Alternative extraction methods- Honey presses, etc

But I’d have thought that’d be ok as all the oil floats to the top?

Time to hit up google for the straight dope…

Edit- here it is:

Dan I think the ‘how not to’ part might be relevant to your idea- and the ‘how to’ seems to indicate that the Apple press would be up to the job…

I think I’ve concluded it’s too much hard work :shushing_face: I think I’d be better placed to swap honey for olive oil.

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Ok- press arrived- review time:

Pros: simple yet robust- bucket and mesh bucket quite thick steel- strong.

Cons: I don’t think this will work well for honey unless you consistently do very large volumes l.

  1. spout not wide enough or in base- only 1cm wide- different than pictured on eBay
  2. works best with a full load- hard to always do with honey and not ideal
  3. the jack slips and loses compresino before it’s getting to full extension (made loud pop)- not sure what pressures I’m achieving- might work better with a higher quality jack…
  4. I think it won’t squash down far enough to fully compact wax- wax to honey ratio too low…

Dang! False economy again.

I tested it with grapes and got a lot less juice than I thought I would… about 1 liter- with some effort (too much effort). Completely delicious- but wasteful I think. Might be able to make it work if you kept adding grapes or apples into the squashed pile?

Update: I played around more with this press- it really is very robust- but I think the jack isn’t quite up to the job. If you had a better quality and slightly larger one I think results would be better. Too much work for me to modify it… I’m sending it back

Hi Jack - shame.

In an episode of the River Cottage Aus. they were using a press to get out comb honey. Not sure if you have seen that episode, but SBS has all the episodes…they used a slightly different system…

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Something similar that is designed for separating honey from wax.

http://hornsby-beekeeping.com/warre-extractor-comb-crusher/

I think the one Adrian Lodice (I think it was him) used looked more like the $660 one on “related products” on that link Rod. I know nothing about them, but it looks like the one he used had no pipe to block up …if you get what I mean…

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I did see that. I’ve looked at that type- they cost more- but are probably worth it

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$660 is so much to spend (for me)- I can’t quite justify it- there are cheaper ones- but once again- it’s probably a false economy.

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I just received the latest news from The Urban Beekehive in Sydney and saw they had a sale on their economy press. Mind you the flasher one does look really good. I kinda like the theory behind the screw press rather than the jack…

Adam

https://shop.theurbanbeehive.com.au/collections/extractors-and-presses/products/honey-press-basic

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Argh! That looks basic but extremely robust - all stainless- large capacity.

I’ve just gone and grabbed a slightly cheaper one- that may or may not work for honey:

https://m.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Generation-5-3L-Italy-Style-Multi-purpose-Wine-cide-Honey-Mead-Cheese-Press-/161980448485

I prolly would have gone for the urban one if I had my time again.

I’m worried about several issues with the one I got- spout blockage- honey pooling on top of the plate and not escaping fast enough through the basket- and the alloy thread wearing out- or breaking. But maybe I saved a few dollars :grimacing::roll_eyes:

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https://www.samsclub.com/sams/mason-jar-bee-hive-club-980097293/prod22170075.ip

No extraction needed!

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I wonder how that is being received by the anti-flow crowd?

bit silly that put the brood view window at the frame end side… Otherwise looks OK :wink: It looks like the jars each have individual queen excluder meshes.

Wait what, liquid smoke? What’s that about?

I can tell a lot by being able to count the frames of bees in a hive. With a side window we can see one side of one frame, usually a honey/drone frame.

It looks a bit tight, working in those jars…
I think it would be difficult to get all the bees out.

Variations on a theme :purple_heart::honeybee::honey_pot::ok_hand:t4:

It’s actually a very poplar method. All that’s needed is a sheet of plywood with holes drilled to fit the mouth’s of the jars. Pop the jars in and place it over a very populated hive over a queen excluder and during a honey flow.

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Apparently it is wood smoke somehow ‘distilled’ - you add water and spray it onto the bees. supposedly it works OK- and may be an alternative for total fire ban times.

@Anon maybe so- but i’d much rather look at the face of a frame than all the frame ends. And you can tell a lot from those honey/drone frames… Is there Honey? Are there drones? etc.:face_with_raised_eyebrow:

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Trust me…from someone who experiences a real winter, being able to count pockets of bees is useful information. Looking at the outside of the last frame is useless.

are you saying my Mediterranean climate ‘winter’ isn’t real? Why then do I have draw full of woolen socks and two sets of thermal underwear?? I tell you at times it get’s quite chilly here- as low as 4 degrees Centigrade !! :wink:

Like I said- maybe so- but you go to far too say that view is ‘useless’. If there are drones: there is surplus- if there is honey- there is honey. I I have hives with windows like that into the brood and I can see the queen laying (sometimes), see if there are drones, get an idea on activity, watch bee dances and more.

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