# Confused on weight for honey jars



## USCBeeMan

It's easy to sell a pint or quart of honey. Just fill up the darn jar. But I am confused as to how you sell honey in pint and quart jars by weight. I know that honey can be different weights per volume based on a percentage (lack of) of water. I guess it could also be from particulates such as pollen in the honey.

So how much does a pint or quart jar of honey supposed to weigh?

Is the weight supposed to include the weight of the jar and cap or just the honey?

Seems that my pints are coming in at just over a pound of honey (not including jar and lid) and my quarts are just over 3 pounds.
I finally got some honey this year (almost 6 3/4 gallons). Not much but it beats the zero I got last year. Don't have any labels yet so that's why I am asking these questions. I have a few people that have already requested some of my honey. Will it be a big deal if I sell it to them w/o a label? You figure it out, 6 3/4 gallons doesn't make that many quarts and pint jars. Having to order a couple of hundred labels that will not be used until next year seems a waste. Especially since I am so far in the hole (red) now it's pathetic.


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## Beeslave

Quart jar is 44 oz. net weight
Pint jar is 22 oz. net weight

A pint is half of a quart so how is your pint less than half of your quarts? You need to have your weight in oz. and grams on your labels. Marked weight is also net weight and does not include jar and cover. Wide mouth jars will hold more than the regular mouth. You need to weigh your jars to find how much honey is actually in them and that is what you put on your label.


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## GRIMBEE

I use pint and quart jars from walmart. pint is 24 oz, quart 3 lbs, long day 4 me, and if you go thru my posts, i already asked these questions, do some searching.


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## Buz Green

One gallon=128 ounces.
This is a Volume measurement based on water.
The weight measurement of water is equal to the volume measurement of water ie: 1 volume ounce of water weighs 1 ounce.
If you dissolve something in water it can change the weight of the water without changing the volume.
Honey weighs approximately one and a half times an equal volume of water so a gallon of honey weighs about 12 pounds (192 weight ounces).
A half pint (8 oz.) canning jar will hold 12 ounces (3/4 Lb.) of honey.
A pint (16 oz.) canning jar will hold 24 ounces (1 1/2 Lb.) of honey.

Hope this helps.


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## Beeslave

Whatever container you are using needs to be weighed on a certified scale, filled with honey then reweighed. The difference is the net weight you put on your label. I think some of you are mislabeling your product!


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## Grant

I found a postal scale on e-bay. I weigh an empty jar, fill it and reweigh. The pints weigh in at 22 oz. net weight, quarts at 44 oz.

In Missouri, we are supposed to label our honey as: Net wt. 1 lb. 6 oz. (22 ounces)

The guys from the state office of "weights and measures" are very helpful. They swing through the farmer's market every so often. They also make it clear they are there to help, not to bust anyone. Very nice guys. They'll even certify your scale.

I make all my labels from Avery stock on my computer. I can make six or sixty labels and edit the sizes and art work. Lots of info in the archives on this topic.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## USCBeeMan

Thanks everyone. I will do some research in the archives. I guess I should have calculated the net weights using ounces not pounds and ounces. That would have given me a clearer picture.

I have a postal scale that I used for mailing packages of stuff I sold on e-Bay.


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## Ross

Or just sell by volume. In Texas, and probably other states, there is no law that says honey can't be sold by volume. I sell pints and quarts, period. Every honey has its own specific gravity, i.e. weight per volume. I'm chose not to deal with the varying weights based on the season and type of honey I'm bottling. I simply sell a pint or a quart. I've never had a single sole question what it weighs.


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## beedeetee

In Washington you have to list the net weight (RCW 69.28.050). If I fill a quart clear to the top I can't get 3 lbs in a jar. I fill them quite full and label them as 2.9lb and the corresponding metric weight.

My scale lets me put an empty quart jar on it and the hit the Zero. From then on it is net weight. I just put each jar on the scale after I fill it to be sure it is close or above the listed weight.

The plastic jars that I buy that say they are for 1lb or 12oz of honey are actually right on.


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## brac

If your selling just a few gallons to friends and neighbors, just put it in something and tell them how much. Your not a store, at 6 gallons you don't need to worry about any of that. Just my .02


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## beedeetee

To be honest, when I sell to people that I know, I don't put any label on unless they want one. If they are giving the bottles as gifts, some people want the label to show that it is honey from where they live.

The labeling is to protect people that wouldn't know how to contact you if there was a problem I think. I don't see an exception in Washington law, but I wouldn't worry about selling to people that you know without a label.


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## brooksbeefarm

I buy golden havest canning jars at the big lot store. A quart is supposed to weigh 48 oz. pints 24 oz. i bought one of those $300.00 scales and it has a tar weight on it were you can zero out the jar and lid and just weigh the honey.Like Ross said some honey weighs more than others (more dense).I can only get 46 oz's of honey in a quart but can get 24 oz's in a pint. Mo. does have different laws like Grant said, the state weight and measure officers have come to my home to certify my scales ($5.00 charge) nice guys,or catch me at the farmers market. We also make our labels through Avery, we have to have the weight and our name and address on the label.Hope this helps. Jack


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## USCBeeMan

Thanks Jack! I didn't know what Tare meant on my scales. So I tried it.

Could you or someone else that uses Avery labels give me the Avery label number you use to make the labels?

How do you come up with your design if it has a picture of a bee or some other icon?


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## beedeetee

I use Avery 6572 for most labels and 6871 for bears (both 12oz and 16oz). If you put an image of a bee on the label, don't use a mean looking bee. My mother-in-law was making labels that had a bee that looked like something that you would find on a bottle of wasp spray. 

I found a nice round friendly looking one.


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## ga.beeman

you do not weigh the jar. only the amount of honey that you are putting in the jar. A 12 oz. jar holds 16 oz.s of honey. that is because honey weighs more then water. the jars are fuild oz. hope this helps.


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## J-Bees

USCBeeMan said:


> It's easy to sell a pint or quart of honey. Just fill up the darn jar. I have a few people that have already requested some of my honey. Will it be a big deal if I sell it to them w/o a label?
> 
> You figure it out, 6 3/4 gallons doesn't make that many quarts and pint jars. Having to order a couple hundred labels that will not be used until next year seems a waste. Especially since I am so far in the hole (red) now it's pathetic.


go here and look at there lables or go to walmart and buy them there: 

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/


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