbyist and I have about 5 years experience. In the past I always did crush and strain, which was messy, but it worked. This year I decided to splurge and buy an extractor in hopes that I'll be able to increase my honey harvest by not destroying the comb each time. I thought that the Maxant 2 frame extractor for $299 was the best bang for the buck, and gives me the option to upgrade it in the future. I've extracted one super with it so far, and am very happy with it's performance - so glad that I purchased a radial extractor rather than tangential. I would be curious though to hear more about the mod you made to your extractor honeybeebee and what the "trick" is to make it work!


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

therub said:


> Where could I buy a food grade garbage can?


Anywhere they sell wine and beer making stuff. Primary fermenting stuff is all food grade plastic, looks just like a garbage can, complete with lid.


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## Rob Hughes (Apr 23, 2012)

dart96 said:


> with it's performance - so glad that I purchased a radial extractor rather than tangential.


Just wondering why that is? Ability to load more frames? Stability? I just extracted my first harvest using a borrowed 'basket' type extractor. I guess this is 'tangential' (?) It worked OK, but I could see that if you had a lot to do, 4 frames at a time would be slow. If I get more next year I may try something else, or maybe try and make one over winter.... 

Rob


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Normally with tangential extractors one side of the frames are spun, then the frames need to be flipped around to expose the other side of the comb to the side of the rotating basket, then those same frames are spun again. With radial extractors, both sides of the comb are extracted at once.


Plans to build two different sized extractors are in the Beesource _Build It Yourself_ section:
http://www.beesource.com/build-it-yourself/


You may also be interested in reading about extractors built by members to their own design. Here's an interesting one:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...ade-extractor!


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## dart96 (Mar 4, 2008)

Rob Hughes said:


> Just wondering why that is?


Yes, just like Rader said, with a radial extractor it drains the honey from both sides of the comb at the same time. It's faster, easier (don't have to flip the frames), and less chance of the comb getting damaged. Especially since my extractor will only do 2 frames at a time, this makes it much more convenient.


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## Rob Hughes (Apr 23, 2012)

Right, right. Thanks for the info, Graham and dart96. With the tangential type, do you find that you end up with a lot of honey slathered all over the frame top bars? 

Rob


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## dart96 (Mar 4, 2008)

Rob Hughes said:


> With the tangential type, do you find that you end up with a lot of honey slathered all over the frame top bars?


There's a little honey (ie. the frames are sticky), but the spinning does a good job of getting the majority of it off. I think most folks either put the frames right back on the hive or set them out so the bees can clean them up. Its surprising the weight difference between a frame full of honey and one that has been extracted. They feel so light after spinning that it's a good sign the honey is being left in the extractor!


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## Rob Hughes (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks. Yes, it's really astonishing how much honey there is contained in a comb.
Does anyone know what RPM rate is normally used in a powered extractor? The only one I have experience with was a hand cranked 4-frame one. But I am thinking of maybe building one, and as such, the design specs become important....

Rob


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

my autoadvance goes up to 280 rpms I think. I was advised I could go higher but I start to get rocking and rolling past my speed.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

This Italian extractor claims speeds up to 400 RPM.


> 4 Langstroth", reversible honey extractor, diam. 630 mm tank, 4 pocket cage containing 4 Langstroth frames, cage rotation driven by a powered top bar, 220V-110W double direction of rotation at variable speed from 0 to 400 RPM, diam. 40 mm honey extraction gate, hinged lid and 3 removable legs
> 
> http://www.legaitaly.com/index.php?...rtuemart&Itemid=68&lang=en&vmcchk=1&Itemid=68


Keep in mind that in a radial extractor, at any given RPM, the velocity of a point on the comb frame increases the further away it is from the center pivot. The point is that a large drum (suited for many frames) will have a higher effective speed than a smaller drum, even when both drums are at exactly the same RPM.


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## dirt road (Jan 4, 2011)

honeybeebee said:


> I modified my excellent maxant two frame manual extractor for two bucks to run off a drill....works perfect once you learn ''the trick''....now it's more excellent !


Anybody explain "the trick" to someone not very mechanical?


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Remove the hand crank assembly, and pulley coming off the center shaft.
Take your drill and lock it onto the shaft. 
POW!!!!! Just start slow and gradually increase your speed


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