# 9-Frame Radial Extractor from Brushy Mtn



## Tara (Jun 17, 2010)

Thinking about purchasing Brushy Mtn's Advanced Extraction Kit once Free Shipping hits this year.

Any experiences to share, good or bad, with the 9-frame radial extractor? Or any of the other items in the kit?

"Advanced Extracting Kit: Our Deluxe 9 Frame Radial Extractor is the heart of the system. Coupled with our Multi-Use Straining system you will have the capacity for 20 or more colonies. This kit includes an Electric Knife in addition to a capping scratcher. A Plastic bottling pail with micron filter rounds the kit out to give you all the needed tools."
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Advanced-Extracting-Kit/productinfo/950/

Deluxe 9-Frame Radial Extractor
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Deluxe-9-Frame-Radial-Hand-Extractor/productinfo/802/

Multi-Use Straining System
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Multi-Use-Straining-System/productinfo/295/

Thanks!


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## prbolding (Sep 8, 2009)

I purchased the same Extractor from Bee-Commerce.com for $395. We extracted 20 gals of Honey with it last week. It worked great! I am considering the motor kit for next year. I would recommend this low cost extractor for anyone wanting to extract 3,6,or 9 shallow or med. frames without having to do all the frame flipping involved in other extractors..


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## My-smokepole (Apr 14, 2008)

I have a friend that bought one. If you have the $$ get the motor on it. He plans on getting one with a motor for next year. The legs where wimpy. I rebuild them out of 1+"sq tube. It help on it's wanting to walk around. I cut some SS grid for the wire baskets, and wire it to the bottom of the basket. So that if we want to do some Tangier(Sp) med and small we can. 
Seeing I haven't use anyone else's can I say it is better or worst than anyone else no. I am just fairly handy and like improving somethings. note we ran about 10 hives worth through it this fall. witch is a lot of hand cranking
David


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

The Maxant and Dadant extractors will give you much better service and are USA made! Get one that will easily extract deep frames, AKA radial. Look for used equipment; not much can go wrong with an extractor except bearings and motor, easily replaced, and both companies keep spare parts on hand, as opposed to a warehouse in Italy. Just one old F_ _rts opinion!


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

The one I saw, an early model, wouldn't extract one piece plastic frames. There was some sort of problem fitting them into the carousel. If my memory serves me, BM was recommending some modification to the frames. If you are using or may use those frames, I'd check first and see if that problem has been resolved.


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## pom51 (Jul 28, 2008)

If I was to order one from BM the motorized version would be the one to get, but would look at Dadant or Kelley and I would go with a 12 frame or bigger


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

fish_stix said:


> The Maxant and Dadant extractors will give you much better service and are USA made! Get one that will easily extract deep frames, AKA radial. Look for used equipment; not much can go wrong with an extractor except bearings and motor, easily replaced, and both companies keep spare parts on hand, as opposed to a warehouse in Italy. Just one old F_ _rts opinion!


Well said! Support American manufacturing! Or :ws


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I've owned one for many years. Works great. No problems whatsoever. One note to consider, is that the reel will need to be modified to extract one piece plastic frames. The end bars on the plastic frames are too wide to fit in the standard grooves that come from the factory. Contact brushy and they will modify the reel before its sent out. BTW, I bought mine used, so its had plenty of usage and is still going strong. 

+1 on the motorized version.


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## Stonefly7 (Nov 3, 2005)

Tara,

It depends where you want to go with your hobby/business? If you want to stay at the hobby stage, im sure that product will work for a while. I do know, its not as well built as other products mentioned above. 

I know you asked about "that" product, but if it was I, I would save a few more pennies and purchase a Kelly or Maxant product. Not only made here, but backed by solid companies who "will" stand by their product. 

If you decide not to persue your interest in Bee's in the furture, you can re-sell those products at close to what you paid for them. They hold their value very well. 

If you are familiar with cars, it would be like comparing a Pinto to a Jaguar.

