Trashcan Extractor

[hawgdawg133]

I recently aquired a 32 gallon rubbermaid "trashcan" with a 6 frame extractor inside. It is operated off a hand drill motor. The only clue as to who made it is a sticker on the outside that states "Bee Line". I have not seen this type before in catalogs and was wondering why they are not used more often as they appear to be cheap to manufacture. Does anyone know the history of this type of extractor and is there any advantage/disadvantage over comparable stainless steel models? Thanks.

[Louise]

I've got one that I borrowed from my neighbor and I'll check if he knows any more history. I don't have any experience except with this type of extractor (used 3 times) and I feel like it works great.

[hawgdawg133]

Thanks Louise, I was wondering why this type is not used more often. I have not used it yet but I think there would be some advantages such as portability, cost, ease of cleaning, weight. There most be some down side though because all of the extractors I have seen are made of stainless steel.

[beekeeper28]

Please post the supplier info if you find it out.

[Louise]

Well, I checked in with my neighbor but didn't get much more info. He got this extractor 20 years ago from someone who was making them. He has never had more than 3 hives, so extracting only 6 frames at a time worked (and still does) great.
Now he has retrofitted it a bit. The entire can starts jumping around as you increase the speed so he built a square table (2' x 2') and ran some chains down from the extractor handles and hooked them onto the table. It definitely still jiggles around, I was leaning over the top as I was increasing the speed. I think that this could be resolved by taking more time to increase speed and making sure the honey was really warm. Also, what does the top look like? He has a post coming out with a piece of wood to attach the drill to (and keep it from spinning).

Overall I am really happy with it. It is lightweight, easy to carry into the shower to clean and very few parts to break. And of course it was free http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif . If you want more descriptions of the chains I'm happy to figure out a way to post photos.