# Simple Harmony Farms uncapper First Test



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Ddawg,
Thanks so much for the review. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has been waiting to hear of anyone not with the company who has used it to report back the results. It sounds quite good to me.


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## Scott Gough (Dec 10, 2015)

Thanks for the review. I would also like to see the video when you get it posted. 

Were there very many cappings in the honey after extracting? How would it compare to using a hot knife?


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## Ddawg (Feb 17, 2012)

Scott Gough said:


> Thanks for the review. I would also like to see the video when you get it posted.
> 
> Were there very many cappings in the honey after extracting? How would it compare to using a hot knife?


I also wondered about this prior to testing, but there was not much noticeable difference of wax in my strainer than when I would use the hot knife.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

I used my uncapper for the first time last night and saved a lot of time and mess. It takes a little getting used to as it leaves a quarter of an inch on all sides uncapped and sometimes a little under the top bar but your capping scratcher makes short work of that. New capped comb is a breeze and the older stuff just needs a little more attention. the honey this year is " locust and clover over and over " very pale and sweet.
Johno


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

I've been thinking about this... Usually I have two people helping me and each of them runs a hot knife for me and then I load the (18 frame) extractor. They keep uncapping and more-or-less keep up with the extractor.
Assuming I can't always have two people help me for a whole day, I'm thinking this could help me be able to extract alone or at least with less help. Is that an accurate assessment, Ddawg?

Your observation re: no more wax in the strainer is interesting to me as when I pick frames I get much much more wax than when I hot knife them. 

Thanks for posting your experience!

Is it possible to adjust the spacing at all? I'm running 8 frames in supers this year.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

I must say that with this uncapper I am able to extract on my own without help from my wife, the only problem I have is if the extractor is unbalanced it becomes difficult to crank and hold it down. As far as the cappings are concerned very little in the uncapping tank but more than usual in the strainer from the extractor, I think this is due to more small pieces of wax flying off the frames due to the uncapper breaking the wax with the slotted wheels. Even so a lot of time and mess is avoided with this uncapper.
Johno


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Thank you, johno, that is exactly what I was thinking. I guess I'll buy a third stainless strainer set-up if I buy this so there's less downtime for cleanup. I do need to sort out either a better mounting or better balancing for my extractor if I'm going to let that thing run on it's own. Or just run it slower (and longer), I suppose.

I put my name on the list with them yesterday to get one for the next shipment. Even if it's moderately clunky or needs a bit of pick-work, I haven't seen a video that makes me think it would be slower than the hot knife setup... and with less humans involved.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

jwcarlson said:


> Thank you, johno, that is exactly what I was thinking. I guess I'll buy a third stainless strainer set-up if I buy this so there's less downtime for cleanup.


We switched to using a slit uncapper a couple years ago, and bumped up from a 2 to 18 frame extractor a couple years before that. Our experience with the small extractor, strainer worked ok. Once we went to the bigger one, strainer was ALWAYS the bottleneck. We changed how we do it here. We no longer strain the honey coming out of the extractor, it goes strait into 5 gallon buckets. Leave them sit overnight and most of the crud floats up or sinks to the bottom. Go back the next day and skim the crud off the top, then send it thru a strainer to get the last bits. When we skim the tops, it all goes into a 5 gallon bucket with a plastic honey gate. Leave it sit again for a few hours. Now open the gate, you get a bunch of clean honey, as soon as the crud starts to show, dump what's left into one of the big strainers that fits over a 5 gallon bucket.

Our process works well for us. We extract strait into the 5 gallon buckets on a Saturday, we can run about a thousand pounds in a day easily with our setup feeding the 9/18 extractor. The next day we start by skimming buckets, then pour a bunch thru strainers into another bucket. After an hour of doing that, we set up the nassenheider and start bottling, all the buckets that finished straining go into the 10 gallon feeder we use for the bottler. By the time we are done, honey is all in bottles except for the last bucket which is the leftover crud that will take a couple days to fully drain properly.

Ditch the strainer at the extractor spout and your thruput processing honey will jump dramatically.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

grozzie2 said:


> Ditch the strainer at the extractor spout and your thruput processing honey will jump dramatically.


I say just get a couple of strainers, switching them out as needed and save the extra steps........ but to each his own..........