Kind regards,


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

I'm a couple of years away from needing a commercial-grade extractor since I am in the process of increasing colonies at the expense of a honey crop. For the little honey I needed to extract, I bought the cheapest of plastic extractors for a little over a hundred bucks. It did the trick for me and next year, I'll probably be upgrading to the 9 frame (with motor) that Tara linked to.

I don't buy for a minute the notion that I need to pay more now to buy bigger or better or anything else that I don't need. If resale value is a concern, how many extractors do you see endlessly sitting on Craigslist, ebay or in the for sale section here waiting for someone to buy them? They go quickly and while I wouldn't expect to make back every penny I paid for my little plastic job, or the 9 frame Brushy Mountain one, I doubt very much that I would be guaranteed to recoup my outlay if I bought a Maxant.

If you're into comparing cars, the Pintos I drove in the past started every time and got me where I wanted to go. The darned Jaguar wouldn't start at all if there was even a hint of rain. So spend your money unnecessarily on higher-priced products if you want. I only spend on what I need. This can be an expensive hobby and it doesn't have to made more so.

Wayne


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Our equipment has some of the highest resale value in the industry should you outgrow it, or decide to hang up your veil. 
The italian jobber has a great price point. 
Lei parla italiano, non credo che il servizio clienti può aiutare in caso contrario.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

MAXANT said:


> Lei parla italiano, non credo che il servizio clienti può aiutare in caso contrario.


I do not know that if I needed service that Brushy Mountain would not help me. I also do not know that if I had the need to contact the factory in Italy directly that there would not be a rep there that speaks English. I would certainly understand it if you said that you have no bi-lingual service reps at your company, but we are not talking about customer service in the US. We are talking about overseas, where people are educated in a less limited manner.

But you do raise a valid point, if true. Can you say definitively that Tara would not be able to receive any assisance if there was a problem with the 9 frame extractor from Brushy Mountain unles she speaks Italian? That would influence my purchase decision, again, if true.

Wayne


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## Velbert (Mar 19, 2006)

Had one of the 9 frame radial Hand crank wish I had kept it.

extracted 380 gallons the 1st year 420 g the 2nd year 280 the 3rd year and 180 the last year = 1260 gallons Total = 15000 lbs about 24 55 gallon barrels

never had any trouble out of it

just make sure you have the reeled balanced

make sure you dont drop any frams in it, it's plastic

also you can sling your combs out dryer


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## Tara (Jun 17, 2010)

Thanks all for the input! I appreciate the different views. I'll probably go with this extractor for now, since the people who have used it all seem happy with it. If I ever get to the point that my bees have brought in enough to pay for an upgrade, I'll certainly look at something a little more rugged.

In answer to some of the questions:

--I think I'll eventually get to the 'large hobby/small business' stage, maybe about 30-50 hives, and even then not all will be for honey production. Right now I have 5 hives/nucs, and have never overwintered ANY, so who knows how many I'll have come spring. Win or lose, I have another nuc and 5 packages on order for next spring, and will likely try splitting and swarm catching. So growing, yes, but not too fast and not TOO big. Dropping a grand or more for a super high quality motorized extractor is a little out of my budget right now, especially when I still need all the rest of the tools.

--I only have medium frames in all my equipment, and have no reason to get a larger extractor. I plan on trying a few TBHs next season, and while I love comb, I can't eat 5 hives' worth, so radial baskets and hand-cranks are important to me. 

--Thanks for the tip on getting BM to alter the basket before they send it out. I don't have any all-plastic frames, but I'm picking up some Permacomb and that might make a difference.


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## waynesgarden (Jan 3, 2009)

Buona fortuna, Tara.

Wayne


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## Tara (Jun 17, 2010)

Grazie mille!


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## Fuzzy (Aug 4, 2005)

Once again, I have one of these except that it has the motor. Has run great for 8 years now. It does about 25 supers per year and is worth every penny that I paid. 

Still haven't figured out what everyone thinks is going to go wrong. You lube it and clean it with each significant use. It works 4 hrs per year. 

