# Honey Density



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I have a Maxant Bottling Tank. I can put 4 five gallon buckets of honey in it at a time. 

Today I noticed something that I never noticed before. Yesterday, when putting the honey in the tank, at ambient temperature, I thought that the first buckets appeared dark in color. 

Today, while straining the honey, the stream of honey appeared dark at first, but the last bucket was quite a bit lighter. So, is light honey less dense than dark honey? Therefore it stayed on top, even after heating the honey, so I could strain it? If I had known which buckets were dark and which were light, if I had put the light bucket in first, would the dark have mixed w/ it.

All four buckets of honey were at least partially crystalized, but not solidly so. 2008 crop honey.


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

It is not the color but rather the sugar/moisture content. It is a general rule of thumb that lighter honeys are collected earlier in the season while darker honey comes in later. It is also generally true that with hot, dry weather, bees are more efficient at removing the excess moisture from the honey which increases its density. So, in a sense, it is not surprising to find darker honey more dense that lighter honey. In my area these generalities hold true, but there are enough variables that make for many exceptions. A refractometer is really handy for such observations.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

You're probably right about that last statement, but I was just a bit surprised by what I observed and wondered why it occured.


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## DRUR (May 24, 2009)

I call this 'body'. Some honey just seems to have a heavier 'body' (thicker) than other. Color doesn't seem to make a difference in the 'body'. Some just seems thicker, other runnier (I call it less body). As far as I know body doesn't affect the actual weight. But some types of honey are thicker, some thinner, some crystalizes easier (regardless of moisture content). That has been my experience anyway. I refer to it as body because seems like density would have a relationship with the weight of the product, but as far as I know thicker honey does not weigh more than thinner honey.


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## akbees (Jul 13, 2009)

I bought a refractometer and my honey is setting on 18% from fully capped frames. It is pretty damp here but it is clear and delicious. I might recalibrate, but I think it's accurate.


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