I now carry the Uncapper, but can't keep it stock long enough to put on the website..... word of mouth is selling them.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

snl said:


> I now carry the Uncapper, but can't keep it stock long enough to put on the website..... word of mouth is selling them.


I do have ONE that was used in a demo. Other than a wax particle or two, same as new (and same price as new. ($395 plus $20 shipping to anywhere US). If interested, pm me.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

snl said:


> I do have ONE that was used in a demo. Other than a wax particle or two, same as new (and same price as new. ($395 plus $20 shipping to anywhere US). If interested, pm me.


That one sold....... We'll all have to wait until the "ship" comes in with more....


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

Interested to see the video.
I run 10 frames in all my hives. I wonder how it would work as the cappings are flush with the frames side bars?

No idea if they would ship to Australia?


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## pahammer (Oct 8, 2012)

from their website:

Shipping to New Zealand/Australia is $95


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

max2 said:


> ... I wonder how it would work as the cappings are flush with the frames side bars? ...





> Originally posted by Johno...
> it leaves a quarter of an inch on all sides uncapped and sometimes a little under the top bar but your capping scratcher makes short work of that...
> Johno


Johno's post seems to indicate it should work fine for you Max2.

I'm not positive, but I'm assuming this was a feature incorporated into the design of the thing to address that issue of frames of comb that are not drawn out thick enough beyond the width of the side bars.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

New thick honey frames are a piece of cake, narrow frames of which I have had quite a few are a little more difficult sometimes just moving the capped frame up and down a few times helps with them as it also does with old comb. If your frame is capped right up to the edge there is a little strip on either side that is not uncapped and some of the thin frames will have a little strip under the top bar and some also might have a little strip at the bottom as the bottom bar is much thinner than the top bar but these are easily taken care of with your capping scratcher. I do all the harvesting and extraction mostly on my own and just do about 5 boxes of medium supers a day and have found this uncapper to have made extraction much quicker and easier, I would guess I have cut my extraction time in half and with very little mess,
Johno


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

Thanks - all good information.

I have been using a heated knife and it works well but as I get old anything which makes the job easier it welcome.
These things are going through my head:
- the small pieces of was which will clog-up the strainer
- missed parts on edges
- not having any cappings to make mead ( it is by far the best mead) and our clean wax is getting a great price. We also make candles and sell blocks of wax for " wraps" - you may not believe this but I'm getting $ Aus 40 per kg for our wax ( we got First price at the local show)
- The cost - including shipping to Australia.
- I'm an old fart and a bit set in my ways

On the other hand:
- We produce only about 4000 kg a year ( a good year) from our up to 40 hives and make a good number of nuc's . I could expand ( don't tell my wife!) I can sell all the honey we produce retail.
- This looks like a great gadget - well made.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

I now have “some” more in stock. Not enough to put up on the website. PM if interested.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

2 sold to BS members this morning. If interested buy now as these are shipped from China via boat and take forever to get here. Just 4 left from the 10 received this week.


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## noljohn (Jan 9, 2013)

Just got done with my first extraction using Simple Harmony extractor. It usually takes me 12+ hours using a hot plane. I cut that time to a little less than 8 hours. Like the rest said it's difficult with old comb. It also leaves a little on both sides for the scratcher. Works real good on frames that are new and fully drawn a little past the frame. It's a LOT less clean up. Probably the best upgrade for $400 I've spent.


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## Davisbees (Apr 24, 2009)

At anytime did you have to clean the rollers? I have a lot of old comb but I run nine frames in ten frame boxes. There usually capped a little wider than the frames. How many supers did you uncap.


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## Loranger Honey (Jun 23, 2017)

pahammer said:


> from their website:
> 
> Shipping to New Zealand/Australia is $95


http://www.zabel.com.au/ These guys carry the uncapper in Australia.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

I have just gone through about 40 x 8 frame mediums without having to clean any part of the uncapper, sure a little wax sicks to the parts of the rollers from time to time but the next frame takes it away. At the end of the session there is a little wax on the rollers and the next day I just carried on, no cleaning required. Of course when all the extraction is done I will clean it all up before I put it away or maybe not. Have you noticed if you clean up all your honey buckets when bottling is done next year when they are removed from storage the are full of mold from the slight sugary residue so have to be cleaned again before use. Being extremely lazy and not wanting to do the same job twice I store the buckets with all the honey residue in the drums and they remain just like that until ready for use and are then easily cleaned.
Johno


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## Davisbees (Apr 24, 2009)

I decided to get one of the uncappers. They called last night and said they had got some more in. I sure hope it works as well for me as everyone said it has for them. I’ll know in a couple of weeks.