Oh yeah, I forgot.... they didn't use stainless screws and nuts on the motor mount. So after a couple of seasons, I developed some rust. Local hardware store (english speaking) solve that with some new hardware and a few dollars.

Fuzzy


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

Then again some people like Wall-Mart some like Macys :lookout:


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## IBRed (May 14, 2009)

I love mine, I have the hand crank 9 frame extractor, form brushy, I extracted 40 gallons a few days ago and it works flawlessly. But, I devised a way to drive the crank with a drill that works like a clutch/instant release. The only way to fly. (A 1/2 in drill will not fit on the crank, to small.) A few weeks prior, I extracted 15 gallons using the hand crank, that got old very fast to say the least. I see no reason at the moment to upgrade, or buy the motor, excellent product.


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## prbolding (Sep 8, 2009)

How about a pic of the drill motor/handle drive unit?


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## IBRed (May 14, 2009)

If someone would like to post the pics for me, I will send them over via email. send pm with email address. I have no desire to create a photo account of any kind. I am very capable, just do not wish to do it.


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

HONEYDEW said:


> Then again some people like Wall-Mart some like Macys :lookout:


Some people like a vertical crank... Does anyone honestly prefer a horizontally cranking extractor?


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## SGebauer (Nov 11, 2004)

Hello all,

The reels for this extractor do not need to be modified for the plastic frames. We modified the mold a few years ago. If you have any other concerns or questions, feel free to contact us.

Cheers,
Shane
General Manager


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

Thanks for the clarification on the reel. My info was a few years old. 

What is the availability of parts for this extractor. Not that I foresee a problem, but it might be good to know if Brushy stocks, or can easily get spare parts if a problem arises.

Thanks


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## SGebauer (Nov 11, 2004)

AstroBee said:


> What is the availability of parts for this extractor. Not that I foresee a problem, but it might be good to know if Brushy stocks, or can easily get spare parts if a problem arises.


We stock and have on hand all the spare parts for these extractors. 

Cheers,
Shane
General Manager


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## EastCarolinaBee (Apr 9, 2006)

I had been using a makeshift extractor with a couple of fellow beekeepers over the years and decided on the 9 frame radial from maxant w/ motor. The new modified stand is very sturdy and I have had no problems at all. Whichever one you decide on though I would get a motor with it. It makes the whole process worthwhile.


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

My advice would be to sell the electric uncapping knife and get a nice serrated bread knife. My first year in beekeeping I bought an electric hot knife, and as soon as I tried a bread knife, I never used the hot knife again.

I would also recommend getting a double strainer and a 5 gallon bucket with a honey gate for small scale bottling.

I have an uncapping tank. I would not try to bottle honey from the uncapping tank. The honey pours out the uncapping tank, through the double strainer and into a 5 gallon bucket. Then, I would let the honey settle for a couple days before I would bottle it.

If you start bottling much cold honey from a 5 gallon bucket, I suspect you will start thinking about how fast a heated bottling tank would pay for itself. At least, that's what happened with me.

I started out with a 3 frame tangential extractor. It was way too slow for more than 2 or 3 hives. This year, I bought a 9/18 Mann Lake motorized extractor. I ran about 20 hives for honey production this year, and wished I had a bigger extractor when I started pulling honey. (But it is a trade-off for the available space I have for extraction right now, and the desire for an extractor that gets done faster.)

If I were in your shoes, getting a different uncapping knife would be the biggest change I would be looking at. There is nothing wrong with upgrading as you go.


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## honeydreams (Aug 10, 2009)

You will be happy with it I have one from bushy mt with the motor on it Love it. Works great. Just to take the woble out when you spin take a sheet of 5 ply half inch sheet of ply wood cut in half take the two 4'x4' sheets and make a 1'' thick peace and mouth your extractor to that with lag bolts no woble. and as for maxant I would love tto own one but come down on price. because money talks and I buy what I can aford.


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## EastCarolinaBee (Apr 9, 2006)

I had the problem with the wobble also with my 3100p Maxant my first year too. Had to drill lag bolts in the concrete to keep it stable, but now with the revised stand it's stable.


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