# Which extractor???



## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Look on craigslist and other such sites for a used one.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

For five hives, I would do crush and strain, unless I found an awesome deal on a used extractor...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesharvest.htm#crushandstrain


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Michael Bush said:


> For five hives, I would do crush and strain, unless I found an awesome deal on a used extractor...
> 
> http://www.bushfarms.com/beesharvest.htm#crushandstrain


Our plan is to add 5 hives per year...by next year we should have 10 hives of 2 supers each...20 frames/hive ....200 frames...wouldn't that be a lot of time and effort to crush, drain and redo the foundation. If one carefully extracts can't the frame and drawn foundation be used again?

I like the idea of gently used equipment but so far none has appeared


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

Well i have 10 hives right now and plan on 15 hives and 15 nucs buy winter seems like i just keep on growing and spending money but i am starting to get honey and i needed a extractor so i looked at alot and decided to buy a Twenty Frame Radial Extractor POWER-20F SEMI PRO its is alittle over kill right now i only have about 40 frames of honey from dead outs from this past winter but i plan on a honey year and quessing this hobby is going to keep growing.
I'm going to extract sunday can't wait i have deeps setting everware in my garden shed and things are heating up and leaking .

so cool.:thumbsup:


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## crazylocha (Mar 26, 2013)

:scratch:What? No pic of the hat too????

Extractor looks great! Congrats on the new toy!!


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## Spark (Feb 24, 2011)

*Maxant* any other questions?


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

That Glock 20 frame Maxant is the one I wish I had. We have the 6 frame bigger is better.


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

crazylocha said:


> :scratch:What? No pic of the hat too????
> 
> Extractor looks great! Congrats on the new toy!!


thanks and yes i forgot THE HAT


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## crazylocha (Mar 26, 2013)

Now am Double jealous!!!


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Maxant is good, Dadant is good, imports work just fine. Unless you go pro with hundreds of hives you won't wear any of them out. It takes a lot of frames of honey to pay for a new name brand extractor. This is a tool you will use a couple of weeks a year for most of us. A good used extractor will last you a lifetime. My 20 frame Dadant was 30 years old when I got it. It spins honey just fine and cost $400.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

> If one carefully extracts can't the frame and drawn foundation be used again?

Yes. That is the entire concept of extracting. But I don't see the cost benefit for a few hobbyist hives...


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

If a functioning used 20 frame radial electric came available I would be happy to have it ...for $400 I would be thrilled.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

What number of hives crosses someone from hobbyist to business? 

If starting from packages/nucs in a climate like Vancouver, BC how long does it usually take for a hive to become established enough to produce extra honey supers for extracting?


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## Greg755 (Jan 29, 2012)

I got the 9/18 from Mann lake - Manual. One day I will upgrade to the motor But I just dont see the need. $699 free shipping, whats not to love. The metal is plenty strong it has never let me down. why pay 500 more for a motor, you can always do that when you grow into it.


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## wanderyr (Feb 11, 2012)

I got the 6/3 (with side crank) from Mann Lake last season. Cost is currently $430 with free shipping. It's a good, solid machine. I wish, however, I would have spent more and have gone with the 18/9.

The problem with the tangential extractors is that you have to 1) Put the frames in and spin out some of the honey, 2) Flip the frames around and spin out all of the honey on that side, then 3) Flip them again and spin out the remaining honey from the first side.

This is a log of time and handling! You have to get the extractor up to a certain speed to spin out most of the honey. If you don't do all this flipping of frames, the weight of the honey on the inside of the frame will sometimes collapse the comb when it gets up to that speed. Especially with foundationless or with wax foundation.

The 18/9 solves all of these problems. For $700 shipped.

Of course, I wish I had the money to buy the $1250 motorized version! The cranking gets old 

Good luck!
-wanderyr


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

Michael Bush said:


> >
> 
> But I don't see the cost benefit for a few hobbyist hives...


It's not allways about the money i could care less what i spend on my bee's hell i bought your book and alls i had to do is read your web site right ?!


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

sorry dbl post.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

Certainly if you have the money to spend, I would buy the largest extractor that would fit through my kitchen door, which is what I did when I finally bought one. I got Mann Lake's 9/18 motorized and have been quite happy with it.


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## hilreal (Aug 16, 2005)

I have the little Italian job that Brushy Mountain sells (9 frame). Works fine for my 15 hives. Added a home made motor to it. If I get much bigger though may need to upgrade to the Maxant. I find the uncapping to be the slowest, biggest pain part of the process. If they could only develop a small uncapper for hobby/sideline beeks that didn't cost an arm and a leg.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

WBVC said:


> All ideas and comments welcome including who to purchase from.


