# Harvesting Uncapped Honey



## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

I need to pull my supers this weekend or next at the latest.

I’m just wondering what to do with the frames that have uncapped honey on it? I know there is going to be a few frames (say one in 10) that will be uncapped. I don’t want to mix it in with the rest of the batch we are going to extract and bottle, but looking for suggestions what to do with uncapped frames.


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## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

Just extract them along with the capped honey. Unless you have a good flow going on the honey is cured. The bees don't wait until the cell is ready to be capped before curing the honey. It's an ongoing process.


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## Corvair68 (May 10, 2011)

No, I believe the bees wait until honey is cured before they cap it? If they honey isn't capped then the bees don't feel it is ready yet. If the bees don't think it is dehydrated enough to cap, then it isn't ready to be extracted. I could be wrong, but that is how I have always thought it worked. I'd wait and see if they cap it, and if they don't and you don't plan on putting a super back on then I think I would just leave it out for them to take and find room for it in the other boxes. I wouldn't want to take a chance if the honey having too much moisture. I am still new to this though so I could be mistaken, and if I am I am sure some one will say so soon.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Really depends on the humidity where you live. Here our uncapped honey was 15-17% moisture when we extracted a couple weeks ago.
Sounds like 80% of you're honey is capped from you're guess. If so its probably fine. The only way to know for sure is with a refractometer.
I've heard of people in humid areas having capped honey that was too moist.


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

Fish_stix is correct. They won't cap the last honey of the year if they can't fill the cells. I use a refractometer. Around here about a week or two after the flow stops the honey even in completely uncapped frames will be 16.5-17.5%. I have left (before I got my refractometer) uncapped frames for a month without any change in the amount of capping. Now if you are in an area with high humidity it is possible that the honey is too thin, but just because it is uncapped doesn't mean that it is not ready to extract.

It is all in the %'s. If most of your honey is 16-17% but you have 5% that is 19%, as long as the 5% doesn't end up all by itself in it's own bucket, the % will average out. On the other hand just because it doesn't shake out of the cells doesn't mean it is ready either.


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## Beeboy01 (May 20, 2008)

It all depends on the humidity, I extracted eight shallows that were full of capped frames and ended up with honey that had 20% moisture in it. Some of the uncapped frames would splash honey when given a good shake so they were put back on the hives. I have been running a dehumidifier in a closed room with the 1/2 full buckets for the last three days trying to dry out the crop. I lost 2 buckets of honey last year because of high moisture content which is why I finally bought a refractometer. If you are in a humid region get a refractometer, in a dry section you won't need it as much but it is still nice to have.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

If you've no refractometer & don't feel comfortable extracting & mixing this uncapped honey with the rest of your capped honey, stick the frames in the frig. While the honey will crystalize, you can use these for winter feeding.


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## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

I do have a refractometer, just don't want to mess with it while I'm in the middle of the extracting process.

I got the best idea - going to set all my uncapped aside, and spin at once - then that honey goes into my mead


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

"just don't want to mess with it" = put a drop on the lens and look through eye piece.

"Instead I'll post on Beesource and see what everyone says."


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

put your finger in it and watch how it runs. If it runs like honey--it is honey. If you just extract the little bit of uncapped honey with the capped---it is all honey. It is a continuum not an on off switch.


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## Agri.ph (Aug 28, 2011)

I would tend to agree with Pokerman11. Spin the uncapped cells first and use either for mead or even home consumption. I would also extract frames having only 10% or less


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## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

beedeetee said:


> "just don't want to mess with it" = put a drop on the lens and look through eye piece.
> 
> "Instead I'll post on Beesource and see what everyone says."


I struggle with my refractometer, and not sure I trust it. Also there is a lot of honey mixing in that extractor from lots of different frames, and like I said I have a better idea -put all the uncapped aside and save for the final spin. Then use that for my brewing needs.


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