Low buck extractor

[Budster]

I was doing "crush and strain" this weekend, and my "queen bee" saw what I was doing. I explained how "real beekeepers" have extractors to spin the honey out of the combs. She said "Why dont you crush it, and run it through a salad spinner. It would be much faster". (AKA - A device to dry wet lettuce). Here is one:
http://www.amazon.com/Good-Grips-32480-Salad-Spinner/dp/B00004OCKR

Would it work? Thought it would be a good conversation starter at worst. ;-)

I wasn't sure if it would work, but I know that I waited foooorrrreeeevvvvvvver for my crushed comb to drain down.

[dickm]

Try it. You can always use a good salad spinner anyway. Take pictures. Have your wife try to get the expression on your face the first time you try it. Go visit a beekeeper and see what this spinning thing is about.

dickm

[Curtis]

Put your crushed comb in the sun with a lid on it.
You will be supprised how fast it will drain out of the comb.
Curtis

[berkshire bee]

Throw the comb in the washing machine and hit the spin cycle :D:D

[BaldyLocks]

You could build your own extractor. I built one in a weekend out of a new trashcan and some wood/wire/etc. I hook a drill to the shaft that holds the basket I made to hold the frames...it spins out pretty nicely...cheap to build too...

[stangardener]

leave the mash in a warm/hot place for a couple days.
i think it's the other way around, if you need a comercial salad spinner look into a honey extractor. i produce and spin about fifty pounds of salad mix a week and use a dynamic spinner. for the money any honey extractor is a better tool.

[Budster]

Baldylocks - "You could build your own extractor.".

Could you send/post a pick, or even describe it. I've been stewing around on this for 2 days now. I've thought and thought. I'm reasonably mechanically inclined. My regular email is bthanes at sbcglobal dot net. I'd really appreciate it.

[drobbins]

budster,

have you seen this thread

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211308

Dave

[Ron Young]

You could build your own extractor. I built one in a weekend out of a new trashcan and some wood/wire/etc. I hook a drill to the shaft that holds the basket I made to hold the frames...it spins out pretty nicely...cheap to build too...

Just wondering where you found a food grade trash can???

[drobbins]

Ron,

food grade paint

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/products.asp?pcode=615

Dave

[xC0000005]

I'm amassing parts to build a bicycle wheel extractor myself (and tracking the costs pretty carefully). Assuming I can make it work I'll post a run down. If I can't I'll quietly scuttle the project and turn the barrel into a rain barrel. :) Just got to get the stench of worcestershire sauce out of my food grade barrel. Soap just isn't doing the trick. Someone ate a lot of steaks.

[stangardener]

Just wondering where you found a food grade trash can???

i'm really questioning all this "food grade plastic" stuff.
check to see what the number is in the recycle triangle. as an example if you buy an empty five gallon bucket with a 2 on it at home depot or a paint store it's the same five gallon bucket you'd get at a resturaunt supply or bee supply store that has a 2 on it. #2 plastic is #2 plastic. #2 plastic is also the same no matter the the size of the container. research the numbers on plastic containers that have food in them. i betcha a rubber maid trash barrel is a "food grade" plastic.

this is still all pretty much a question any feed back is welcome:)

[Kelbee]

I also am gathering parts for a homebuilt bicycle wheel extractor. I found this web site with detailed instructions:

www.scienceinafrica.co.za/2005/september/honeyextractor.htm

I bought a used honey barrel for $8 so shouldn't have to worry about foreign smells/tastes. I'll report back on how it turns out later this month.

[Ron Young]

It was my understanding that food grade plastic was different in the manufacturing process. It also has a lower tendancy to give off any release of chemical, or break down under use, thus contaminating the product. I am no engineer but it sounds logical. The same thing applies to water supply lines for a motor home or camper, your regular garden hose will allow deposits into the water that effect taste, there too it is plastic.

I am curious as to some more opinion on this! This should be a thread all to its self, and perhaps there has been one in the past?

