I meant in the winter, from November through April, here in the NE USA, it is useless because it is usually empty 
Now if we could somehow have a window into the center of the broodnest all year long, thatād be beneficial!
4 centigrade is referred to as a cool evening here and will tempt some to wear long pants lol.
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Ok- mini review no.2:
My replacement press arrived- grape test:
So far so good- got much more juice from less grapes for a lot less hassle. Iāll conclude the review when I try it for honey this week.
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Hi Jack, thatās a great looking press. I look forward to the honey test. I have some jellybush honey waiting to be pressed out.
Iāll be sure to let you know how it goes jeff- however Iām not too sure how this thing would work with jellybush honey- I am already worried about regular honey- whether it will be able to flow out of the inner strainer bucket- and then out of the spout- fast enough that it doesnāt back up and inundate the pressing plate. The inner bucket has strips of holes- and I am worried there are not enough holes to allow the honey to flow out before the holes become clogged with wax. Does jelly bush honey flow at all once it is out of the comb? If you warm up the combs first does it flow easier?
you could post me a frame if you want me to try it for you! 
for anyone thatās interested this press cost around $180. So far so good. But until I get comb in there i really donāt know.
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As a crush and strain man I too am keen to hear the outcome. Cheers
Hi Jack, the thixotropic nature of the jellybush honey allows it to flow once placed under pressure, as it did while using my potato ricer 
It continued to flow through a coarse strainer into my 20 litre bucket, which filled after quite a few hours of pressing.
I would not have the concerns that you outlined after my experience of squeezing it through a potato ricer. Bye the way, I squeezed it at room temp.
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Ok- final honey review:
It works! But itās not fastā¦ as I thought the small spout size- and small basket holes- mean it takes a fair while for the honey to flow out. And it does back up over the press plate. If you are not in a hurry I think this press is up to the job and would be very good for processing cappings. The press could hold 4 (very fat) ideal frames of comb if you squash them inā¦
I think it will take a day at least for all the honey to drip outā¦ so I still have to wait to see what the clean up is like. I have a feeling it wonāt be too bad and that the wax will be well compacted down with not much wastage.
Here are the pics:
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Keep us updated Jack, I am very interested to see your progress and also how clear the honey turns out. Especially with the cappings as I am borrowing my clubs press this weekend to do that very job. Last time I washed the cappings and used the water for Meadā¦ donāt need another 30 litres of Mead at the moment. 
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No worries- I think the honey will be very clear- Iām using a double strainer on the bucket and the second one is very fine.
The dedicated honey presses that have either bars or a perforated mesh container- with no outer container- and a honey channel at the bottom- will likely work the best and much much faster (like the one Adam linked above). The only problem with my press is the small spout size and relative low number of holes in the inner containerā¦
The reason I wanted a press was to harvest cut comb off-cuts quickly on site at my hills apiaries. This one is going to be too slow for that- but would be fine for people who have the time and relatively low volume to process. For cappings Iād say itās ideal.
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If it was me, Iād grab a drill & make some of the holes bigger. Also in your position, Iād take a 10 litre bucket with a lid & put the off-cuts in that to bring home. Thatās what I do now.
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Iāll probably do that- use a friends drill press and add a lot more holes. Itās the main outlet that really slows things downā¦ I might keep an eye out for a stainless steel cooking pot that I can modify with a very large outletā¦
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Hullo Roderick,
We would be happy to take care of any surplus mead for you 
final notes on this press extractor:
it works and it works well- with just one caveat: it is slow. Managed to harvest over 6KG from 4 ideal frames. Iād say that is close to itās maximum capacity. Took over 36 hours for all the honey to run out. The wax was compacted down to just one inch at the bottom and almost all honey removed. iād say this press would be a great affordable option for dealing with cappings. And especially good if you have lots of apple trees and want to make cider! You would need to first pulp the apples though I thinkā¦
The quality is good thought the stainless basket and pot are quite thin- though they seem up to the task. The alloy frame is nicely cast and good quality.
As I was hoping for a press I could use more quickly and on site- this press review thread will continue when my next press arrives from the slow boat from Chinaā¦ Iām hoping that will be my final press- third time lucky.
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Wow, 36 hours for all the honey to run out. That IS slow. I think Iāll knock one up myself. Something a little bit bigger than a potato rice, but something I can put more pressure on so as to get all the honey out of the wax.
Basically the honey is squashed out fast- but with this set up it backs up around the basket- and on top of the plate. If it wasnāt for that it would be almost instant- like with this type:
Iāll be reviewing one of these when mine arrives. Should be a relatively simple thing to make a good press. The pneumatic jack idea is not too bad I think if done right- the problem with mine was that the jack was weak and cheap.
Or hydraulic jack Jack?
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Are you able to send the second one back to be replaced with a third one?
no- I like the second one- I will keep it for the time being. I purchased the third from a different seller. I am on a quest to find the one I want to keep long term. If I end up totally satisfied with the third I might consider simply selling the second- perhaps at a small loss. The third one is coming direct from China on a slow boat.
I might call into a local scrap metal dealer to see whatās in his stainless steel bin. I might find something I can use or modify or simply cut what I need out.
I already looked into it- you can buy stainless steel sheet perforated with holes- if you could form it into a cylinder and weld it up it would be perfect. I think the idea would be to build a base with a formed spout like the one in the video I linked above. That design should see all the honey flow out very fast. Using a HYDRAULIC jack would work very fast I think. Or one of those scissor (?) ones. Should be able to find one at a wreckers for next to nothing.
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