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## DPBsbees (Apr 14, 2011)

Just got mine in the mail today. Can't wait to give it a try.


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## Davisbees (Apr 24, 2009)

That’s great, how long was it in the mail? If mine shipped today I’m hoping that it gets here by the middle of next week. After you use it let me know what you think of it.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

You’ll need to secure the UC to the tank because on the upward pull, you’ll also lift the UC if you don’t. Some use screws. I’ve found cheapo ratchet straps on each end work great. I’ve four left until the next shipment if interested.


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## jwcarlson (Feb 14, 2014)

Just used this thing for the first time today. One of the best things I have purchased for honey extraction. I cannot even estimate how much time it saved. But I extracted 50% more honey with no dedicated uncapping people and no "pre-uncapping" while extractor runs. Really efficient, only struggles were with deep frames that have had lots of brood through them.

Amazing tool.


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## Rocky Mt High (Mar 22, 2014)

jwcarlson said:


> Just used this thing for the first time today. One of the best things I have purchased for honey extraction. I cannot even estimate how much time it saved. But I extracted 50% more honey with no dedicated uncapping people and no "pre-uncapping" while extractor runs. Really efficient, only struggles were with deep frames that have had lots of brood through them.
> 
> Amazing tool.


JWcarlson: Did you attach the uncapper to a tank? Can you post a photo? thanks

RMH


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## Davisbees (Apr 24, 2009)

I have to say this uncapper is the best piece of equipment I have bought for the honey house in a long time. Me and my buddy have robbed our bees together for several years now. We extract the honey the same day. Start early and quit late. I love this thing, it’s so much faster than the hot knife and the plane. We uncapped roughly seventy suppers and it was a breeze. Now the eighteen frame extractor can’t keep up. It sure didn’t get a break today. In my opinion it is well worth the money.


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## DPBsbees (Apr 14, 2011)

I agree. I've uncapped about 20 supers with it so far and love it. So much easier and quicker than knives or planes for me and no darkened honey due to heat. There was a lot of honey in the uncapping tank but as that is completely recoverable I don't have any issue with that. Definitely worth the money.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Larry:

I am not clear on exactly what type/kind/brand of uncapping tank is required in order to use the uncapper. Can you shed some light on this?


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

psm1212 said:


> Larry:
> 
> I am not clear on exactly what type/kind/brand of uncapping tank is required in order to use the uncapper. Can you shed some light on this?


It fits perfectly on the plastic uncapping tank from ML. However, with a little ingenuity, you can fit it to an inexpensive tank from Home Depot.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Thanks Larry. Any chance you will be running a ProVap 110 + SHF Uncapper combo deal in the near future?


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

psm1212 said:


> Thanks Larry. Any chance you will be running a ProVap 110 + SHF Uncapper combo deal in the near future?


Sorry 😐


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## texanbelchers (Aug 4, 2014)

snl said:


> Sorry &#55357;&#56848;


Of course he does! Everything he sells is a deal; you just have to order them separately.


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## challenger (May 27, 2009)

I'm a little confused, are there two uncappers being talked about in this thread?
Can anyone tell me what material the rollers are made out of ? I'm wondering if the thin slitters are replaceable or if the slitters and roller bars are all one unit. If this is the case, and the slitters get bent, what would the remedy be?
Thanks


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

One uncapper by SHF. The rollers are made of one piece solid aluminum. They don’t bend. They expand for thicker frames.


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## JMHammond (Nov 3, 2015)

I had to bite the bullett on purchasing the SHF uncapper, but after I did I was impressed with it's construction and simplicity. The thinner frames take a little longer and I use a roller to clean them up. Wider heavier frames are a breeze. In the past it seems there has always been a let down on a purchase like this, but I am extremely pleased and will highly recommend it. A real time saver.


