Gently warming crystallized honey

yes2matt · March 08, 2020, 08:26:41 PM

The problem: my honey is bottled and labelled and my labels dont do well in a water bath. AND. there is not really a warm place in my house in March.

The solution I'm trying is that I've lined this old cooler with an electric blanket and I've got two cases of honey in there. It's a dry heat under 110.

If you can see the pic, that's my youngest. He's not crying, he's imitating his dad, pretending to strain while pulling on the handle and groaning.

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iddee · March 08, 2020, 08:45:37 PM

If it's above 95 it "should" work, but you will need to have patience.

BeeMaster2 · March 09, 2020, 03:48:16 AM

Matt,
I have my heater set at 104. Nothing higher. Over 104 degrees, you start to kill the good stuff in the honey.
Jim Altmiller

Acebird · March 09, 2020, 08:48:13 AM

Are the bottles glass? place on window sill in sun. For me a day did the trick. My last 10 bottles are in the freezer and the honey taste as good as it did when I bottled it.

yes2matt · March 09, 2020, 10:16:01 PM

Wally: can I buy patience on Amazon? will they ship it same-day?
Jim, I don't have a proper thermometer but I stuck my hand in there and it's maybe 100. not over 104. it's for a bed!
Brian: I don't have a sunny windowsill in March. This is a weird house, it has a ton of windows, is impossible to keep warm or cool, but it is SO DARK.

Hey yall I'm looking forward to seeing you next week.

iddee · March 09, 2020, 10:23:46 PM

Only doctors are allowed to have patients. You are S.O.L.

Oldbeavo · March 10, 2020, 07:39:37 AM

An old chest freezer is a great insulated container for warming crystalised honey. you can use a oil column heater with a thermostat.
We set it at 38-40 C max. It will take time but your honey will be better if you don't use higher temps.
PS get a good quality thermometer to check the temp. Not the meat one from the kitchen.

BeeMaster2 · March 10, 2020, 07:55:27 AM

Matt,
Remind me to pull out my honey heater at BeeFest next week. I built it for next to nothing. I use the thermostats that are in hot water heaters. When I see one out for the trash, I stop and pull the thermostats out. Most units have 2 of them. All you need is a Phillips screwdriver. They work really well.
I have a couple of spares, I can give you one.
Jim Altmiller

Acebird · March 10, 2020, 08:14:42 AM

Quote from: yes2matt on March 09, 2020, 10:16:01 PM

Brian: I don't have a sunny windowsill in March. This is a weird house, it has a ton of windows, is impossible to keep warm or cool, but it is SO DARK.

I had a similar situation so I put them outside on the deck on a warm day.
OH BTW I have used two 13W FLR light bulbs put inside a Styrofoam shipping box overnight. Temp gets to about 110. Works but not as well as the sun.

yes2matt · March 11, 2020, 08:30:41 AM

Hey it worked a charm. Took three days. I had the blanket set on "8" and I found a digital thermometer and measured in between the folds. 107. So I turned it down to "5" No spilled water on labels. (Pain in the butt scraping off spoiled labels and relabelling)

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