# Cleaning honey extractors



## crofter (May 5, 2011)

My extractor is small enough to slip a contractor size plastic bag over it and cinch it tight with a round of duct tape or shrink wrap film. I leave it wrapped that way between extractions with no problems. It does not get a thorough wash out till the season is done. If you have hordes of ants where you store it that could be a problem since, given time, they seem to be able to chew through plastic bags.


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## laketrout (Mar 5, 2013)

As far as soap goes there could be the issue of not getting all the soap out and ruining a whole batch of honey , just rinse good with real hot water , i use a regular hose nozzle to get some pressure it takes off the wax and everything left behind from extracting


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## b2bnz (Apr 5, 2009)

Best not to use HOT water, it melts the wax and proplis and it is then hard to remove from the components!
Just cold water, it is just sugar that you are washing off.
Re grease the bearings with food grade grease.
You are welcome!


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

>Best not to use HOT water, it melts the wax and proplis and it is then hard to remove from the components!

Most water heaters heat to 120F. Wax melts at 142f and propolis even hotter. I have been rinsing extraction equipment very successfully with hot water for 48 years.


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## sjj (Jan 2, 2007)

SouthAussieBeekeeper said:


> ....stainless steel spinning honey extractor. ...
> 
> Should I use detegerent when cleaning, ...


Go to https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?342082-Honey-spinning-method&p=1601593#post1601593
The baking soda is also known as sodium bicorbonate has a whole variety of uses, not only for baking and cooking, and would be safe for your purpose.


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

SouthAussieBeekeeper said:


> .... , would it be alright to leave the extractor sticky for 4-6 days?


Something else to consider would be your humidity levels during this period. Honey is hygroscopic, so it can absorb moisture from the air if left open in a very humid environment. That's probably not enough to cause an issue, but if the honey you are extracting is already borderline high on the moisture % I guess there is the remote chance that it could cause problems.


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

b2bnz said:


> Best not to use HOT water, it melts the wax and proplis and it is then hard to remove from the components


This is another one of the Do’s and Dont’s of beekeeping that’s BS. I have no wax residue in my extractor after a hot water rinse.


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

How many supers do you need to extract and how do you heat them up? If you have a small amount as I do, a light bulb under a stack of 4 supers will heat them enough for extraction in a day (assuming your ambient temp is 60 degrees or higher. I also fill the back of my pick up that has a black cover on a sunny day and they are ready in a couple hours. If its a little chilly in my garage, a hair dryer stuck in your extractor for a bit really helps the honey run down. I have also taken a hair dryer to the uncapped frame before putting it in the extractor. Again, I don't have many to do. A pressure washer cleans my extractor in no time with cold water. J


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## mark2215 (May 16, 2015)

I rinse my extractor, uncapping tank, and all the wax cappings with hot water, collect it and make mead. Nothing gets wasted that way!


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

I warm all my supers at the same time with a light bulb underneath, or in the bed of my pickup under the tonneau.
I do all the extracting in one session.
Once I'm done I use a rubber spatula to scrape as much honey as I can from the extractor tub and decapping bucket, then take it all outside to the opposite end of my yard for the bees to clean. They are done cleaning in about 1 day, sometimes 2 days, at which point, a good spray with hot water is all that is needed to finish the cleaning.

Get 'em dirty once, clean 'em once.


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## CircleBee (Mar 3, 2012)

For what it’s worth, I have a Maxant 3100 extractor and I leave that thing sticky for well over 2 months with the lids in place only. I work full time and extract over 1000 lbs of honey so I can’t do it all in one shot. I keep the extractor inside my house so no pests/ants even know it’s there. The humidity in my area is pretty low. And the water content (if it does pick up any moisture at all, which I highly doubt) of the little that’s left after each extraction session has never effected the final moisture content of my honey. No way am I washing that thing out after every session.


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## carramar (Oct 4, 2018)

SouthAussieBeekeeper said:


> I have an electric, stainless steel spinning honey extractor. With my current set up, I'm only able to heat up three supers of honey at a time in preparation for extraction. I've been informed that it takes 24-36 hours to heat up a super for extraction.
> 
> Would it be unhygienic to extract honey, leave it sticky for 24-36 hours and then process the next three heated supers? What if I have 12 supers to process, would it be alright to leave the extractor sticky for 4-6 days? Does the honey get harder to clean when it's left for a bit? Should I use detegerent when cleaning, or would just hot water do?


I am from Queensland, I too have two electric 12-frame extractors. I do not find it necessary to heat up my honey supers, especially if they are extracted the same day as they are removed from the hives. Unless they have become very cold, by storing in a room at less than 20 deg. Celsius, they will be extractable, but it will take longer. Ideally 35C is best, the temperature in the bee hive - but no more, or you risk it being too warm and doing damage to your combs. When I have forty or fifty supers to extract it would be impracticable, and costly, to warm the supers up a few at a time. Best if they are kept in a warm room or shed from the time of robbing till they are extracted. But be aware of any activity of wax moth and beetles and suchlike.

As mentioned in other posts, it would not be unhygienic to leave the extractor uncleaned until the next batch is processed, whether the next day, the next week or the even next month. As long as the honey is all drained out, and any that remains does not granulate, and the extractor is closed up, there should be no problems - ants and high humidity excepted (rarely a problem). Only occasionally may it be necessary to clean the extractor between extractions.

When cleaning the extractor, spray everything inside, including baskets or racks, with just cold water. Give it a little time to merge into the honey and wax film, and then give it a good rinse down, flushing everything out. You will not need detergent, but you may wish to use hot tap water for the final rinse. This will also aid in the extractor drying quicker. And regrease any bearings as necessary.

Experiment. Try various methods. Trial and error. Learn by your mistakes. Continue to use what is most successful.


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

Alright you hot-water fans...let's argue.  I MUCH prefer cold water to clean my extractor. Hot water will melt or soften wax and make it hard to clean out. I fill my extractor with cold water and turn it on low speed to and let it 'rinse' until it dilutes the sticky stuff, drain & repeat, drain, dry it out, oil it and cover it. :applause:


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## Beeboy01 (May 20, 2008)

I'm with Tim on using cold water for cleaning out an extractor. I use and old reversible Kelly which is kind of portable at 85 lbs and drag it out of the shop after extracting where it gets hosed off with cold water. Stationary equipment still need to be cleaned but hot water just makes the wax stick to everything. Power washing gets messy fast in a building and I don't think it would be the best way to clean an extractor IMHO. Cold water seems the way to go for washing most equipment.


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