Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => The Trading Post => Topic started by: apisbees on February 17, 2016, 12:19:20 am
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Was looking through E-bay and came across these extractors they are off shore but for the price... I think it is a better solution than destroying comb doing crush and strain. and having the bees build new comb. There is a size and style to meet the requirements of any hobby beekeeper with 10 hives or under.
http://stores.ebay.com/technology-etrade/?_dmd=1&_nkw=HONEY%20EXTRACTOR
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Good find, apisbees. I completely agree with your position on crush and strain. That comb is money in the bank.
I have a Chinese 3 frame, drum style that is very similar to the 2 frame listed there for under $100. It works fine for me. I have had a 2 stainless steel rods fall out which hasn't effected much. Also, there is some sharp edges inside and one has to be careful not to get cut. The centrifuge rotates on one single, very small ball bearing! I purchased several more just in case that one gets lost. For the price paid, it works for me.
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" I think it is a better solution than destroying comb doing crush and strain. and having the bees build new comb."
:yes:, i agree as well, extractors are worth the investment. good find keith, also, most of the bee suppliers do carry inexpensive extractors for under 500 bucks. some suppliers will sometimes also have used equipment, just ask. also, check on craigslist, estate sales, auctions, etc, never know what you can come up with! lots of folks get into beekeeping and find it's not all what they thought, and sell everything off.
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There was a fellow near Bryan, Texas that sold dented freight for many years. You never knew what he had, but man on man, there some serious bargains at times. I once bought a 24 foot Frigidaire refrigerator from him for less than 200 bucks. The front door was severely dented. My friend a local body shop smoother it out and repainted it for 50 bucks. Even in those days it was less than half price. But once the insurance pays off, such items are sold at deep discounts. He is long out of business, but I wonder if there are other such places, and if so, might they occasionally receive a damaged extractor. Probably not.
Extractors are seldom used. Most beekeepers, the hobby crowd, probably won't use their extractors more 30 or 40 hours per year. A cheap one will last a long time. The extractor is not put to use like a car, lawn mower or tractor. "A little will go a long way."
I bought a Maxant 3100P, and it was not cheap. But I am old and am humoring myself for getting old. Were I much younger, like most beekeepers, and still had lots of working life and retirement worries ahead I would buy cheap from a reputable supplier like Mann Lake or Dadant or such. I would start with a crank model that could be converted to electric. You're not going to use it much. Hmmmm, maybe I hear buyer's remorse.
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Good points, Lazy!
Here in the Kansas City area, we have several reclaimed salvage dealers. For the hobbyist beekeeper, starting small and inexpensive is a good way to start. Not everyone is located near an extractor they can rent. I think my club charges $30 to rent the club's extractor. If that is the case, my extractor has already paid for it's self. Yes, Lazy shooter, extractors set on the shelf a long time in between uses.
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i have never really considered keeping bees a hobby, it's a great deal of work sometimes especially when it comes time to take the honey off! i have never kept much more than 10 or 12 hives, now i am going to keep to about 5 or 6 i think. even so, whether it be 10 or 30 supers filled, it takes about 3 or 4 days to take the honey off, and extract from start to finish, set up and cleanup, and the extractor and me get a work out............. ;D
my advice to anyone on extractors, buy the best you can, you won't regret it, and also buy for the future, or just buy for your needs. do you plan on expanding? if so the extractor will make life easier.
"I bought a Maxant 3100P, and it was not cheap. But I am old and am humoring myself for getting old."
lazy my friend, when you are done humoring yourself with that maxant 3100p, you can send that baby up to me so i can humor myself with it for awhile!............... :D :D :laugh:
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I would agree I have more than I need at the moment, but will grow into it within the next year or so.... Speaking of, did you have that many losses Riverbee, or are you looking for a local keep to take some of those colonies off your hands (hint, hint) :D
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...................... :D :D :D
i tell ya zweef, no losses on the 5 i have now, but we all know how that can change............so far so good. divides are gonna have me scrambling i think, but i will see. if so, guess who can have some free bees?! i say i want to stick to 5 or 6, but in all honesty i am a bee junkie............ :D :D :D
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i want to stick to 5 or 6
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Yea right, let me know how that works out for you. ;)
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Offer of help was a standing one :yes:
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Zweefer is always wanting to help. Gee, I wish he lived closer.