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## Davisbees (Apr 24, 2009)

I’ll have to agree. This thing makes uncapping go a lot faster. I’m well pleased with mine too.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I watched a friend do a few frames from my crop. I did not like the missed uncapped strips left on the sides, under the topbars and low spots. The frame still needed scratching and those areas were hard to see since they had those perforated lines on them. All the brace comb on the frames was still left which also needed additional hand work. I noticed on their video ALL the frames had been hand picked and were perfect smooth, full, nine frame spaced. My crops do not have every frame perfect like that. Mine have low spots and brace comb. The video was sped up and increased in speed as it progressed, making the output speed of the unit look spectacular. I did not like the lack of space for ones fingers to hold the frame as it got to the blades. One frame passed through and had to be fished out from the drip pan. For my small scale operation I still prefer a hot knife uncapped frame done with a strong coordinated laborer with scraped clean frames.
Our Cowan uncapper is the same, lots on hand work required for a 100% uncapped and clean frames.
If their video was done with a typical box from my crop the results would not be a impressive.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

No uncapper gets EVERYTHING! As to the few missed cells, does one really care to get every last drop of honey? The bees do a fine job of cleaning the frames, nothing lost.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

snl said:


> No uncapper gets EVERYTHING! As to the few missed cells, does one really care to get every last drop of honey? The bees do a fine job of cleaning the frames, nothing lost.


The percentage of uncapped cells was substantial in our small test. This multiplied hundreds of times in a crop will add up to a big amount of the crop left in the combs. When placed back on hives for drying the bees do not always uncap and remove that honey. It is then in the stored super piles attracting ants, granulating etc. I don't believe in doing a half ass job, and leaving profit behind after going to all the effort to uncap and extract. 
I have been tricked by carefully manipulated video's in the past and recognized that the speeded up promotional video using only perfect combs probably was trickery. I also found that the partial job that the tool does makes it harder to find the uncapped parts for scratching. I base my opinions on my 48 years of extracting honey, not on the promotions of those selling the product for their own gain.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

OD,
You even state your Cowan doesn’t get all the spots and that you have uncap those areas manually. Now what would that Cowan cost in today’s dollars vs the SHF uncapper?
There is no perfect uncapper, but for the $$$ the SHF Uncapper is a great value.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

snl said:


> OD,
> You even state your Cowan doesn’t get all the spots and that you have uncap those areas manually. Now what would that Cowan cost in today’s dollars vs the SHF uncapper?
> There is no perfect uncapper, but for the $$$ the SHF Uncapper is a great value.


It is a low cost for a small scale piece of equipment, I would need more experience with it to call it a good value. I wonder if it would last as long and compare to hot knife or Cowan doing tons of frames a year for decades like a we do? A good technician with a hot knife can uncap 100% of a frame and clean the edges with one handling. I wonder how the labor time would compare in a side by side competition. The video I watched made it look a lot more seamless than our first try in real life conditions. I liked using uncapping planes but gave up on them after the heating elements kept burning out. I wonder what the lifetime output of the Harmony uncapper will be?


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

odfrank said:


> I wonder what the lifetime output of the Harmony uncapper will be?


Those rollers are one piece!! It is (was) a solid piece of aluminum that was CNC’d (is that a word ?) The solid sides holding the rollers are HDPE (same material as cutting and diving boards). Unless you run over it with a truck, it should last forever.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Odfrank, even with the problems you mentioned I went through and extracted all my supers this year in about half the time it took me last year with a hot knife and there was very little to clean up once I was done. The finger space when putting the frame down to the top bar is a bit of a pain so I will look for a way to take care of that, my first thought was to make a cut away at that point however I have almost a year to go before I will have to use it again so will give it a little more thought.
Johno


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

It probably is not a sideliner’s solution, but I think it was the logical next step for me as a hobbyist with over 20 hives and growing. I could never financially justify hiring a helper at this point. Manually uncapping 225+ frames (and counting) this year completely by myself was an a..kicker. At this stage for me, sacrificing a small amount of honey for a solution to a major bottle neck in my process, is a welcome trade off.


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## aiannar974 (Mar 29, 2017)

About how much do they run?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Listed at $395 + shipping. Here is a link: http://www.simpleharmonyfarms.com/simple-harmony-farms-uncapper.html


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

For around $400 you get more than you paid for. There could be a few refinements to make things easier but even so I went through more than 500 frames and used a cappings scratcher to touch the edges if required and could do the whole extraction process on my own. I have found that you get more minute particles of wax that goes through the screens so when you get to the bottom of the bottling tank you get a little of this into the last few bottles. However this honey I keep for my own consumption or is give away honey.
Johno


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

aiannar974 said:


> About how much do they run?


