# Liquefying honey



## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

That's odd. I've use the strap heater several times and have never had problems. I've even used in on partially filled pails without problems.


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

AstroBee said:


> That's odd. I've use the strap heater several times and have never had problems. I've even used in on partially filled pails without problems.


I was a little surprised myself when the plastic started melting! I wonder if mine is defective?


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

hmmm... I broke down and bought one of those from BetterBee this past year, too. No problems at my end. I just wrap it around the bucket and plug it in. It does take some time to melt the honey if an entire full bucket has crystallized.

Could it possibly be the plastic in the bucket is not up to standards??


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## comb (Jan 12, 2006)

i have one also i wrap bucket with aluminim flashing first mine did melt plastic before i tried this


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

Dick Allen said:


> Could it possibly be the plastic in the bucket is not up to standards??


Shrug. I got the bucket from Better Bee. It's the standard white bucket.


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## pogue (Nov 14, 2002)

I never like using a band around the plastic bucket to heat the honey. Heat and plastic don't mix well. I developed a somewhat labor intensive method of installing a 100 watt light bulb in the lid. As the honey liquefies, i scope it into quart mason jars and then heat it slowly in hot water until it is all clear. I then store it in the quart jars. My bees make around 200 to 300 pounds per year.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

lstclair said:


> I extracted last fall into 5-gallon buckets. Half I bottled immediately, half I saved. The honey crystallized, as I expected. I have a 5-gallon pail heater--the wrap-around type like http://betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=1245.
> 
> The first time I tried to use it, it melted the plastic! So I put it on a rheostat. At half-heat, it's a pretty slow process, but I want to make sure I don't melt the plastic again.
> 
> How do other people liquefy whole buckets?



I would think the bigest problem here is the bucket was not full.

I think every body needs a way to liquify (if you store honey) a converted "freg"- build an
insluated box with a light bulb (indirect heat) so you can WARM the honey - 100 degrees for a couple days will do a 5 gal bucket and if you have jars that need it you can put them onto the :box:

just another 2¢


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## Don Ragan (Jul 27, 2006)

*Band alternative*

I've used the band and, as long as the pail is full, it works and doesn't melt the pail. However, it leaves the bottlm of the pial still sgared. I've switched to using a broken refrigerator. I put a pail or two on a middle shelf and a small space heater on the bottom. I just use the temperature contrlo on the heter and an external thermometer that you can get at your local hardware store (sued to get an outside and inside temperature. Put it in in the afternoon and by morning the honey is 120 degrees and nice and clear.


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

honeyman46408 said:


> I would think the bigest problem here is the bucket was not full.


The bucket was full; the "half" I referred to was half the total crop, about 120 lbs. I had one full 5 gallon bucket that I didn't bottle last fall. 

I think if I added something as large a fridge to the basement, my husband would object. I've already taken up quite a lot of space with leftover hive parts and nucs, not to mention the Ranger extractor, etc. He's a good sport, but one can only ask so much of the poor man.

We eventually found that using the band heater with insulation (an old thick cotton pillow case) works pretty well for a single bucket.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

Since space is an issue, you can make a insulated box from two inch board insulation from the hardware store. When your done with it for the year, just break it back down for easy storage. Use the space heater or a light bulb for the heat. Without a temp controller you will have to monitor to ensure that the honey is not getting too hot. Personally I would not want to go above 110F and start to effect the flavor of the honey. I would try a 25 watt bulb first and then see if a larger one is warranted. I use the refrigerator method. I bought a Ranco electronic temp. controller so that I can control the heat to 104 +/- 1 degree. After I bottle, I will take the bottles and put them in the freezer so that they don't re-crystallize before I sell them. Scott J.


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## Scott J. (Feb 6, 2007)

*Bands*

I have a heating band also that I won as a raffle gift. I have been very hesitant to use it. It seems to me that there would be too much localized heat that would burn the honey. Maybe a steel container would be better, but again I think having the heat concentrated would still be a problem. Honey is not a very good conductor of heat.


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

Scott J. said:


> I have a heating band also that I won as a raffle gift. I have been very hesitant to use it. It seems to me that there would be too much localized heat that would burn the honey. ...


Thanks for the insulated box idea. I think we'll try that. I agree the band isn't ideal. Using the rheostat, we gently warmed the bucket over a couple of days, stirring frequently to prevent hot spots.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I built a wood box with light bulbs. I use a thermostat for a hot-water heater and a min/max thermometer. In 24-hours I can reliquify two 5-gallon buckets.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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