Question: How to crush to extract honey

[Davepeg]

I have only used a 3 frame extractor to harvest honey.  But I have some frames from a hive that did not survive that has partial honey frames - want to try the crush method, but I need step by step instructions - Can someone help?

Thanks,
Peggy

[steveouk]

Try Linda's video on crush and stain....

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2007/06/honey-harvest-crush-and-strain.html

Watch and learn

[Sean Kelly]

Neat video.  Never saw that before.

Crush & Strain method:  You crush it, then you strain it.  Those are the step by step instructions.   :-D

Sean Kelly

[Robo]

Neat video.  Never saw that before.

Crush & Strain method:  You crush it, then you strain it.  Those are the step by step instructions.   :-D

Sean Kelly

You forgot the worst part................cleaning up. :evil:

[Scadsobees]

My system for straining cappings works great for crush/strain as well.  It is similar to MB's in http://bushfarms.com/beesharvest.htm  where he describes the c/s method.

2 free buckets (mine are 4 gallons) from the bakery, with lids.  Cut the middle out of each lid, leaving enough rim so that one bucket can set on top of the other bucket with the lid(rim) in place.  Drill holes in the bottom of the top bucket.  Put a 5-gallon paint strainer in the top bucket and snap the lid (rim ) on over the strainer to hold it in place.

Now the crushed comb goes into the paint strainer, through into the top bucket, through the holes in the bucket into the bottom bucket.  I get get 7-8 supers worth of cappings in there (barely). 

Clean-up: remove honey and wax that you want to keep.  Release 3 medium sized dogs into the area.  After removing them, mist everything well with pine-sol.  I don't have any dogs, so have to substitute 3 medium sized kids  :-D

Rick

[tillie]

IMHO, cleaning up after crush and strain is SO much simpler than after using an extractor.  All there is to clean is the bucket, the strainer, the pestle, and the rubber spatula and a couple of pans. 

An extractor doesn't fit in the sink or the dishwasher, AND has many moving parts.  In addition to the huge extractor, you also have the bucket, the strainer, the rubber spatula, etc.

I put cardboard boxes flattened out under everything and put the cardboard with the drips on it out on the sidewalk for the bees to take the honey back.

Easy as pie - no, pie is harder, actually.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Robo]

IMHO, cleaning up after crush and strain is SO much simpler than after using an extractor.

I guess it depends on the quantity you are extracting.  I can't imagine doing any more than a super at a time if your going to crush it.  Seems very time consuming and a waste of the bees resources building comb.

Cleaning an extractor is as simple as setting it outside after it drains and letting the bees do the rest.   Or just using a garden hose.  And I don't have to worry about getting on the wife's ----list for sticky door knobs and floors.

[reinbeau]

IMHO, cleaning up after crush and strain is SO much simpler than after using an extractor.

I guess it depends on the quantity you are extracting.  I can't imagine doing any more than a super at a time if your going to crush it.  Seems very time consuming and a waste of the bees resources building comb.

This is so true, if you're doing any kind of quantity.  I would not want to crush and strain three hives' worth, that's for sure.

Cleaning an extractor is as simple as setting it outside after it drains and letting the bees do the rest.   Or just using a garden hose.  And I don't have to worry about getting on the wife's ----list for sticky door knobs and floors.

It isn't any problem at all to clean our extractor, we use a five gallon bucket of hot water once or twice and then just hose water - no problem. 

If you've only got one or two hives then crush and strain, but if you've got more than that, I wouldn't be without a good extractor.  We have a big one, hubby is planning on lots of honey!  :lol:

[Jerrymac]

Detailed instructions on crush and strain.

You crush it then...

You strain it.

How did you not see that coming?

[tillie]

I don't do all of my harvesting at once - that probably also makes a difference.  I might take one or two supers off and then harvest the honey.  The next weekend, I might do two or three more.  Since I'm a small timer - only had three hives last summer - it's no big deal.

But Michael Bush used crush and strain for years and years with lots of hives and he liked it as much as I do.

(Side Note:  I am convinced from lots of honey tasting now from lots of beekeepers that my crush and strain tastes much better than the extracted version.   I think because there's not the slinging around in the air factor and no heat is used in C and S like one uses with an uncapping knife).

Linda T quite biased in Atlanta

[Robo]

Linda T quite biased in Atlanta

Aren't all beekeepers :-D

If everyone liked chocolate they wouldn't make vanilla ;)

[tillie]

When I was at the Folk School, we had to clean the extractor by taking it apart and washing it in the deepest sink we could find with soapy water.  Sticky, messy, altogether difficult job - especially when we had to put the thing back together - nearly impossible.  I don't see how in the world an extractor could be called clean washed out by a garden hose?????  If you were selling honey, I'm sure that wouldn't fly with the Dept. of Agriculture.

Linda T still biased in Atlanta

[Robo]

Mine is two pieces,  a drum and a basket.  Two bolts and the entire basket comes out. After letting it drain for a couple of days, it is barely sticky. Cleans up in a matter of minutes. BTW, I pre-clean it before use with soap and water.

Not trying to be critical, but since you bought it up,  I'd be more concerned with the sanitary issues with crush and strain.   Much more human handling and spatulas and equipment being used, set down and then reused. IMO more chance of contamination.

[Jerrymac]

I have a huge pot I wash out. I place a clean 5 gal. paint strainer in. I have a clean screen basket that has handles so it sits on the top. I use a clean spatula to scrape the comb out of the frames and crush it in the screen basket. When the screen basket is full I then place the pot's lid over the whole thing and seal it off with seran wrap. (How do you spell that?) I never sit the spatula down until then. My wife helps cause the arms get tired. And we do wash our hands several times during the process.

