# liquefying honey - anyone use this?



## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

Never used one, but it says it is aluminum, and honey and aluminum are not a good combo because the honey will corrode the metal and end up making your honey taste like carp...if you know what I mean :doh:


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

It doesn't say how warm it gets. Melting ice water doesn't take much heat. Re-liquifeying honey takes more warmth.

Sorry, not impressed.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## jrbbees (Apr 4, 2010)

direct element/honey will probably get too hot and burn the honey.

There are two design factors heaters that limit and control heater that go 'in' the fluid to be heated.

Sensor controled. The temp sensor will not be located in contact with the element so it is waiting for a temp conduction(convection) through the water to cycle the sensor to prevent over heating. It will burn the honey.

Or it is sensorless and uses a lower voltage(amps really but we aways say voltage) so that the heat flow of the water will carry the heated water away and thus prevents boiling. Honey ain't water. The viscosity and flow rate are completely different. The honey will stay in contact and not flow away from the element. It will burn the honey.


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## bfriendly (Jun 14, 2009)

I agree, generally immersion heaters that aren't made for the puropse aren't a good idea. - probably would burn honey... 

If you insist on trying it you could try a 240v element running on normal 120v ac house current. You will get 1/4 the rated power (watts) and it may be enough to not burn honey.


Also I agree with what has been said above - I don't know if 250 watts is enough, You need to get something that is closley controlled in the right temperature range..


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

jrbbees said:


> direct element/honey will probably get too hot and burn the honey.


Yeah, and if it's hot enough, melt a hole in the bucket.


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## stoweski (Apr 1, 2008)

Thanks for the replies! I figured something that easy would have issues.

The company's site says the unit heats to 110 degrees. Actually it's a different model than the one on amazon but the same design. I thought that heating to 110 would be perfect.

Did not realize honey & aluminum do not mix. Thanks for bringing that up. 

Again, only reason I was looking at an immersion heater is because of the unit I found on Betterbee made for 55 gallon drums. That must be made out of stainless steel or something.
Here's the link to that model (if it works):
http://www.betterbee.com/s.nl/it.A/id.1054/.f

I'll keep looking.


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## Island Apiaries (Aug 9, 2010)

I have one of the Betterbee units and it works very well. I did get one of the older units that has a stainless shaft over the cord and can be a pain in the butt when it is just starting to liquify, but the design change to the flex shaft should have resolved that issue..


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## danno (Dec 17, 2007)

this is how i do it. the heater is controllable from 70 - 110 and is big enough to wrap around a 5 or 6 galon pail and the immersion chiller when hot water is run tthrough it just melts its way to the bottom of the bucket
http://cgi.ebay.com/Quantum-Comfort...543?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2eb355be3f


http://www.midwestsupplies.com/homebrewing-equipment/wort-chillers/immersion.html


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## Bee Man (Sep 19, 2004)

Only thing I would use for a drum heater I got from Simpson Bee Supply in Danville OH - 

Drum Blanket, Electric, Insulated 400 watt, does not scorch Honey 90° F. $450.00 

You can hook 4-5 blankets into a standard 110 electrical outlet without blowing any fuses so a ton less energy is used. Honey is never scorched and I'll never going back to anything else to heat our drums. I've used others - and nothing compares to this blanket. I've found all others are not cost effective especially if you are heating a lot of drums over time. It costs more but worth every penny.


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## stoweski (Apr 1, 2008)

Had an old waterbed heater with thermostat that was at my father's house so I'll try that out and see how it works. 

Wondering how long it will take to liquefy with the heater wrapped around the bucket. I had been using a seed growing mat but it didn't work very well.


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## danno (Dec 17, 2007)

stoweski said:


> Had an old waterbed heater with thermostat that was at my father's house so I'll try that out and see how it works.
> 
> Wondering how long it will take to liquefy with the heater wrapped around the bucket. I had been using a seed growing mat but it didn't work very well.


if your honey is just showing signs of crystalization the heater will clean it up in less than a week. You might need to stir abit. If you do stir go slow. Dont whip it and dont mix in alot of air


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Stoweski,If your looking for a cheap and easy way to liquifty a 5 gallon bucket then try this. Get something like a metal garbage can (or drum or any other convenient container) and sit a 100 watt light bulb in the bottom.Put an old milk crate over it.Sit your 5 gallon bucket on the milk crate.Turn on the light,put on the lid,and wait 3 days.It should liquify up real nice.If you want to get a little more high tech go to wallyworld and get a cheap dial thermometer to sit on top your bucket and throw a blanket over the whole thing to retain heat.You can change your bulb wattage up or down to control temperature in the 110 range.Works like a charm.This was great advice given to me by a friend who is a great beekeeper and full of innovation.


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## Tourist (Feb 25, 2011)

Bee Man said:


> Drum Blanket, Electric, Insulated 400 watt, does not scorch Honey 90° F. $450.00


How long does one drum blanket take to melt a barrel of fully crystalized honey at that temperature? I guess it depends on the honey, as well? Why do you think it's better than the immersion heater?


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## [email protected] (Aug 1, 2004)

IMHO, Hemichuck has the right idea if all you are doing is buckets and if one bucket at a time will serve your needs.

I personally think a cabinet is the way to do. Then you can do as many as three buckets at a time. The cabinet only needs to be four pieces of plywood with rigid insulation on the inside. Make it 6" longer than the number of buckets you may want to liquify at one time. Make it as high as your highest object. (Consider making it high enough so that you can put granulated jars on top of the bucket lids or even two buckets stacked on top of one another.) Heat can be a light bulb, but we prefer one of the oil filled radiators.

Definately do not buy the heater you showed at Betterbee. This is not the 'same as' the former heater with a stainless pole. I think Betterbee cheapened the product for their own purposes. I have one of the heaters with the stainless pole and it is a fine product. But it is made for a barrel, not a bucket.

Our honey house is in Schenectady NY and we have both a cabinet and the heater with the stainless pole. If you want to stop in and see them, you are welcome. Just call first. 518-370-4989.

Lloyd


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## stoweski (Apr 1, 2008)

I wrapped a waterbed heater around the 5 gal bucket, duct taped it so it wouldn't move, and wrapped it with aluminum faced bubble wrap insulation (reflectix). Set the heater to 100 and let it go. Two days later the entire bucket of honey is liquified. Very nice!!!

Ross, I may take you up on your offer. I frequent your stand in Schenectady (and formerly in Troy before the Schenectady market opened up). Thanks for the offer!

And thanks for the tips. Now I need to do a test to see what the electricity usage is for the lightbulb idea vs the waterbed heater idea. Always looking to save some $$$!

Keith


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