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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #11495  by Alfred
 19 Jul 2021, 15:12
At some point I will have to bite the bullet and get one having just got by up until now .
I dont plan on putting Rowse out of business,just need to occasionally clean up brood frame halos and possibly a super or two per season in the future.
Use of the words borrow or association are not an option
Im looking at a 2-4 frame .
Price bracket dictates hand cranked.
I see horror stories about plastic drums going brittle and winding gear made of plasticine.
Radial vs tangental?
Are thre any options for using a drill I I do decide to go for world dominatio of the market?
This is the upper limit of justifiable ,ebay ,item 124659733142
Any pointers?
 #11496  by NigelP
 19 Jul 2021, 16:10
It's a bit like how long is a piece of string.
My advice would be radial and as big as you can afford.
A lot depends on how much honey you are extracting and if you have a market for it?
Because if you have then start thinking one super=approx 20lbs of honey at say £6 profit per pound (after jars and lids) means each super is worth over £100 to you. If you have 10 supers to extract then play the futures market and invest in electric and huge.....

Tangential extraction means 3 extractions per frame....one to get some honey out of one side, then turn over and extract the other side then turn over again and extract the last bits from your first side. You need to do it this way otherwise your frames burst....Radial, just one extraction does both sides.
Electric means you can get on uncapping other frames whilst your first ones are busy have the honey spun out of them. Manual is a PITA and makes the whole extraction process a very long and boring affair.
 #11502  by Steve 1972
 19 Jul 2021, 21:59
Radial all day long and as Nigel says the bigger the better..
 #11503  by JoJo36
 20 Jul 2021, 05:04
Hi Alfred
I have that exact model of extractor and I would say for me with between 2-4 hives and not much honey to notch to my name to date is pretty good and quite well made in all honesty!
However if I had more hives I would get a second hand electric one for sure!
You mention a drill and funnily enough my husband reckoned you could make some adapter to do this to save your arms!
I use a 'heat gun' for uncapping which works in seconds and shove in 4 holder extractor.
The stainless steel really feels decent and I like the strainer and filtered honey ends up in the bottom with a handy tap to access!
If you have the time and a "helper" to hand then its great, lots of hives then go electric!
What have you used before??!!
 #11504  by JoJo36
 20 Jul 2021, 05:06
p.s
Didn't bother with the stand, instead put it on a large wood log!!
 #11506  by AdamD
 20 Jul 2021, 09:56
I used one similar to the ebay one for a couple of seasons, with the tank below. It worked well apart from being tangential which slows things down. Because there was mesh covering the whole of the tank, I cut off the cappings over the extractor so they could drain easily, so no need for any uncapping apparatus - although I use a blow lamp for much of my uncapping now.
After a couple of seasons with a hand-crank, I chose an 8 frame extractor (Giordan of Italy) which uses an electric drill as the power source which works well although I would really like a larger extractor now.
 #11513  by Alfred
 20 Jul 2021, 13:39
Even three years in,I have not considered deliberate honey production as I have currently absolutely no interest in it
It belongs to them.
I put supers on to provide space in the brood (but with qx just in case!)
Currently I uncap and drip it out
Its just got to the point that Im wasting a lot when I want to clear frames and I hate waste.
Loved honey as a kid but my 'sweet tooth went rotten' as I got older.
A recent health scare also means that although I dodged the bullet,sugars (and fats carbs and salt) are near enough off limits now.
I avoid humans wherever possible so the sordid act of peddling it doesn't appeal either.
The missus has expressed an interest in that however which is another reason to consider a machine.
Im at the tipping point between needing one and not
A bit like a small cement mixer- they are either a godsend or a liability when you clean out more concrete from the drum at the end than youve actually laid.

I just want a basic robust device that will provide a good few years service.
I might reconsider in the future which is why a conversion via drill appeals.
My beekeeping runs at 100% loss and Im fine with that but £250 is about the limit
 #11515  by Patrick
 20 Jul 2021, 14:56
A built in filter works great if the honey is clear and warm, but honey that has partly crystallised and won’t strain through can be a real pain and leave you in limbo with a full container and limited options to get it emptied. Just sayin’..
 #11516  by JoJo36
 20 Jul 2021, 16:33
If you're handy then maybe but not 100% sure!
If you don't intend to extract loads then this one will be just fine!
If your wife enjoys the honey she may even encourage you to go electric in a few years so a good idea to get her onboard as such!! :)
I know what you mean re selling honey, I just gave my first lot away and last year had about 5 jars to ourselves!
I could sell my tortoises or their eggs but I cant be bothered or I would be worried that the person having them doesn't look after them properly so I just smash the eggs now as I have 7 myself and thats enough!
Nothing queerer than folk!! :)