Save yourself a ton of hassle on the import / shipping, buy it in bc. The folks at bees and glass just up the road from us deal in all the Mann lake stuff, and I'm sure they can figure out cost effective delivery. When I asked Larry about pricing for an extractor last week, he pointed to the price in the catalog, picked up locally here in Duncan, no extra shipping. I'm sure they have it figured out for Vancouver delivery.


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## Dale_3rd (May 11, 2012)

Same here; looking for an extractor, however, for me there are a couple of different things,

First, I won't be buying it ! My Uncle went in with his son in-law on 2 hives, but they died over the winter. He originally said he would buy the extractor and has re-affirmed to me that he will still do so because he plans on having bee's in the future; up to 10 hives himself...I have only 4 ATM but might expand to six but no more.

Second, he doesn't mind spending money for a better product, i.e. if one extractor has a better motor but costs $100 more, he'd get the better one.

So with that in mind, which extractor would fit better in that criteria? From my limited knowledge, looks like the Maxant Power 9F is the one.


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## Ross (Apr 30, 2003)

Depends on how big you want to go. The 20 frame Dadant will do 20 deeps or 32 mediums.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Thanks..I will look them up. Given this is our first year I am thinking we may not need an extractor at all for a bit. As a newbie I was thinking OMG much be ready for all that honey but now in reality I wondering if I shouldn't leave it for he bees their first winter putting up with someone so inexperienced! ..but then next year...another story Thanks for pointing me to local folks.


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## ralittlefield (Apr 25, 2011)

Ross said:


> Look on craigslist and other such sites for a used one.


If you find one, act fast. They do not hang around for long!


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## Greg755 (Jan 29, 2012)

I have the Mann lake 18/9 and it works great. A lot of people say it is not strong (as opposed too a thicker walled maxant). WELL just today (5-13-13) I was driving down the road in my pickup, minding my own business, when at around 58 miles per hour, I noticed my extractor doing a triple Lindy in the rear view mirror. When I got out of the truck and looked at her I was surprised to find that it only had one bent leg and One dent in the upper rim of the tank. I went to the shop and took the leg off and bent it back and then I took out the basket and used a hammer and a couple blocks of wood to take out the dent in the rim... Works good as new. it seems pretty strong to me...


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## millerdrr (Dec 5, 2012)

Bottles or jars should be on the list in the first post, but I'd also throw in a recommendation on a couple of food-grade plastic buckets. Even with only five hives, you can still end up with a sizable amount of honey. If you don't have the time or the space to bottle hundreds of jars of honey, you can go ahead and store it safely in the buckets, and quickly return the wet supers to the hive, so the bees can clean them up and get a little more stores for the winter. I'd rather fill six or eight buckets, and fill the jars as needed, rather than trying to bottle four hundred jars of honey in one night.

If I were the thread starter, I would get what I wanted that would suit my current needs and expansion plans, but I wouldn't spend a fortune on an extractor with that number of hives. We generally run around twenty hives, but winter deaths (and the passing of our beekeeping patriarch) has forced us to scale down to six. We do fine with an ancient nine-frame radial; even though there are two of us, we really don't uncap the frames that much faster than the third man can load it, flip the switch to spin them out, and unload the empties. I'd leave the cappings scratcher off the list...the one we have never gets used, and a kitchen fork will do just fine. The tip of the heated knife will easily get the corners, in any case.

A large sheet of plastic from a home improvement center spread across the floor will eliminate mopping in the event of a spill. If you are going to be standing on a cement garage floor the entire day, throw a few sheets of cardboard under it, and your feet will thank you. 

We keep a few wet washcloths laying around to cool the knife, because the knife gets too hot in our opinion. 

You said your storage area is limited. If you plan on storing the jars in a different location than your extracting room, build a few crates and get a cheap hand-truck, so you won't have to make dozens of trips carrying the honey. Make sure everything fits through the doorway before doing any major work or spending money.

I give every frame a nudge the day before I rob the supers from the bees to help eliminate dripping, but it's a good idea to keep a hive tool in the extraction area, anyways...no matter how soon it's been since you pulled the frame, propolis is the glue that always sticks.

Speaking of propolis, if you save it, remember to bring something in which to store it. Also, remember a bucket for wet cappings, after they have drained.

Our honey house is plumbed, but in years past we took a supply of clean water to wash the jars off after they were filled. Put the labels on last, and make sure you wash your hands first or wear latex gloves, so you don't get fingerprints on the paper.

The most important thing in our extraction area is a box of plastic spoons. None of us has the willpower to hold out for very long, without sampling the goods.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

millerdrr said:


> The most important thing in our extraction area is a box of plastic spoons. None of us has the willpower to hold out for very long, without sampling the goods.


Now that is some solid advice right there!:thumbsup:

Mike


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## honeybeebee (Jan 27, 2013)

They have ...they're called grandkids.....cheaper than a motor on my handcranked maxant...


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