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600 hive operation extractor options

26K views 52 replies 24 participants last post by  KevinR 
#1 ·
hi there,


Sold my old extractor last fall. Run 600 colonies and plan on staying around this number. Looking to buy. Can any commercial tell me the best extractor to get for my money? Also how well it works for them.
Waited to the last second; so hope its not too hard to get my hands on something.

Thanks,
 
#5 ·
I have heard from more than one source that the old Hubbard's are probably the best radial ever made but there are lots of good radials out there as they are essentially a pretty simple machine. If you have the space, the budget and pretty good frames it's pretty hard to beat a Cowen auto-load but as Honeyshack pointed out it will take quite awhile to get one in and set up. I was at their factory earlier in the summer and they were really booked up.
 
#6 ·
I have used an old Hubbard with the pegs for frame spacers in the bottom support hoop, and was not impressed. Back in the 60's we had a pair of extractors(friction drive, slide the wheel on the platter), Kelley's? that had notches with angled sides for the side bars to sit in , much nicer.

Crazy Roland
 
#8 ·
We use a 60 frame dadant that was new 2 seasons ago.Very well built machine-works well.Also run a maxant 50 frame that we put a new variable speed DC drive on. Serial# is 21. Bought it used and it is built like a tank. We spun 21 loads in about 5 hours on Friday.Not as effortless as a cowan auto loader, but much less money.We run 700 colonies.
Nick
 
#10 ·
A buddy of mine runs 550 hives and has two 72-frame radial Maxants. He and another beekeeper teamed up to rent a work room for carpentry and honey. The other guy buys all his honey, de-caps it, and processes it for sale at the local farmers' markets. He stays busy, and wishes it was two 144-frame units, as less process time means more selling time, and fewer frames sitting around for 3 days with beetle larvae making slime. Two other buy-and-sell companies nearby, non-beekeepers, one uses a single 60-frame unit, but I don't know how many hives she's buying from.
 
#12 ·
I don't know about the rest of the state, but I've had 4 kinds of them here the last 3 years, and a friend in Goleta gets them bad if he lets frames sit after taking them out of the hive. His hives spend a lot of time up around Buellton, too. It's a real drag when you make your living selling honey at the farmers' markets!
 
#14 ·
Just got a bee blast from Mann Lake. They have the 114 (102 segmented) frame extractor on sale for $4500. I have no experience with it other than what i read in their catalog, but I thought it might be helpful for ya to know since your looking.

If anyone uses this extractor I would also greatly appreciate your thoughts on it. Not that I'm planning on buying one today, but you never know about tomorrow. Its hard to pass up a sale on power equipment and another extractor would help the extraction process go much faster.
 
#23 ·
Go with a Cowen 28 or 60 frame extractor system. You won't be sorry and it's complete...solid construction and good people to boot.
My partner has a cowen 60 and swears by it. I have a maxant 20 frame but, will be going up in the next few years and need to go big. So will be looking at a 60 also. Let me know what you decide. You cant go wrong with a Maxant or Cowen in my opinion. Stear clear of the Mann Lake stuff it is Chinese and you wont be able to read the instructions. :)
 
#19 ·
Dancing Bee - Congrats! and good luck. I'd like to hear about how many frames processed in how much time with all these different setups! We have a chance to learn something about efficiency before we buy, here on this thread...anybody???

bhfury - Yes, SHB's, western hive beetles, some slightly larger brownish ones with tiny heads and small antennae, and some beautiful green beetles with polka dots. The hive beetles and Western hive beetles are the main problems. Find any better trap bait than veggie oil?

Another neat trick - putting a black widow spider in the hive tends to really keep down the wax moths. Just watch out for her and wear your gloves. She'll only eat a few bees a year, and doesn't seem to ever get the queen.
 
#28 ·
Dancing Bee - Congrats! and good luck. I'd like to hear about how many frames processed in how much time with all these different setups! We have a chance to learn something about efficiency before we buy, here on this thread...anybody???

bhfury - Yes, SHB's, western hive beetles, some slightly larger brownish ones with tiny heads and small antennae, and some beautiful green beetles with polka dots. The hive beetles and Western hive beetles are the main problems. Find any better trap bait than veggie oil?

Another neat trick - putting a black widow spider in the hive tends to really keep down the wax moths. Just watch out for her and wear your gloves. She'll only eat a few bees a year, and doesn't seem to ever get the queen.[/QUOTE
Black widow there's already enough things to worry about !
 
#20 ·
Hey Kilocharlie-
Intentionally putting or leaving Black Widow spiders in the hive does not pass my personal risk-benefit analysis. I have treated several patients with Black Widow spider bites and some got infections and other problems. Around here, the little buggers are just waiting to bite the back of your hand when you move the lumber pile. Also, my wife would kill me if I got bitten by one that I had allowed to stay in the hive!
 
#24 ·
We have a Cowen 60 Air. I wish it was about 18 inches longer, it doesn't allow enough comfortable space to have two people scratching frames after they come out of the uncapper. I highly recommend the deboxer. This was, I think the 8th season, and one of the air valves quit functioning properly on the last day of extracting for the season, so overall, very trouble free. It holds 58 frames and not 60. We've been able to extract about 350 supers per 8 hour day roughly 18-20 drums.
 
#25 · (Edited by Moderator)
We've been able to extract about 350 supers per 8 hour day roughly 18-20 drums.
That equates to about an 8 minutes from start to start and more like 6 minutes start to stop. You have found that to be sufficient run time?
 
#29 ·
You will gain some but maybe not that much considering where you are now. We run a C&B 120 and about 70 to 75 (9 frame) boxes per hour is about all I like to try to push through them and still have stuff coming out dry. A bit slower if the honey is dryer and a bit faster if the honey is thinner. That is about 10 minutes start to start with about 1 1/2 minute change times.
 
#31 ·
Yeah I am sure it would. I don't happen to have a boiler and didn't really want to make the honey house even warmer but this summer it would have most certainly paid for itself. Most years we get by just fine without it.
 
#34 ·
Ian: guess I wasn't clear that I was talking mediums which will run through the large Cowen when properly set at about 1,000 combs an hour deeps should run about 700 combs per hour maximum (Cowens website claims 80 boxes) . My experience is that if the honey isnt too thick and you have 3 really busy workers it is doable at least for a time. Realistically though for us it's tough for us to get much over 75 per hour on average as the Cowen spinner can slow things down and of course there is always the occasional jammed frame and all the other stuff that happens in an extracting room.
 
#35 ·
Hi Ian
There are several large beekeepers who run multiple 60s. The argument goes on and on about which is better. I like my 120. What do you tell a guy who has 3 cowen 60s??? My smart mouth comment is "Didn't you have the money to buy the 120s?"
If the 60 is working for you without stopping the uncapper, you have nothing to gain.
 
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