# Thin Honey



## DanielD (Jul 21, 2012)

It won't ferment in the freezer or frig if you want to use it out of there. You can also dry it down yourself. Was it not capped?


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

So assuming the prism refractometer I have is calibrated correctly, which I did according to directions.

Its 19-19.5% and I say that higher range as a margin of error.

I am going to test it on a friends fancy digital refractomer.

If I had the need to dry it down what would you recommend.


----------



## c-bees (Jun 1, 2017)

nediver said:


> So assuming the prism refractometer I have is calibrated correctly, which I did according to directions.
> 
> Its 19-19.5% and I say that higher range as a margin of error.
> 
> ...


I haven't done it, but several here have talked about having great success in your situation with a dehumidifier. 

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?286372-Dehumidifier-to-reduce-moisture-in-honey


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

Thanks. Seems that dehumidifier works when stacked in frames. 

I wonder if it would work with honey in open bucket as it's already extracted.


----------



## DeepCreek (Jan 23, 2015)

Were the frames "fully" capped when you extracted?


----------



## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

If you have a band heater for a five gallon bucket you can place the honey in a bucket turn the heater on and let it sit in an out of the way place with the cover off. It will remove aproxamayely .5% moisture in a day!


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

Tenbears said:


> If you have a band heater for a five gallon bucket you can place the honey in a bucket turn the heater on and let it sit in an out of the way place with the cover off. It will remove aproxamayely .5% moisture in a day!


That's excellent news. I should get one anyway for bottling in colder months.


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

They were mostly capped. I was out of room and honey bound. It necessitated me spinning.


----------



## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Whenever I pull partially capped frames, I "shake" them hard before bringing them in or extracting them. If there's real thin...or even a little thin....nectar in those open cells it will often times shake out and that helps me to keep the finished product about where it should be. It also makes it easier to dry the honey out a little if it's too thin.


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

Just as a follow up. I stuck the bucket in a small room under my stairs with a dehumidifier. Brought the bucket from 20% to 18.1%


----------



## DanielD (Jul 21, 2012)

nediver, how long did you run the setup for that result?

Tenbears, what temp did you run the heater?

I pulled and spun 5 gallon the other day and it was hot/humid. It was 95+% capped but reads 19%. I guess the honey can gain moisture capped? I did it in my garage but got it indoors and under lid in an hour.


----------



## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

Hopefully I am not attributing this wrong. Member sakohoney said he used to run the wet honey down a sheet of stainless steal with a fan blowing on it.
Cheers
gww


----------



## nediver (May 26, 2013)

Dan

I put cheesecloth over the bucket and left it for weeks, but for no other reason than convenience. 

I read on some blogs a few days.


----------



## DanielD (Jul 21, 2012)

nediver said:


> Dan
> 
> I put cheesecloth over the bucket and left it for weeks, but for no other reason than convenience.
> 
> I read on some blogs a few days.


How do you know it was dried down all through the bucket and not just on the top? Did you stir it once in a while, or before you checked it?


----------



## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Different problems for different beekeepers. We had a wonderful season going until it quit raining and got a hot better than a month ago. I just extracted over forty gallons and I doubt if twenty percent of it was capped or was going to be. Some spring variety like dandelion, caragana or fruit bloom still sits in the frames, not crystalized but a stiff jelly that wont extract. 

If your ambient moisture in the air is high, be careful as the honey can actually pull more water out of the air. Some put their wet honey in a booth with a dehumidifier. I would put it in a hive top feeder and feed it back to my strongest hive. Good luck


----------

