improvised screen for crush and strain

Bee1 · October 27, 2007, 06:16:05 PM

I want to harvest just one frame of honey. (Its my first year and we want to sample some of our own sweet honey! )

I don't have a bucket and strainer, what else can I use to strain just this tiny bit of honey... Anyway suggestions? I've read not to use cheese cloth (which I considered) but can I buy a screen or something at the hardware store or kitchen supply house tomorrow.

thanks all --

ps.. linda t. tanks for your video on crush and strain - very helpful!

ciao,
bee1

Jerrymac · October 27, 2007, 06:39:24 PM

There are screen baskets you can purchase in the kitchen sections of Walmart/other.

Michael Bush · October 27, 2007, 08:20:57 PM

I've done it in a simple sieve from the grocery store. But that quickly becomes tedious if you have more than a frame or two of honey.

Paraplegic Racehorse · October 27, 2007, 10:57:07 PM

How about a nylon stocking (cleaned, of course)? Crush by hand into a big butter-tub.

Bee1 · October 28, 2007, 12:35:34 AM

thanks for the suggestions.

no nylons in the house, clean or otherwise, at the moment, and I think the holes are too large in my existing kitchen strainer, so I think i will head to a big box store tomorrow am and see what kind of straining devices they have...sieves, screen baskets (i'm not sure what a screen basket is)..... or etc

( I've tasted my first honey and it is sweet. Those little bees did good! )

I will get a bucket with a honey gate and screens for the future use... I'm thinking dadants - M01354 BOTTLING BUCKET KIT

ciao

Jerrymac · October 28, 2007, 01:58:39 AM

I didn't know what it is called. This is sort of a rectangular shaped frame covered in screen wire. It has handles that slide out each side so it can rest on the edge of pan.

Also home depot or lowes or what ever would have paint strainers. They work great. I got the ones for 5 gal buckets. Stretch it over the pan. Scrape your honey comb into it. Lift and strain.

TwT · October 28, 2007, 08:16:59 AM

just get a "NEW" pair of pantyhose, they work fine and one of the best honey filters out there, just put the honey or comb down a leg and squeeze all you want, they work very well......

tillie · October 28, 2007, 09:47:01 AM

It's fun to do a simple jar to jar method. Here's where I found the method:
http://www.backyardhive.com/Articles_on_Beekeeping/Features/A_Simple_Harvest/

You could use panty hose as the filter - I used a paint filter, but it didn't work perfectly and panty hose would.

Here's a slide show:
http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/09/honey-harvesters-hard-at-work-slide.html

Linda T in Atlanta

fcderosa · October 28, 2007, 09:52:55 AM

Lowes - or any hardware store. 5 Gal paint straining bag - $3.00. They're strong and washable so you can reuse them as well. I use them to strain my cappings and then use one to store the wax in.

sean · October 28, 2007, 10:06:38 AM

are we talking about sheer panty hose or it doesnt matter what thickness/grade or whatever

zan · October 28, 2007, 02:10:13 PM

Tillia,
How long it take to extract honey on this way?

tillie · October 28, 2007, 03:58:19 PM

The short answer is that it takes until it all runs through.

The long answer is that on a warm day the transfer from one bottle to the other can
occur in a couple of hours or three. You can leave the two jars out in the sunshine - there's no bee
entry to start robbing, etc.

To be happy (for me) with the wax being as dry as possible, it takes 24 hours in a warm place - the
kitchen, sunporch, etc.

As for panty hose, I just bought the kind they have in the grocery store. The paint filter from Lowe's is in two layers and if the layers don't line up perfectly, the honey just won't filter through.

Hope that helps,

Linda T in Atlanta

Jerrymac · October 28, 2007, 04:37:56 PM

Quote from: tillie on October 28, 2007, 03:58:19 PM
The paint filter from Lowe's is in two layers and if the layers don't line up perfectly, the honey just won't filter through.

The ones I got are sewn like a bag. Just one layer. Put the bag in the pan/bucket and roll the top of the bag over the edge of the bucket/pan. Dump in the comb.

Bee1 · October 28, 2007, 04:40:24 PM

I came home with knee highs, a kitchen splatter screen and a kitchen strainer... than I went with the knee hi's & duct tape. I thought it would be the least amount of mess and loss of honey due to transfer... and duct tape has a special place in my heart and home (see my duct tape story below). My frame yielded the one jar of honey you see with just a small amount left in the pan. Before dirtying another knee-hi I'm going to wait and see if I can just add the rest of the 'honey and comb' to this one jar after it filters a bit. I was surprised how fast the honey started to flow through the filter... its 68o and cloudy so I won't have help from the sun today. This was a great project!

An aside = duct tape stories. It really comes in handy for mending many things. It's become a staple in our dogs back pack & first aid kit. We've used it to make boots & bandages for our dog on a backpacking trip when she cut her pad badly, and john (my husband) actually broke his leg (tibia) while hiking (of course we didn't know it was broken at the time) and we used duct tape to wrap his ankle for about 4 or 5 days before getting off the trail. We thought his ankle was just sprained -- ouch. we were lucky. And now we can use duct tape for honey too. Cool.

tillie · October 28, 2007, 06:25:10 PM

Your pictures are great! (I just came back and looked again and see your dog in the background!) Gravity helps a lot and the honey will flow through without being in the sun. Enjoy the luscious results!

Linda T in Atlanta

Bee1 · October 29, 2007, 10:05:48 PM

Thanks Linda -- That is my dog in the background (she's a sweetie). Seeing your video made me want pictures of my honey too. I'm so proud of my honey I sent the pic's to my whole family!

The honey dripped through overnight and everything went great. now I need to take care of the wax.

- Loads of Love
donna