# capping spinner



## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

Grant,

Great to see you here again. I've got one of those though mine is a Maxant. Looks like it's being private labeled for Dadant. Nonetheless it works great and allows me to avoid the time drag normally associated with handling cappings. Don't take the top off to pour the cappings in though it's easier/faster. It causes it to become severely unbalanced (don't understand it but learned it the hard way). Once the cappings are in there let them spin to for 15-20 minutes while you're doing other work. I add them every hour or so as my chain uncapper catcher fills up. I don't empty the spinner until the end of the day (only 35 hives). They're slightly matted but mostly dry. I pull the flexible screen liner out that lets you get the wax out easily. I then drop the chunks of spun cappings into a double boiler bottling tank with a ball valve (very important) and the next day I'm pouring out molten clean wax (impurities sink to the absolute bottom or float on the top) into bread pans for cooling. To me the spinner is a huge time saver and allows me to finish extraction that day instead of letting the cappings drip for a couple weeks.


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

That's the Maxant Jr.. Was looking at that but will stick to using my cappings bags and Maxant 1400P for another year or two before biting the bullet (works great). 
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Cappings-Bag-ea/productinfo/587/


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## Scpossum (May 4, 2014)

DirtyLittleSecret said:


> That's the Maxant Jr.. Was looking at that but will stick to using my cappings bags and Maxant 1400P for another year or two before biting the bullet (works great).
> http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Cappings-Bag-ea/productinfo/587/



So how does that work? The cappings go in the bag and you have more than one bag so it is balanced?


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## noljohn (Jan 9, 2013)

Nothing about the spinner but I too am glad to see you on here again. Wish you would write another book.


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

Use three bags with the addition of the metal inserts (fit great in my Maxant 1400P). Balances perfectly.
Metal frames:
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Extractor-Metal-Inserts-3/productinfo/463/




Scpossum said:


> So how does that work? The cappings go in the bag and you have more than one bag so it is balanced?


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

D Coates said:


> I then drop the chunks of spun cappings into a double boiler bottling tank with a ball valve (very important) and the next day I'm pouring out molten clean wax (impurities sink to the absolute bottom or float on the top) into bread pans for cooling.


D Coates,

At the risk of hijacking Grant's thread, could you give more details about your capping processing system? 

Which bottling tank are you using? 

When you say the ball valve is very important, why? 

I assume you use water in the tank with the cappings, right? 

Do you filter the wax at all as it dumps into the bread pans? 

How clean is the end product after first melt? 

Do you need to reprocess the wax? 

Is your bottling tank dedicated to just wax, or is it duel use as a honey bottler too? If duel, how hard is it to clean after melting wax?


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I have a 1950's or '60s Diamond Line spinner which I consider to be an "essential" in my extracting room. I have a mix of 8 and 9 frames in 10 frame honey supers, and also have cut comb left overs and topbar and Warre harvests, so I have a lot of wax / honey /cappings to spin. A newbee was recently poo-pooing the need for a spinner to me, so I made him this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra0bG6Pcg1g


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

If over 2% of your honey crop remains in your cappings then you should be using some sort of spinner. I would estimate that from 1/4th to 1/3rd of your honey crop is in the cappings "slurry".


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Doing the math. You need one bag and one metal thing. That is 75 per x 3 so 225. I would bite the bullet and get a jr spinner before I tried to use the bags. Maxant makes the best stuff out there. I would not buy it though anyone else though. http://www.maxantindustries.com/spinners.html


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

Thanks. https://www.createspace.com/5966374

I've been tweaking Mel Disselkoen's method for the OTS queen rearing method (more of a splitting method), also adapted by the Coweta Georgia Beekeeping Association.

Grant


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

AstroBee said:


> D Coates,
> 
> At the risk of hijacking Grant's thread, could you give more details about your capping processing system?





AstroBee said:


> Which bottling tank are you using?


 Maxant 16 gallon bottling tank



AstroBee said:


> When you say the ball valve is very important, why?


 Any larger solids have trouble getting by in a gate valve as the opening is smaller. You don't want it clogging.



AstroBee said:


> I assume you use water in the tank with the cappings, right?


 yep. the "honey" that is yields is fed to nucs though.



AstroBee said:


> Do you filter the wax at all as it dumps into the bread pans?


 depends on how it looks. If I do I put and old cotton sock on the exit to act like a filter.



AstroBee said:


> How clean is the end product after first melt?


 depends but many times it's ready to sell or use in the making of candles, soap and wax bars for sale.



AstroBee said:


> Do you need to reprocess the wax?


 if I don't like the way it looks or it's got lots of tiny brown flakes in the bottom I'll drop that brick in the solar wax melter for reprocessing. That usually happens the first and or the last pour. When I'm done with the last pour I pour a few cups of water in there and let the whole thing cool. The next morning I've got a huge 1-2" thick plug that's got all types of crud in it. Drop the whole thing into the solar wax melter and it's taken care of. If you don't put the water in there getting the plug out is not easy. With water, it gives and breaks and can be easily pulled out for the solar wax melter.