You can also order it from snl (Larry) who is a contributor to this forum. Same price. He has contributed to this thread so you can PM him directly by clicking his username in the thread.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Got 4 in stock. If interested, buy now as there will be a price increase soon...…..


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

snl said:


> No uncapper gets EVERYTHING!


Hey Frank, Looking at your picture; could it be that modern uncappers are not gauged to frames that came over on the Mayflower?


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

HarryVanderpool said:


> Hey Frank, Looking at your picture; could it be that modern uncappers are not gauged to frames that came over on the Mayflower?


Not that old. Those are vintage mid '70s frames and have brought in a crop every year since then. The Cowan does eat it's share of those very year, another reason we are doing mostly hand uncapping. The topbar ends get pithy after that many decades but the bees sure do love those old combs. I think I got my value out of them.


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## aiannar974 (Mar 29, 2017)

I see reference to narrow and think frames. I had not heard of this before. I googled it but I am still not sure what was meant in this case. I found Manley frames that have a straight sided and at the top are 1 5/8", Hoffman frames that are tapered and 1 3/8" at the top. I also found narrow straight sides, no dimensions but thinner than the others. Johno, are you referring to the Hoffman frames as narrow? How far apart is the Simple Harmony's disc edges from one another?

Anthony


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Aiannar974, I think the reference to thick and thin frames is about how much has been built onto the foundation and capped. Nine frames in 10 frame honey super will mostly result in thick frames of honey so that the discs in the rollers will cut into most of the cells even so the total width of the rollers is maybe 3/8" narrower than the inside of a standard frame and if the honey is capped edge to edge you may have some capped stuff right on both edges not uncapped so by just pulling your capping scratcher down each edge you take care of that. If the honey on some frames is very lightly drawn out and is below the level of the top bar you might get some places that the discs do not cut into so they have also got to be dealt with by means of the scratcher also on those thin honey frames because of the radius of the discs there could be a little strip at the top bar that has not been uncapped again the scratcher takes care of that pretty quickly. Generally those thin honey frames are more of a problem with a hot knife than they are with the harmony uncapper. For me I did my extraction this year in half the time I would normally take using a hot knife and I do not select frames, If there is honey on it thick or thin new or old comb it is extracted and at the end of it all not much cappings and not much mess to clean.
Johno


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Anthony:

I think the narrow vs. thick is not a description of the frame itself, but how the frame was built out in the super. Some run 10 frames in a 10 frame super, which causes the bees to conform to that tight space and build "thin" comb on the frames. Some run 9 frames in a 10 frame super. Evenly spaced, the bees will build out these frames with comb that extends beyond the width of the top bars of the frame making them "thicker." Some will use 8 frames in a 10 frame super, which, if positioned correctly and the bees do not make a mess, will create uber thick comb on the frames.

If I am wrong, and they are talking about actual bare frame thickness, I apologize.


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## aiannar974 (Mar 29, 2017)

It looks like the rollers are a fixed dimension from each other and Johno mentioned the rollers are about 3/8" narrower than the inside of a standard frame. If this is the case, how do the rollers go over the bottom rail of the frame? Do the rollers move away from each other to go over the wood?


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## DPBsbees (Apr 14, 2011)

aiannar974 said:


> It looks like the rollers are a fixed dimension from each other and Johno mentioned the rollers are about 3/8" narrower than the inside of a standard frame. If this is the case, how do the rollers go over the bottom rail of the frame? Do the rollers move away from each other to go over the wood?


Yes, they go over the bottom of the frame with no problem. I've uncapped about 40 supers with it with no issues other than using a capping scratcher a bit as I want all of the honey. That's not any different than when I was using other uncapping methods.


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## BPKeeper (Jan 4, 2012)

I’d like to see a photo of your Simple Harmony extractor? Do you have any in stock?

Thanks,

Parks Wilson


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

I have them in stock. You can see it at the Simple Harmony Farms website.


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## aiannar974 (Mar 29, 2017)

Do the blades bend? Aluminum is soft. How think are they?

Anthony


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

aiannar974 said:


> Do the blades bend? Aluminum is soft. How think are they?
> 
> Anthony


Blades are very rigid, maybe 1/8”


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

resurrecting last year's thread, anyone else care to give a review?


