Author Topic: Uncapping (Read 16845 times)

Papakeith · « **on:** May 27, 2014, 10:36:51 am »

I know that Mr. Perry has a jiggle knife, but what do the rest of you use to cut the cappings off of your comb?

How about tanks to stage your frames before they head to their extractors?

Garden Hive · « **Reply #1 on:** May 27, 2014, 10:51:03 am »

Without a hot knife a serrated bread knife works great. A rubbermaid tub works good to stage them in. I line them up uncap and spin then set back in super.

I keep a tub of hot (warm) water with a cloth handy. Helps with the handle of the knife and extractor

riverbee · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2014, 11:22:31 am »

keith, i use a maxant uncapping plane. i have used hot knives and also a serrated bread knife as garden hive says, does work. just heat it up. i stack supers, uncap the frames in an uncapping tub and they go straight into the extractor, and as the extractor is spinning, i uncap the next set of frames. the frames go right back in the supers from the extractor. if i get ahead of myself on uncapping frames, an extra tub works to set them in.

rcannon · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2014, 09:19:44 pm »

Riverbee do you prefer the plane to a heated knife? I've thought about buying one of those things.

riverbee · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2014, 09:42:46 pm »

i do rc, here's why, i run 8 frame medium supers, the capped comb is very thick. i can cut this quicker and with greater ease using a plane rather than a heated knife, and the plane's depth is adjustable. what i do is i adjust the depth of the plane to only cut even with the frame itself and nothing deeper than that, the more you cut off, the more work the bees have to re-draw the comb out. the other reason i like them is because the element is replaceable, whereas when a hot knife dies, you buy another. the only thing about this is you are not going to be wanting to replace the element in the middle of uncapping frames or extracting.......

i keep a back up, or one could even keep a hot knife or serrated knife as a back up on hand.

with that said, it will take a great deal of uncapping frames to burn that element out. i have only replaced mine once in 10 years. it died as i was just starting to uncap frames from about 28 supers one year.......

rcannon · « **Reply #5 on:** May 27, 2014, 09:53:55 pm »

I think I might try one. Been thinking about it, just wanted some reassurance from someone that actually used one.
I read a post on another forum about a guy that stretched a high E guitar string across a hacksaw frame. He said it made a great uncapper but the caps stick back to the honey. With a little brain power this could be made to work. But why reinvent the wheel?

G3farms · « **Reply #6 on:** May 27, 2014, 09:57:28 pm »

I use an electric hot knife and uncap into the double plastic uncapping tubs (the top one has a screened bottom and the lower one has a honey gate.

Straight into the extractor, then back into the super and out to the hives for final clean up.

The honey gate on the extractor alwas stays open and drains into a strainer sitting on top of a five gallon bucket with a honey gate on it. When the bucket is full I take plastic wrap (saran wrap) covering the top and sit it in between the sliding glass door and shade. This will warm the honey and help to settle out the bubbles.

Once warm and settled out it is jar filling time. With a gate on the bottom of the five gallon bucket that makes it easy.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #7 on:** May 27, 2014, 10:04:40 pm »

The last time I extracted, I used a heat gun to uncap. Easy peasy. Just wave it over the comb quickly. I'll try to take some pictures and maybe video this year.

riverbee · « **Reply #8 on:** May 27, 2014, 10:11:55 pm »

slow, i like to keep the wax cappings, the heat gun melts the cappings? or how much? thanks!

"I think I might try one. Been thinking about it, just wanted some reassurance from someone that actually used one."

rc, if i lived closer, i'd lend it to you to try it out. you have to do 2 passes on each side of a medium frame.....but it goes quick.

Slowmodem · « **Reply #9 on:** May 27, 2014, 10:18:56 pm »

Quote from: riverbee on May 27, 2014, 10:11:55 pm

slow, i like to keep the wax cappings, the heat gun melts the cappings? or how much? thanks!

You're right, no caps. But there's minimal cleanup, too. It's that old yin-yang thing.

Papakeith · « **Reply #10 on:** May 27, 2014, 10:28:04 pm »

right now I've only used a bread knife and some warm water .
As I try to get more hives I'm looking into getting a better knife. The maxant one was on the short list, but I often wondered if it was heavy or bulky.

For cappings I have a bucket with a board over the top right now. That will keep working until I come across a deal I suppose.

riverbee · « **Reply #11 on:** May 27, 2014, 11:36:44 pm »

"You're right, no caps. But there's minimal cleanup, too. It's that old yin-yang thing. "

..............

ps thanks greg!

