Joli's Law

[Grant]

I've started extracting...about three weeks ahead of my normal schedule this year. Every time I extract, I am reminded of something Joli Winer (of www.heartlandhoney.com) stated, and stated with such authority that it should be made an inviolate law:

"Never turn your back on a bucket being filled from an extractor."

There was a time in my life when I did not know of this law, and several buckets easily overflowed into a huge puddle on the floor. You'd think I'd learn! Does anyone know how to clean up this mess? What a waste of honey, and then how do I move this brim-filled bucket?

This law comes with another bit of advice, a sage axiom I call, "Cecil's Correlary."

"There's more honey in that extractor than you think!"

I never turn my back on a bucket being filled from an extractor, and if I do of if I turn my attention to something else, I close the honey gate on the extractor.

Been there, had it happen.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[fish_stix]

Scoop it up with a clean dust pan then wash the rest off the floor with plain water. Don't ask how I know but 1/2 of a 55 gallon barrel is a lot of scooping and washing.:p

[xC0000005]

As I've said before:


One word of warning about the honey gate – never, never, never turn your back on the honey gate. That small piece of molded plastic is evil. If you have extracted 85 pounds of honey, and set a filter bucket under the gate, and opened it, do not turn away for a second. Not even if a bee stings you in the palm. Not even if you step backwards into the space heater that’s warming the room. Not even if you lunge forward into the table holding the supers, shaking your hand while rubbing your leg. Because if you do…the honey, in that moment will pile up faster than the laws of gravity should allow. You’ll lunge for the gate and wind up honey coated, bee stung, burnt, and mashed. You do not even want to know how I know this.

[habutti]

1/2 of a 55 gallon barrel is a lot of scooping and washing.:p

Wow, that really is a lot of scooping and washing, I hope the bees got a stab at whatever was scooped up:)

[wcubed]

Whenever the wife's sister came to help, honey spills were commonplace. Resorted to putting a sheet of plastic under the bucket with the edges turned up by framing with 2X4s, creating a pool. Minor spills are contained. Assuming the bucket is clean on inside and out, that caught in the pool is both retrievable and marketable.

Honey house design tip:
Put a layer of crushed rock below the concrete slab to absorb the input from a central drain to the crushed rock. No sewage outlet required. For the spills that get away, flush to the central floor drain.

Walt
Free advice is often overpriced.

[Fuzzy]

The only way to clean up a lot of spilled honey is using Kitty Litter. Layer it on, and keep adding it until the top layer stays dry overnight. Then use a spatula to scrape it up.

No dripping, no honey strings following you. When you are done, there will be a microscopic layer left on the ground to wash up with a brush and water.

Fuzzy

[reneal]

Well, I got careless once & spilled a full gallon jar of honey onto the floorboards of my truck as I was driving. I double check the lids now! When people mention a sticky mess, I know I've seen worse. Cleanup was easy. Drive over by the beeyard, open the truck doors & come back after dark. That way there was almost no waste & the bees had more winter stores. I would think it would work for cleaning up a honey house too, although you might need to open or cover any windows.

[BEES4U]

Honey has a way of getting into concrete and fermenting.
Ernie

[Terry Small, Jr]

Our extractor pumps into an 800 gallon heated tank to be loaded into barrels. Company policy, as sternly my employer informed me, is that the person loading barrels NEVER leaves the valve unattended. If it is open, your eyes are on it.

This is a 4" pipe fitting coming from the tank to a gate valve. It fills a 55 gallon barrel of warm honey in a hurry. It makes a mess that can never be described even quicker.