[drobbins]

I think Stan is right

a quick google search finds this

"From: Denis DeFigueiredo Originally posted in: rec.food.preserving I called Berlin [eds. note, a plastic container mfgr. [1-800-4-BERLIN] and spoke to them, plus an outfit called Kirk Container (they manufactured some 5 gallon paint buckets I saw in the local hardware store). Both places said that buckets made from High Density PolyEthelene are approved for food. It has to do with the possibility of interaction between any chemicals in the food and the plastic. As it turns out, Kirk manufactures only one kind of bucket, and then markets it for paint, hardware, food, etc. The price is right on the "paint buckets" - much cheaper than the local restaurant supply house.
High density polyethelene buckets will have HDPE stamped on them, or a recycle symbol with a "2" in the middle.
DISCLAIMER: I'm only passing on information I received from the manufacturers. I am in no way professing these things to be absolute fact!"




on the other hand if they're not new you have to consider what's been in them. I'm told a used 5 gallon pickle bucket is useless:)
A buddy of mine has a saltwater fish tank and buys sea salt in 5 gallon bucket, I got a few from him. they work great



Dave

[Ron Young]

So it may be all about the dollar. If they sell it as food grade, when it is the same as a paint bucket, then the price goes up!

[Gene Weitzel]

It was my understanding that food grade plastic was different in the manufacturing process. It also has a lower tendancy to give off any release of chemical, or break down under use, thus contaminating the product. I am no engineer but it sounds logical. The same thing applies to water supply lines for a motor home or camper, your regular garden hose will allow deposits into the water that effect taste, there too it is plastic.

I am curious as to some more opinion on this! This should be a thread all to its self, and perhaps there has been one in the past?
The difference in food grade plastic containers and non-food grade plastic is in the manufacturing process. Food grade containers must be made from 100% prime grade resin and the injection moulders and their operators are held to a higher standard of cleanliness. No waste is allowed to be recycled back through the feedstock. The whole processing takes place in a near "clean room" environment. Medical grade plastic products are even more strict.

[Bizzybee]

xC,
White vinegar or tomato juice may help get the odor out of your plastic container??

Although worcestershire honey??? You May be onto something there!! :)

[xC0000005]

Thanks - I'll give regular tide & elbow grease a shot first, then move on to vinegar/tomato juice. :)

[stangardener]

The difference in food grade plastic containers and non-food grade plastic is in the manufacturing process. Food grade containers must be made from 100% prime grade resin and the injection moulders and their operators are held to a higher standard of cleanliness. No waste is allowed to be recycled back through the feedstock. The whole processing takes place in a near "clean room" environment. Medical grade plastic products are even more strict.

this is the kind of food grade plastic statements i'm not to sure of. sounds good till you think about it. my paint bucket and strawberry syrup bucket have the same markings. if they went to all that trouble for one you'd think they'd mark it food grade or something. i've never seen a food grade stamp. there's a number of differant types/numbers of plastic used in the food industry and i think the differance has to do with leaching.
i've seen frame manufactures use this food grade plastic designation as a selling point. i question whether this is manufacturing practices (near clean room conditions) or just that the plastic is o.k.ed to be in contact with food.

[drobbins]

hmmm, the plot gets thicker:)
the pail I got from Brushy Mtn. has markings on it that let me trace it here

http://www.paragonmanufacturing.com/pail5UN.htm

where they state "virgin resin" "FDA approved" etc.

while the one I got from a buddy appears to be this

http://www.e-encore.com/50640b.htm

they make no such claims
it's hard to believe the FDA approves some of these containers but doesn't require that they be identified as such
what's the point?

Dave

[drobbins]

this spells it out pretty clearly

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html

there is a difference

Dave

[WVbeekeeper]

[QUOTE=stangardener; i'm really questioning all this "food grade plastic"
check to see what the number is in the recycle triangle. as an example if you buy an empty five gallon bucket with a 2 on it at home depot or a paint store it's the same five gallon bucket you'd get at a resturaunt supply or bee supply store that has a 2 on it. #2 plastic is #2 plastic. #2 plastic is also the same no matter the the size of the container. research the numbers on plastic containers that have food in them. i betcha a rubber maid trash barrel is a "food grade" plastic.