Then after a day or two. I remove the screen basket. Raise the paint strainer up so it is not sitting in the big pool of honey. Seal it up again. A day or two later I remove the paint strainer and dump the contents into a pan that I have already dumped the crushed wax from the screen basket and sit it out for the bees to enjoy. (If there is a flow they don't mess with it so I save it for later.)

The stuff in the pot is now dumped into GLASS jars. I hate plastic. Everything is cleaned up and ready to go again.

[Cindi]

Hee, haw!!!  What thread and I am lovin' it.  Linda's blog is going to be a piece of work for all to learn from, she has wonderful stuff and is an experimenter.  Her site is going to be as well used as Michael Bush's site.  Yeah!!!!  I love to look at both sites and listen and learn, wonderful, wonderful.

Now something to think about.  I know that many people when they are cleaning equipment, be it pans, pots, extractors, or whatever wash them with water.  What I do when I clean stuff up and it may take a little bit of time, is that I use very warm water, a small amount and work the equipment so that the water left over is laden with honey, propolis, wax, all the beautiful products that the bees have made and make a slurry.  This water that has been used for cleaning is not wasted.  I keep it, I freeze it, and when I make pollen patties or make sugar syrup, I utilize this stored water as the water. It is full of STUFF for the bees and I think it really makes the bees LOVE the sugar syrup even more than they already do.

This may be time consuming, and probably not for everyone, but if you have the time, the freezer room, the guts and gumption, then go for this.  You can do all manner of revision of what I do, (go as far as even straining this cleaning water to remove debris), but why waste water?  And, if you have added honey residue to the water, even better for the bees.

I must put in a huge note here.  I only suggest using this honey water for feeding back to the bees if you know for sure that none of your colony has any brood diseases, such as AFB (American Foulbrood) or EFB (European Foulbrood), or any others for that matter.  It must be healthy honey water, not something that may introduce disease to any colony

Just some thoughts and ponderings from one who does a lot of thoughts and ponderings, (and ramblin's too, hee, hee). Have the most beautiful and wonderful day, groovin' on life, my new word for the day.  Cindi

[Cindi]

Jerry, beauty, sounds like a great plan, yep, yep.  The spelling is "saran", not that spelling minds one little bit here, no one cares, but just for your own personal happiness, hee, hee, that is the correct spelling.  YOu are talking to a girl that always headed the class in the spelling bees, I am a walking dictionary......have a wonderful and beautiful day, groovin' on life.  Cindi

[Robo]

Now something to think about.  I know that many people when they are cleaning equipment, be it pans, pots, extractors, or whatever wash them with water.  What I do when I clean stuff up and it may take a little bit of time, is that I use very warm water, a small amount and work the equipment so that the water left over is laden with honey, propolis, wax, all the beautiful products that the bees have made and make a slurry.  This water that has been used for cleaning is not wasted.  I keep it, I freeze it, and when I make pollen patties or make sugar syrup, I utilize this stored water as the water. It is full of STUFF for the bees and I think it really makes the bees LOVE the sugar syrup even more than they already do.

What?  You don't use it as the base for refrigerator stew?   Would probably rank right up there with hot dog water soup. :-P

[Robo]

And we do wash our hands several times during the process.

While maintaining a firm grip on the spatula that you never set down.  That's a pretty good feat :-P

Just kidding Jerry..... have a good day.

[Cindi]

Rob, thank goodness I had finished my gulp of tea when you posted that, naughty, naughty.  I'm thinkin' some hot dog soup might be mighty tasteeeeeee, yum, yum.

Yep, made some pollen patties Sunday morning with this stuff, what a beautiful fragrance that water had to it as I mixed it in the pollen.  The fragrance of pollen, honey, wax, and the brewer's yeast, wow.......

Yesterday I went to a building supply place in a neighbouring town, about 20 minutes away.  They are farther eastward, closer to the country, they sell livestock feed also.

I was on a search for more brewers yeast.  I had called to several cooperatives and feed stores.  It would appear a 20 kg bag of brewers yeast (they use it for protein for livestock feed too) ranged anywhere from $80 to $125.  Too much money and I was getting annoyed, I know it is not that expensive, someone is racking up their prices. 

This place that I went to had told me that they had ordered Calf Manna (is that the spellling, hee, hee) and Brewers Yeast had come instead and now they had a 20 kg bag they don't know what to do with.  I asked her how much.  She said, well, how much do you want to pay, I said nothing.  She laughed, I laughed.  She asked what the going price was and I told her the cheapest price was $80.  She laughed.  She told me that was a pile of crap.  Brewers yeast is really, really, really, cheap. She said to come and get the bag and pay the $30 dollars that she was going to charge me.  And that I did.

Something is not right with this picture and I am going to get to the bottom of this.  A range from $30 to $125 is not acceptable, not one little bit.  The price variation has knocked my socks off.  I am going to get in touch with a brewery and find out what they charge for this dead yeast, it is only good for livestock and whatever humans do with it for consumption.  They sell it at the local health food store, in small 500 gram packages for $5.00, so I am wondering too this.....what do humans do with brewers yeast in their bodies?  Anyone know.........oh man oh man alive, why do I have such a habit of wandering off topic and a'ramblin', can't figure that and probably never will.  Have a beautiful, great day, groove on the groove.  Cindi

[Jerrymac]

OH yeah. I did leave out I usually let the bees clean every thing of honey before I wash it. Got to get every drop you know.  ;)