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zweef, i know! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
perry wanna bet?!.............LOL, no i don't think i'd better, cuz i think i would probably lose ................. :D :D :D
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Lazy - I will always offer to help others with bees. I can think of no better way to learn. Sometimes it's learning what to do, other times it's what not to do, and at the very least it is time with the bees :yes:
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not big enough. as everyone knows in Texas bigger is better and to run for political office you need 'good hair'.
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Thanks apisbees
I have not run across them yet. better than plastic :yes:
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I have found a Maxant 3100p that is a few years old and only used a handful of times. I do have a question if anyone is familiar with it. In the website picture, you see the medium frames clubbed together in a set. This is supposed to spin these radially, will it extract from both sides? Or do they have to be turned like you do with a Tangent style? Here is a picture of it for sale with a nicely built stand.
Jason
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All radials spin both sides at the same time. No turning needed.
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I am just curious how well it works with the frames so close together, that is my only question/concern.
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Those frames are not in there properly. They all go with the top bar toward the outer container and the bottom bar toward the center.
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Iddee, I think that is the way Maxant set that particular extractor up, it shows the exact same set-up on their website. I don't know how well those two frames that close together would spin out properly, but that's what they show. ???
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Perry, I think that extractor takes six or nine mediums radially, or three deeps tangentially. That is what they are showing. You would never load it that way when using.
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Iddee The frames are in there correctly. But when extracting 9 frames you need to stop start the extractor 2 additional times to extract the frames that are places tangent. As Iddee said they extract both sides at the same time, It justs takes more time to extract radially. In Tangent mode you can spin out frames with stop and turning the frames in 3 to 4 minutes. In radial mode it will take 15 to 20 minutes to achieve the same degree of honey extraction out of the frames.
When extracting with the frames in tangent you want to get the bulk of the honey out of the one side of the frame and turn the frames to remove the bulk of the honey from the other side before turning up the extractor speed to clean the last of the honey out. Then the frames need to be flipped again to do the final cleaning of the first side frame.
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Apis-
Thank you for the clarification, I thought those frames were a little tight. So they do not need to be removed when used radially. Just need to let it spin longer if they were spaced apart from what I am gathering. I am going to go look at tomorrow evening. Still not hooked yet.
Jason
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Starting the extractor to fast or speeding it up to quickly can cause the honey to shear the was cells off the foundation mid rib This will happen more on newly drawn combs.
If you only put in the 6 frames radially then start slow and turn up the speed as the honey gets spun out and the frames become lighter. After 5 to 10 minutes you should have most the bulk weight of the frames out and the extractor running at full speed. then let it run for another 5 to 10 minutes.
with 3 frames tangent 1 minute slow on one side turn the frame around and spin the other side, after a minute on the 2nd side speed the extractor up for an additional minute then turn the frame to the first side and run it at a fast speed for another minute.
If you use the extractor with 9 frames you need to combine the to different extracting styles.
Stopping the extractor to turn jest the 3 frames placed in the extractor tangent.
Extracting times are effected by type of honey, moisture content of the honey, the temperature of the honey when it is still in the frame, and also the temperature that the honey is being extracted at.
So times and speeds need to be adjusted to your setup and conditions. some people do not worry about trying to get most the honey out of the frames as the place the supers back on the hive to let the bees clean up any they did not extract.
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I've got some hives left for winter with 2 deep boxes the top one is about 1/2 full of honey, whats best option for extractor for deep frames? Hoping to build to about 10 hives this year
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I used my trusty old 2 frame Maxant hand crank for a dozen hives no problem. You get tired of cranking but it will get the job done.
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will it do the deep frames also ?
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Most extractors will take either deep or medium frames. On the extractors with pictures and links above a 3/6, 4/8, or a 3/9, will take 3, or 4, deep placed tangent. Or 6, or 8, frames placed in the extractor radially. or in the case of the maxant 9 when placed in both positions.