# Progressive cavity pump? Auger?



## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Get the auger, the second piece of equipment from your post. That is what I have, works well. I think you would have trouble with the pump because you would need some sort of a hopper system with a float to turn the pump on and off. Otherwise if left to run continuouly it will run out of honey and start sucking air and stop functioning.

Jean-Marc


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Thanks .Thats what I was thinking too. So the auger more or less runs continuously with the cappings dropping directly into the hopper? Or wait till its filled then turn on the switch.Looks like it has an adjustable speed control.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

We run it continuously. Cappings into the hopper then off they go to the wax spinner. There is an adjustable speed control and a forward and backwards switch. Works well. Hard to adjust the speeds and forward and reverse. The instruction book is all jibberish. It's a little bit confusing.

Jean-Marc


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Ok . I have one on the way. Will have to figure out the jibberish later. But thats enough info to get things moving. I am running way behind this year and running to catch up.(guess thats nothing new) .
Thanks Jean-Marc and hope your honey prices take a big jump up.
---Mike


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Np. the prices do need to jump up or I don'tsell. Honey has been trickling out of here all year, slow and steady at good prices but I sure would like to see it move at double or triple the speed. I am accumulating more than I am currently selling.

I am pretty sure you will be happy with the machine. Just turn it on at the beginning of the day, run it all day then turn it off. It does not require much attention. 

Which spinner did you get? We kinda like ours from Equinox/Mann Lake but we have to turn the machine off to clean the wax out mid way through the day. If I were to do it over I would get a wax press like Paradis sells. We would get more honey from the cappings, less down time because of the necessity to stop and clean the wax spinner. Perhaps next year. Will need to sell at a good price to justify the expense.

Jean-Marc


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

I got the Equinox /Mann Lake one . Kind of puzzled what to do with the extra cover with the hot knife. 
I have been using a Maxant spinner for a number of years. The equinox looks like a beefier spinner .The Maxant needs cleaned out during the day too.Its a chore but I cant justify a spin float at this point. Maybe a wax press in the future too. Our honey is very dry. I always say by the time the bees fly back to the hive through our dry summer air, the nectar is already honey. 

Mike


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Took me awhile to figure what the extra cover was and the hotknife. I guess it is for those who uncap a frame at a time directly into the spinner. Not really sure why it is included.

Jean-Marc


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## acbz (Sep 8, 2009)

loggermike said:


> I got the Equinox /Mann Lake one . Kind of puzzled what to do with the extra cover with the hot knife.
> I have been using a Maxant spinner for a number of years. The equinox looks like a beefier spinner .The Maxant needs cleaned out during the day too.Its a chore but I cant justify a spin float at this point. Maybe a wax press in the future too. Our honey is very dry. I always say by the time the bees fly back to the hive through our dry summer air, the nectar is already honey.
> 
> Mike


I'm in exactly the same boat, not big enough to justify a spin float so I have on maxant Sr. in Florida honey house mounted below the output end of my Gunness, it drains into the spinner as well as the loading table drain (Equinox extractor). Sort of copied Ron Householder's method. I did have to shorten the legs on the spinner and elevate the Gunness a bit to get the spinner to fit under it. Works great but I hate having to scrape out the basket every morning. It's a huge pain and no quick way to do that I've found. My objective is to eliminate as much manual shoveling/handling of the wax cappings as possible, but with a basket spinner every pound of cappings still needs to be manually handled. 

I've looked at the ML/Equinox spinner and it looks like it has a big drum capacity and well-built, but is there any other way to get the dry cappings out of the drum other than bending over it and scraping them out with a hive tool? It seems like there should be an easier way. Make the drum easy to pull out with a forklift or winch and flip it over above a bin or something. 

I came really close to buying the expensive maxant spin-float but it looks really fiddly.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

Paradise makes a continuous wax screw. It compresses the cappings into pellets, honey flows to the in floor sump. Apparently very little honey left in the wax. No more scrapping the wax spinner. I may get one next season. I too am leery of heat exchanger systems and spin floats, they all look finicky.

Jean-Marc


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

Heres my high tech wax remover from the maxant spinner https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Grips-Br..._11?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VY0HSD1PJXCX9N504G8W
from Amazon or get one here:
https://youtu.be/2XbCWmY0eqY:thumbsup:


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Do you not line the spinner with window screen? I find that eliminates most of the scraping as long as the screening doesn't slide. Just pull the screening and the cappings come out in big chunks.


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## loggermike (Jul 23, 2000)

When I first got my spinner there was a piece of screen included for that purpose. But I never could make it work. It just bunched up and made a mess. Scraping it out with the spatula isn't all that bad as long as the cappings are still warm. I don't much like that job nor skimming wax off of tanks. I too am looking at the Maxant spin float, but not sure they have all the 'bugs' worked out of it yet.


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## Johny13 (Sep 4, 2018)

I will be amazed if any one is here who knows about the Best sump pump for use i don"t have a better experience with my previous sump pumps.


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Have you used a Moyno?

Crazy Roland


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

I am not sure what you mean by best sump pump Johny13. It likely means best for your case, which you have not fully described. The main factor is how much honey are your trying/needing to process per day? Suppose you were trying to handle 20 000 pounds/day and you only had an inch pump and the honey was barely warm, that would explain the "I don't have a better experience" ( i think you mean, a good experience?

In general I would say, best to have a heated sump, and that the honey flowing into the sump is already warm. Best to have a float switch to activate the pump, that way you are not having to monitor it constantly (you sort of have to anyways but not as vigilantly). I've been using a Cowan 2 inch pump and it works very well. Not sure if it is the best or best for your money but it does the job.

Jean-Marc


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## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

And agitation?

Crazy Roland


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