AstroBee said:


> Is your bottling tank dedicated to just wax, or is it duel use as a honey bottler too? If duel, how hard is it to clean after melting wax?


 It goes back and forth. I have 2 though. One is dedicated for bottling. To clean the wax out of it pour water in the with whatever is remaining with the wax. Get it up to 170 and the wax comes off on it's own. turn off the unit and let it cool. The next morning the wax is solid. Skim it off the water. If you want it even cleaner pour off the water heat it up again and wipe it out with a rag when hot. You'll pull a tiny amount of wax then too but it's not enough to notice. Considering the honey should get no hotter than 105-110 any residual wax won't get into the honey anyway.

Some of this is trial by error. You may come up with some better ways to do this than what I've described.


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## DirtyLittleSecret (Sep 10, 2014)

EastSideBuzz said:


> Doing the math. You need one bag and one metal thing. That is 75 per x 3 so 225. I would bite the bullet and get a jr spinner before I tried to use the bags. Maxant makes the best stuff out there. I would not buy it though anyone else though. http://www.maxantindustries.com/spinners.html


Um...the "metal thing" is a kit (comes with 3 metal hangers), and you need 3 bags. Bought 4 bags, the metal hangers and still walked away for under $90. Lots of good reviews and have had excellent results myself. Works perfect with my 1400P. Your results may vary. The Maxant cappings spinner is on my list for next year but this will get me a long ways until its necessary.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

I have that spinner and the only complaint I have is that I should have purchased the bigger one. It does a great job of getting the honey out of the cappings. I find the spinner fills a 5 gallon bucket about the time my extractor is finished filling a barrel. I find myself cleaning the wax out every 12-15 super or so. At that point the wax will be about 6-8" inches thick on the wall. If you let the wax build up more it becomes more time consuming to spin out the honey and the balance gets wonky. 
I wish I had the bigger one so I could get more supers extracted before cleaning the wax out but other than that I love it and it works exactly as advertised.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

I use paint filters and my old old extractor.







It's ancient but works good enough for me.


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

mmiller said:


> I have that spinner and the only complaint I have is that I should have purchased the bigger one. It does a great job of getting the honey out of the cappings. I find the spinner fills a 5 gallon bucket about the time my extractor is finished filling a barrel. I find myself cleaning the wax out every 12-15 super or so. At that point the wax will be about 6-8" inches thick on the wall. If you let the wax build up more it becomes more time consuming to spin out the honey and the balance gets wonky.
> I wish I had the bigger one so I could get more supers extracted before cleaning the wax out but other than that I love it and it works exactly as advertised.


Handling the cappings into the spinner is a bit cumbersome and time consuming. I'm starting to see the uncapper-spinner combo as the next purchase.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

D Coates said:


> Handling the cappings into the spinner is a bit cumbersome and time consuming. I'm starting to see the uncapper-spinner combo as the next purchase.


I uncap directly into the spinner. I use this knife:
https://www.kelleybees.com/Shop/16/...apping/4026/Kelley-s-Electric-Vibrating-Knife

When I first purchased the vibrating knife I was uncapping into a tub and transferring the capping into the spinner. I had a tough time keeping the spinner from going out of control from off balance. I then mounted my uncapping knife on top of the spinner and no longer have balance issues. 

Now my bottle neck is my 18 frame extractor


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

aunt betty said:


> I use paint filters and my old old extractor.
> View attachment 26143
> 
> It's ancient but works good enough for me.


I have an extra extractor, 2 frame manual Jr Bench that I have wanted to use as a capping spinner. I want to try something like this next harvest--cappings in a filter bag and suspend in the basket and crank away. 

How do you do it with paint filters? How long do you have to spin to get them dry?


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

mmiller said:


> I have that spinner and the only complaint I have is that I should have purchased the bigger one. It does a great job of getting the honey out of the cappings. I find the spinner fills a 5 gallon bucket about the time my extractor is finished filling a barrel. I find myself cleaning the wax out every 12-15 super or so. At that point the wax will be about 6-8" inches thick on the wall. If you let the wax build up more it becomes more time consuming to spin out the honey and the balance gets wonky.
> I wish I had the bigger one so I could get more supers extracted before cleaning the wax out but other than that I love it and it works exactly as advertised.


It used to say on the Maxant website that the junior was good for up to about 100 hives. After using it for a season, I would say that is accurate. I ended up deciding to upgrade to the senior for this season.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

zhiv9 said:


> It used to say on the Maxant website that the junior was good for up to about 100 hives. After using it for a season, I would say that is accurate. I ended up deciding to upgrade to the senior for this season.


I would say 100 hive isn't too far off but you have to remove the cappings often. I'm running close to 300 and it is WAY to small for my operation even though I'm making it work. I was running about 100 when I purchased it and it wasn't too bad then.


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