Honey Dryer
PostPosted:17 Jun 2021, 16:33
One of the problems with OSR honey is that it sets in the frames far too readily, however if you extract it too early, the water content is too high. With this in mind I have (been playing and) adapted an ultrasonic tank for the purpose.
The tank has a built in temperature monitor and heater controlled by a membrane panel. The heating element underneath was a bit too harsh, so I replaced it with a lower powered one. I also replaced the outlet tap with stainless steel for obvious reasons. The 1/2 inch bore is a bit slow, but functional. Within the tank I fitted a stainless steel shaft with a number of disks so as the disks rotate the (warm) honey evaporates. The original bearing for the shaft was plywood but has been replaced by U shaped pieces of (food grade) chopping board. The shaft can be lifted out for cleaning. I was envisaging having to blow air over the disks although that has not proven necessary as a 15 kg bucket of honey will drop its water content by 4 percent in 24 hours. (In a small room with a dehumidifier). The next phase is to use a smaller motor and put the power supply for it under the tank and use the front panel membrane switch for controlling the motor rather than controlling the ultrasonics.
The tank has a built in temperature monitor and heater controlled by a membrane panel. The heating element underneath was a bit too harsh, so I replaced it with a lower powered one. I also replaced the outlet tap with stainless steel for obvious reasons. The 1/2 inch bore is a bit slow, but functional. Within the tank I fitted a stainless steel shaft with a number of disks so as the disks rotate the (warm) honey evaporates. The original bearing for the shaft was plywood but has been replaced by U shaped pieces of (food grade) chopping board. The shaft can be lifted out for cleaning. I was envisaging having to blow air over the disks although that has not proven necessary as a 15 kg bucket of honey will drop its water content by 4 percent in 24 hours. (In a small room with a dehumidifier). The next phase is to use a smaller motor and put the power supply for it under the tank and use the front panel membrane switch for controlling the motor rather than controlling the ultrasonics.