Advice!!!!

[papar]

Hi everyone. I am a second year beek who has become especially passionate about this hobby. I mentored with an old beekeeper when I was a kid and when the time was right for me, I jumped back in with both feet. Last year I started with 5 hives-learned allot the first year- still have a tremendous amount of learning to go. Anyway, this year I increased by 13 colonies which should leave me with about 20 after making a few splits.
My question is what do you all recommend having to handle that much honey for extraction. I did aquire a 12 frame radial extractor this year, I have a couple electric knives for uncapping, other then that, I have nothing else yet. Your thoughts??

Thanks,

RP

[beegee]

You'll want some buckets and some strainers and an uncapping tank. You can go all out and get a settling tank and wax melter etc, but you don't need all that.

I made my uncapping tank for about $30 using a white plastic food tote from the restaurant supply. I took the tote lid and cut the center out, leaving a strip for support and installed a piece of 1/8" hardware cloth. The lid inverts, so it's deep enough to let the cappings drain. I then built a wooden frame with a nail in it to support the combs as I uncap, that fits across the toip of the inverted lid. I put a honey gate in the tub. I drain from the tub through a set of nylon sieves into a 5-gal bucket. I settle the honey in the 5-gal buckets and then skim off the top. I then transfer the honey into a 5-gal bucket with a spout for bottling. I strain the honey into jars through some nylon stocking material.

Once I get more volume, I'll add a pump and settling tank, but for right now, with 12-22 hives, this works and is cheap. I extract cappings in a nylon mesh bag in my extractor, then wash and melt them in a crock pot.

You should get a cappings scratcher to open the caps in the low spots where the knife won't reach.