Extracting

[Beeracuda]

It isn't time to extract yet and I haven't even bought an extractor.  But, I am looking at a Maxant 3100P or a Dadant Ranger.  I know those are more than I need now, but I am looking to the future.

Since I have never used an extractor before, my question is what do you do when you have an odd number of frames to extract?  It seems to me that it would be very unbalanced if you put only two, four or five frames in either of these extractors.

Thanks,

Monty

[riverbee]

just do the best you can to balance it out, like say for example if you had 5, spin 2 out, then 3 out. 

good idea looking to buy more than you think you need for the future, you won't regret it!

[Papakeith]

good idea looking to buy more than you think you need for the future, you won't regret it!

heck, I'm three extractors in so far and haven't pulled more than 6 supers so far

[riverbee]

pk, your day will come.....and then when it does, you will be more than happy with the equipment you invested in.....

[Papakeith]

fingers crossed!

to answer your question.  just put an empty frame in to minimize the unevenness. Or, put a couple of empty frames in . 
that is what I would do anyway.

[apisbees]

Empty frames evenly distributed in the extractor to balance the load.

[riverbee]

empty frames may work but don't work for me.......but that's because i run 8 frames in my supers, so these are very thick and heavy.......so when i extract and get down to the last of my supers, 2 or 3,  i am mindful of balancing out the load in the extractor.  i just go through the boxes, and distribute the frames by weight, if need be, some can be thicker and heavier than others, and figure what will spin out the best, in the best balance with what i have remaining.....

okay......hmmmm......don't laugh........don't know if i made sense?!................

[apisbees]

I know what you are trying to say.
Part of the answer to this question and what will work for you depends on the type of extractor you have. It's capacity in number of frames, and its design.
a 2 frame extractor, the 2 frames need to be close to the same weight to keep the extractor balanced. In a 4 frame the frames opposite each other need to be close to the same weight but 2 frames could be full and the other 2 with very little honey but the extractor would sill be balanced.
He is looking at the Maxant 3100P or a Dadant Ranger these are designed to be used to extract 3 deep frames that need to be rotated during the extraction process or 6 medium frames that are placed in radial so the honey is extracted from both sides of the frames at the same time. when extracting deep frames the closer in weight the 3 frames are the smoother it will run. keeping the extractor running at a slow speed until the bulk of the honey weight has been spun from the frame and stopping the extractor to spin the frames to remove the bulk of the weight from the other dis of the frame before selecting a higher speed. When extracting medium frames if the weights of the pairs of frames are close to being equal the extractor will operate smoothly.

[riverbee]

"I know what you are trying to say.
Part of the answer to this question and what will work for you depends on the type of extractor you have. It's capacity in number of frames, and its design."

thanks apis, very true.............

[Beeracuda]

Thanks for all the responses.  I think I know which one I am going with. 

I have someone that wants to go in with me on one, but he doesn't want to spend that much money.  He has more hives than me, so I don't understand why he would want to go smaller.

So, I am thinking about just buying it myself and offering to let him use it for a price.  What is the going rate for extracting someone else's honey?  Do you charge by the frame or by the pound?

[apisbees]

By the Pound but you get to know the different beekeepers you are extracting for and adjust the price per pound accordingly. Some beekeepers will have nice well drawn combs that the wax is white and the frames have never had brood in them. They only run 9 frames in a super or 8 frames like Riverbee. The next guy will have honey to extract that has been pulled from the brood supers that is old, dark, the frames are poorly constructed and wired and have been used to raise brood in them for many years.
You could make money charging 10 cent a lb.  to the girl with the nice frames, an  end up cursing the guy with the bad frames and in the end end up working for less even though you charged the guy with crappy frames 20 cents.
I have s friend that does custom extracting and he charges between 17 cents and 35 depending on the beekeeper and his equipment.
A lot of guys take payment in honey valued at the howl sale price of honey and you beep the wax and give the equivalence in weight in honey. Get a platform scale and weigh the supers before and after extracting and  provide honey to the difference in weight.

[Beeracuda]

That gets me to thinking....  Thanks!

[barry42001]

things are looking up for me to be able to have 4 deep Supers of honey first season colonies. Kinda surprised me, thinking about that foundation being pulled, but I have a 2 frame hand crank extractor, a uncapped tank, finally installing stoller 9 frame spacers. But two deeps didn't get then before.getting installed on the hives. What can I expect realistically weigh wise from those supers if all goes well? the usual number stated is around 60 lbs per super. That should mean something close to 200 lbs  really....

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[Beeboy]

Your right Barry. Except you may be a little low. 4x6=24 that 240 pounds of honey or around 20 gallons. That may be off some but it is very close. Honey is very heavy!

[pistolpete]

Yes really   My first year bee keeping I had just one hive (4 frame Nuc Started last week of May).  By the end of August that one Nuc drew out 50 deep frames and produced 200 lbs of honey.  Sometimes you get lucky.

[tbonekel]

Hey Beer, I wish I lived closer to you. I would go in with you on an extractor. But at this point, I'm leaning on just doing crush and strain this season and really keep my eyes peeled for someone selling an extractor after the season is over. I might just find a good deal.

[barry42001]

Check out Amazon.com got my extractor for under 225.00. Nothing fancy, 2 frame hand crank but will serve my needs.

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[pistolpete]

extracting for money is nonsense with home equipment IMO.   Lets say that your friend brings you 6 deep supers, containing about 300 lbs of honey.  At 33 cents/pound that gets you $100 for about 5 hours of hot sticky work. When someone has automated equipment in a dedicated honey room and they can run those 60 frames in 45 minutes, then it works.   Just let your neignbour rent the extractor for $20/session.

[barry42001]

not looking to extract other people's honey only my own, by the same token I have no desire to be reliant on somebody else's goodwill hence I have my own extractor

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[Perry]

I have thought about this (custom extracting) myself. By the pound doesn't attract me in that you may end up dealing with multiple frames of half full comb, etc.
A flat fee per frame ($1)?? maybe. That way you are probably only going to end up with full frames.
I have my original 2 frame extractor that I may begin renting out (with a deposit) and as long as it comes back clean and undamaged I'll be good with it.
To do just a few boxes with my larger setup doesn't make sense because of the clean up involved.

By the way Beeracuda, nice avatar.