The number in the triangle is how many times the plastic has been recycled. my bowl of butter in the refrigerator has a 5 on it, cottage cheese also a 5, milk jug has a 2. the numbers are used so the plastic isn't recycled too many times, as it will break down. if i remember correctly, 7 is as high as it goes.

[shawnwri]

[

The number in the triangle is how many times the plastic has been recycled. my bowl of butter in the refrigerator has a 5 on it, cottage cheese also a 5, milk jug has a 2. the numbers are used so the plastic isn't recycled too many times, as it will break down. if i remember correctly, 7 is as high as it goes.

Actually the number refers to the type of plastic http://www.recyclenow.com/facts/materials_fact_files/plastics/the_different.html

[WVbeekeeper]

shawnwri, thanks for the clarification on that. i had a vinyl siding salesman trying to get me to by his siding for a house i was building. during his sales pitch he said that his siding wasn't recycled. he said that's what that number was for, and other siding manufacturer's took the #7 stuff , after it shouldn't be recylcled, and mixed into their batches making an inferior siding. that's what i get for believing everything i here, especially from a salesman. i think i have his card somewhere. i might give him a call and set him straight.

[snarky]

I am in the medical manufacturing business; The resin suppliers are pretty reluctant to claim "medical grade" after the silicone breast implant business a few years ago. We manufacturers are on our own to determine suitability for a given purpose; then we make them tell us whenever they make any changes to their process so we can re qualify it.

The deal with "medical" or "food" grade is in the additives permitted in the material such as plasticizers, fire retardants, fibers, colors, etc.

The FDA does not approve the material per se, it simply regulates the manufacturing process and requires a level of record keeping so that if the plastic item causes harm, we can go all the way back and see how it was made - and recall everything else made with the same batch of material.
The proper claim would be FDA regulated.

The difference between the paint bucket, the pickle bucket, and the penicillin bucket is in the record keeping and manufacturing process control behind it.

The FDA can make unannounced visits to audit your processes - if you aren't up to snuff, they can close you down on the spot (not a pretty sight) and arrest the senior guys if they think there are any shenannigans going on.

In light of that - yes, they charge more for what is to all appearances the exact same item.

I will take issue with the "clean room" statement earlier in this thread - I worked on implantable medical devices for several years that were molded in an area much like an auto shop - the cleaning and finishing were in a clean room but the molding, extruding and compounding (making the plastic) areas were anything but clean - just not that kind of operation.

[BaldyLocks]

I mentioned awhile back about making a homemade extractor. I posted some pics on my website at http://www.buzz-honey.com Look under the equipment area to see the one I made

[Budster]

Got this message at your site...

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Must get alot of traffic there.

[cdanderson]

It looks great but how do you clean the ones made with wooden parts...seems more difficult than washing out the all metal ones ?

[MapMan]

To get cheap ($1) or even free buckets, go to a busy bakery and ask for one of the icing buckets. A busy bakery will go through sometimes dozens in a week, and be up to their ceilings in buckets. Lots of cakes and donuts are eaten... The bonus is when you open them up after being in a warm auto and smelling vanilla icing. Don't spend $20 on bottling buckets!

MM

[Budster]

How well does it work? Is that 1/8" hardware cloth? Whats in the bottom of the can where the threaded rod goes?

[BaldyLocks]

The wood is coated with food grade paint also and cleans off nicely like my metal extractor...just hose it out, etc. The extractor works pretty well, though hand cranking isn't sogood...I just remove the handle and put my drill on the shaft and let that run. The hardware cloth is 1/4" and is supported bythe wooden frame. On the bottom, I attached a wooden block and countersank a nylon bushing in which the south end of the shaft rides.