"As I try to get more hives I'm looking into getting a better knife. The maxant one was on the short list, but I often wondered if it was heavy or bulky."

it's not heavy or bulky keith, but this pondering is coming from a guy who flys where in his own plane to get an extractor, leave a stand behind (cuz it wouldn't fit), then posts a great thread on building an extractor stand and freely admits "Overthinking things is a forte of mine", not to mention your thread on figuring out package growth with all the math and brain fluid leakage.......and a simple hand plane by maxant might be heavy or bulky.......

sorry keith had to poke fun at you...you would buy this thing and with your engineering brain you would post a thread here on it saying why didn't they make this thing bigger with a wider plane on it to uncap a frame with one fell swoop........

minz · « **Reply #12 on:** May 28, 2014, 12:08:41 am »

I just asked a guy at work about if he had guitar strings, he said he would bring me in some. If was thinking I would go the extra step of putting a battery charger and a light dimming switch on it. You know a harbor freight heat gun sounds better all the time.

Papakeith · « **Reply #13 on:** May 28, 2014, 06:17:59 am »

minz, that is genius! A hot wire could be just the thing for cheap.

Quote

it's not heavy or bulky keith, but this pondering is coming from a guy who flys where in his own plane to get an extractor, leave a stand behind (cuz it wouldn't fit), then posts a great thread on building an extractor stand and freely admits "Overthinking things is a forte of mine", not to mention your thread on figuring out package growth with all the math and brain fluid leakage.......and a simple hand plane by maxant might be heavy or bulky.......

Well, in my defense, it was a beautiful flight over Vermont, and I was fairly close in my predictions on package growth and was able to put the second deep on almost all of them this past weekend. The uncapper? Well, I've never seen one of them fancy Maxant planes

Quote

sorry keith had to poke fun at you.../quote]
I wouldn't have it any other way.

pistolpete · « **Reply #14 on:** May 28, 2014, 11:05:49 am »

this is my set up, helpers optional. I use a super set on a cookie sheet for the wet frames.

apisbees · « **Reply #15 on:** May 28, 2014, 03:57:22 pm »

The more important question is how many frames do you need to uncap in a season, for a extractor load? How much help are you going to have while extracting? This will effect the decision on what you decide to use.
I have used them all except for the Chain Uncapper, and the capping scratchier works as well as any but don't try lifting the capping off, just scratch the cappings like a rake letting the tinges penetrate about an inch. If there is a spot that is not drawn out enough for the knife or plain to reach and you need to use the scratchier on a small area I find it is as easy to use the scratchier on the entire frame.

Riverrat · « **Reply #16 on:** May 28, 2014, 04:17:01 pm »

Quote from: G3farms on May 27, 2014, 09:57:28 pm

I use an electric hot knife and uncap into the double plastic uncapping tubs (the top one has a screened bottom and the lower one has a honey gate.

Straight into the extractor, then back into the super and out to the hives for final clean up.

The honey gate on the extractor always stays open and drains into a strainer sitting on top of a five gallon bucket with a honey gate on it.

exactly how I do it. I do check each new set of frame in extractor with refractometer. If I have one a little high I will put in a seperate bucket. Same with some that is low then blend them together once done.

ablanton · « **Reply #17 on:** May 28, 2014, 05:56:08 pm »

Garden Hive described my process to a tee! I don't heat the knife. I think it would cut concrete block!

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #18 on:** May 29, 2014, 01:21:32 am »

Hot knife over a stainless decapping tank...
I have burnt myself many dozen times with the hot knife.. I will take a bee sting over a burn by that knife any day of the year. The wax and honey on it are like being hit with Napalm, the advantage of Napalm is that theres so much of it that the pain ends quickly... its not a swift ending with the hot knife.. and for HEAVENS sake don't try to use Nitrile gloves with a hot knife... just.... no.
They do work quite well if you can keep them away from your own skin.. the problem arrives when you have a low spot... rather than using the scratcher, you use the tip of the hot knife.... try to draw it through the shallow cappings... and it slips..

I will assume most of you are smarter than I am and learn after the first burn... I do intend to try a plane.... as soon as the hot knife dies... or I kill it.. whichever comes first....

tbonekel · « **Reply #19 on:** May 29, 2014, 07:28:39 am »

Quote from: LazyBkpr on May 29, 2014, 01:21:32 am

I will take a bee sting over a burn by that knife any day of the year.

Or what about splattering bacon grease! Ouch!

I don't know where that came from. It's still early!