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

squarepeg said:


> resurrecting last year's thread, anyone else care to give a review?


I did a YouTube review last year. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZInUEPetmY0v4woRYulnHA


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

excellent video psalm1212, many thanks, especially for showing what the frames looked like after extraction.

on the one hand not as much wax is removed, but on the other hand it looks like the cells get scored rather deep.

i'm wondering how much or how little difference it makes in terms of the work required by the bees to reuse the comb?


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

for those of you who have use this and then put the supers back out... 

does the comb seem to get easily reworked back to the original depth? do you see a lot of wax crumbs hauled out of the hive?


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Square I put my wet supers onto plastic trays for the bees to clean up, they clean them up pretty well and all the loose wax bits end up in the trays where I collect them for adding to other bit of wax from the cappings. Also the honey wax mixture in the capping screen and also the screens on top of the buckets gets scraped into a glass bowl and microwaved until all the wax melts and sits on top of the honey, when the wax hardens it gets removed and the remaining honey gets stored for home consumption.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

thanks for the reply johno. does it appear that overall more of the comb gets preserved on the frames for future use by the bees as compared to using a knife?


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

squarepeg said:


> thanks for the reply johno. does it appear that overall more of the comb gets preserved on the frames for future use by the bees as compared to using a knife?


Definitely. After the extraction, the frames are “rippled” but very little of the wax is separated from the frame. Unfortunately, that video was my first use and it was my last extraction of the season. I put the frames back on the boxes for about a week to allow them to clean them up, and then pulled them off for storage. So I didn’t allow them to draw them back out and restore. However, there is a lot more of the cell left in tact and virtually all of the building material (wax) is left for them to chew up and reconstruct with than I previously left with my knife and scratcher.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

I put my wet supers out for all the bees in my home yard to clean up so they do make the frames look like they have been robbed, but they look just the same as hot knife cut frames after the bees have cleaned them out. But at the end of the day for a one man operation ( maybe a half man operation cause my wife often calls me a half wit) with the Harmony uncapper I get the job done in half the time and not much mess to clean up. With the hot knife everything gets sticky and years ago one of my mentors mentioned that it takes a gallon of paint to paint a room and a teaspoon full of honey to make your whole house sticky.


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## Buckfast Bee (Mar 5, 2019)

Hello, I come from Italy and am very interested in the uncapper. Can someone tell me the dimensions of the uncapper, so that I am sure that they fit for my frames as well. Important would be the length, width, and distance of the rollers (maximum possible width of the frames). Also interesting would be the distance between the rollers in the starting position.
Thank you very much


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

johno said:


> ...they look just the same as hot knife cut frames after the bees have cleaned them out.


that's what i was wondering johno, thanks.

psalm1212, have you placed any of these supers back out yet this spring and if yes did you see a lot of wax crumbs removed from the hive?

buckfast bee, welcome to beesource! here is the contact email for the supplier, perhaps you can get your questions answered there:

simpleharmonyfarms (at) gmail.com


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

squarepeg: I don’t think I have put on any of those frames, so I can’t answer that question yet. I did happen to have one in my shop this evening and took some pictures of it that I will post below.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

thanks for the pics psalm1212. is that a frame that went through the rollers and then afterward the bees repaired it and started new white wax on it?

if so it does look like cuts from the rollers damage the comb a little bit deeper than the level between the top and bottom bars compared to what a knife would remove.


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## clong (Apr 6, 2015)

psm1212 said:


> View attachment 46461


Interesting. It looks sort of like a Flow frame. 

Thanks for the photos and review. This has whetted my appetite for a new toy.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

squarepeg said:


> thanks for the pics psalm1212. is that a frame that went through the rollers and then afterward the bees repaired it and started new white wax on it?
> 
> if so it does look like cuts from the rollers damage the comb a little bit deeper than the level between the top and bottom bars compared to what a knife would remove.


No. This frame was extracted in late August and placed back on for one week for the bees to clean up for me. They were not building wax at that time and I did not give them time to repair the frame. I was trying to get the supers off to get my treatments in the hives.

