Liquefying Honey Techniques

IABeeMan · February 08, 2009, 07:34:54 PM

I was liquefying a 60lb bucket of honey this evening and was thinking there had to be a simpler way of doing this. What are some of the methods used to liquefy honey in 5 gal buckets?

Kathyp · February 08, 2009, 07:39:33 PM

i set the whole bucket in my kitchen sink with hot tap water. it takes most of the day to soften it enough to poor.

of you only need enough for a few jars, it's faster to pop the top and scoop it out. then you can set the jars in warm water if you need to soften it more.

i don't care if mine is liquid. i don't want to heat it and kill off the enzymes.

i got lucky and mine has a very fine crystal. it is creamed honey at it's best with no effort on my part! :-). i have saved a jar of it for starter.

JP · February 08, 2009, 08:10:20 PM

If you have access to an old freezer with a metal interior you could rig up a thermostatically controlled system using a work light as a heat source. My buddy Bailey made one not too long ago like this. He got the thermostatically controlled switch from honeyrun apiaries. http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/store/ranco-etc111000000-digital-temperature-controller-p-86.html?osCsid=b3502c1d1d239721d974e2b0cb9946fc

You could use any kind of box that's metal lined.

...JP

bailey · February 08, 2009, 08:25:02 PM

i just fired mine up for the first time yesterday. i used an old chest type freezer that was due to be thrown away, cost free!

i bought the thermostatic controller as JP stated.
i tried to use a ceramic heater but it has a built in safety feature that wouldn't let the temp get high enough. i ditched the heater as a heat source when i looked up and saw an old " drop light " in my garage.
plugged it in with a 100 watt bulb and let it rip.
it took about 6 hours to get up to the set temp ( 103 Fahrenheit ) but since then it has held a constant temp of 100 to 103 with two 5 gallon buckets in the unit.

i plan to retrieve the honey tomorrow morning and begin bottling.
i will post the results when i look in the unit tomorrow

look on the honey run apiary site for his description of the same style unit. that's where i got the idea and it has photos that make the idea quite easy to grasp.

total cost of the unit with all parts was less than $100 for me.

try it, i think you will like it if you have enough honey production to justify the effort.

IABeeMan · February 08, 2009, 08:51:12 PM

At 100 degrees how long does it take to complete to buckets?

Brian D. Bray · February 08, 2009, 08:56:56 PM

Putting your jars of honey into your solar wax melter is another way to liquify your granulated honey.

bailey · February 08, 2009, 09:01:12 PM

from what i have read i would expect it would take 24 hours in the unit i built if the temp were at 100 to 103. i could be wrong though so i would wait till i pull the honey out tomorrow and see. i will post the results in the morning so we can both be sure.

it will have 36 hours time at 103 by morning.

bailey

gaucho10 · February 08, 2009, 09:28:05 PM

I don't know what they are called but I have seen advertised these metal rods that you plug in and stick into the crystalized honey. I believe they only take a short time (1 hr.) to un-crystalize the honey and make it liquid again.

IABeeMan · February 08, 2009, 09:44:39 PM

Quote from: Brian D. Bray on February 08, 2009, 08:56:56 PM
Putting your jars of honey into your solar wax melter is another way to liquify your granulated honey.

During the summer this would work well. However my solar wax melter is currently not very productive with the high temps in the 40's.

Bobb · February 08, 2009, 11:21:43 PM

Here's one that should work. Just plug and your done.
http://kkontrols.com/poth8ftco.html
Posted the wrong link the first time. Sorry

BMAC · February 09, 2009, 09:20:15 AM

I took an old fridge and coverter it to a hot box using that analog temp coontroller and small barn heater. You know I also pulled the guts out of the same fridge as it still worked and built a large insulated wooden box with a different temp controller for cooling I use for both lagering beers and making creamed honey... Its doesnt look nice, but sure works well.....

Gena · February 10, 2009, 01:20:36 AM

I have a black drum i found - 35 gallon I think, with a lid on it with a metal ring closer. I put a drop light with a 100 watt bulb in the bottom of the drum. I 'borrowed' :-X a parts basket made of wire and inverted it in the bottom of the drum to cover the drop light and give the 5 gal. bucket a place to rest on and a little space away from the drop light. So from the bottom up its: drop light, covered by a wire basket, set the 5 gallon bucket on top. I close the lid and it takes @ a day to melt a completely solidified bucket - the honey doesn't appear to get over 108 degrees the times I've tested it.
There's a link on this forum somewhere that shows how to make honey melter using a freezer with some ceramic light fixtures and a thermostat...
Gena

gaucho10 · February 10, 2009, 04:25:20 AM

Check this out from Beterbee.com

http://www.betterbee.com/products.asp?dept=1272

gaucho10 · February 10, 2009, 04:27:33 AM

Holy smokes! I just noticed the price on my previous post. I did see smaller versions for much less money.

bailey · February 18, 2009, 11:15:33 PM

here,s the update as promised, the freezer with the thermostat and light bulb combination took a full bucket of solid honey ( i mean a brick! ) and turned it to clear liquid in about 4 days.
had to crank the heat to 107 to get the last of the crystals out but it worked well.
bailey

Michael Bush · February 20, 2009, 07:16:43 AM

A hot car on a warm day with the windows up works fairly well. I've put them in hot water in the bathtub. It takes a few changes of water. You can boil some on the stove to top it off with to keep it warm.

KONASDAD · February 20, 2009, 10:50:06 AM

Quote from: Michael Bush on February 20, 2009, 07:16:43 AM
a hot car on a warm day with the windows up works fairly well. I've put them in hot water in the bathtub. It takes a few changes of water. You can boil some on the stove to top it off with to keep it warm.

I do this for honey and in summer to dry seeds and herbs. Works great!

Understudy · February 20, 2009, 06:21:55 PM

Put it on your roof. Also Brian's idea of the solar melter is a good one.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

twb · February 20, 2009, 07:55:48 PM

I place the pail in front of the wood stove with the honey gate facing the stove. After a time I pop the lid off the pail and open the honey gate and use a large wooden spoon to push the honey out of the gate and into quart jars. It looks like homemade applesauce at this point. Now eight jars at a time in a canner on top of the wood stove until all have nice clear honey in them. This method only works in winter obviously :roll:.