As to the depth of the grooves the roller places in the wax, I would say that the troughs are deeper than what you would cut with a knife, but the peaks are higher. It will be interesting to see what the bees do with these frames when I get them back on for this year's flow. I don't think they will have a problem building them back out once they are in the humor to start laying white wax.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

when you placed the frame back on for clean up did you recall seeing many wax crumbs getting hauled out?

i agree that that the frames will get pulled out just fine on a strong flow.

i am wondering how the deeper grooves will affect the frames that have had brood in them, that was later replaced by honey, extracted, and then put back in for brood during the early build up. probably not enough to worry about.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

squarepeg said:


> when you placed the frame back on for clean up did you recall seeing many wax crumbs getting hauled out?


I don't have any memory of it SP. Could have been. I will try to mark a few going in this spring and see what they look like come extractiong time. Whether I can still see the grooves in the face of the frames or not.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

i don't see any slits in your photos so it makes me think there was a little repairing that took place during the clean up. they may have fixed the broken cells by refashioning the old wax.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

psm1212 said:


> I did a YouTube review last year.
> 
> Patrick McCalman


PSM:

Great video of the SHF uncapper- best one on YouTube IMHO. Thank you for posting.

Now with a couple more seasons under your belt, any other observations/lessons learned you would be willing to share? I am curious if you are doing any post processing of trouble frames with a scratcher, etc.?

You've got a good presence in front of the camera- if this whole beekeeping bit doesn't work out, maybe you can become a celebrity spokesman 😎.

Thanks again for the great review. Well done.


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Litsinger said:


> PSM:
> 
> Great video of the SHF uncapper- best one on YouTube IMHO. Thank you for posting.
> 
> ...


I harvested 1600 pounds this year with the SHF uncapper. I am still very impressed with it. I do use a cappings scratcher to "touch up" corners and low spots. I doubt that it is worth my time, but I am a little obsessive that way. As with all things, I think you get a little better at it with time. However, there is a very short learning curve with the SHF.

The two rollers are tensioned by o-rings on both ends of the rollers. My original o-rings are still installed and do not look to be worn. However, all rubber ultimately will degrade and break. I contacted the manufacturer for spares and they pointed me to a Fastenal product that I suppose serves as their source. SKU 1166889 #329 2"ID x 2-3/8"OD 0.210" Cross Section Nitrile Standard O-Ring. I ordered a pack of 5 spare o-rings for $2.17. Just in case. 

I am still a big fan of the SHF uncapper. It is the best solution for the money that I have found for a beekeeper running between 20 and 75 colonies. If I ever get over 100 colonies (not in my current plans) I may start looking at a chain uncapper.


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## e-spice (Sep 21, 2013)

I also used it to harvest 1600 pounds of honey this summer and 1600 pounds last year. I really like it and would recommend it completely. It's pretty amazing that someone designed an uncapping tool that works great but is compact, quiet, and relatively inexpensive. It also doesn't heat/scorch honey. It's a unique uncapping tool.

Just nitpicking, the only changes I would recommend is having one additional scoring ridge on either end of the rollers. I usually run the frames through twice because it leaves an uncapped edge on both sides of the frame. The other change would be to have an easier way to secure it to an uncapping tank.


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## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

psm1212 said:


> I am still a big fan of the SHF uncapper. It is the best solution for the money that I have found for a beekeeper running between 20 and 75 colonies. If I ever get over 100 colonies (not in my current plans) I may start looking at a chain uncapper.





e-spice said:


> It's pretty amazing that someone designed an uncapping tool that works great but is compact, quiet, and relatively inexpensive. It also doesn't heat/scorch honey. It's a unique uncapping tool.


PSM and e-spice:

Thank you both kindly for the detailed and helpful replies- your first hand testimonials certainly go a long way toward convincing me. I am not in a position to justify a chain uncapper but do need a more efficient means to execute the extraction process by myself.

Thank you both for your feedback- given the price, it seems like it is a relatively low risk investment.



e-spice said:


> Just nitpicking, the only changes I would recommend is having one additional scoring ridge on either end of the rollers. I usually run the frames through twice because it leaves an uncapped edge on both sides of the frame. The other change would be to have an easier way to secure it to an uncapping tank.


p.s. I noted in one video that a guy had scored a keyway in the bottom of the uncapper frame to make a slot for the uncapper to sit more securely atop his uncapping tank- this coupled with the ratchet straps or securing it to the tank with screws might be the way to go?


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