Spin Float Seperators

We have a Cook n beals spin float and heat exchanger. The spin float runs great. Turn it on and go. It is loud and I would like to have a room built around it someday. We took the tray out from the bottom and put a barrel underneath that we cut down to fit to catch the wax. The only time you need to clean it out is if you run into some crystallized honey. We cleaned it out once durning the season this year right towards the end of 27 extractings. The heat exchanger gives me some fits sometimes at startup. Our honey house is unheated and the honey and wax during startup is pretty cold later in the season. Also I did have the power go out but I heard the spinner winding down and flipped the gates on it so saved it from having a big mess. This outfit has probabbly about paid for itself condidering we hardly have any melter honey anymore.

>>and really, a mess in the honey house? What's new about that.

ha ha ha

Very interesting talking to beekeepers about using this machine. Right up my alley. I think Im going to like this machine

Matt, do you still get a little melter honey out of the cappings? or did you totaly get rid of your melter honey.
Nick

Ian, the design of the spinner has not changed, its just like a cream separator. The new heat exchangers have an easy release cover on the intake end to clean it out. I clean it out each morning. The new spinners come with a sump which is nice and simple for setting up. If you are buying used, run it and if it is noisy, likely the bearings need to be replaced, the new ones have a grease bank for easy maintenance. My spinner runs very quiet, the uncapper is louder, keep it well greased, and it should stay that way. An old heat exchanger could have had water instead of oil in it and water corrodes it over time. Get some spare parts, ie: an O-ring kit for the heat exchanger.

Hey Nick. Yes we still get some I think we had a barrel or maybe barrel and half last year. Not much but a little.

really you still get that much? how many pounds of wax was that honey out of?
Nick

I expect to be well under 1/2 of 1 % with a well monitored Cowen spinner. Although on a low moisture year like this one we probably had a few instances when a really high volume of honey and a really impatient operator (usually me) resulted in some less than dry cappings getting unloaded.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jim lyon

We purchased our first Cowen spinner in the late 1980's and it served us real well for many years....

---

Jim,

I remember when you and grandpa first got that spinner; boy I thought that was pretty state of the art at the time. That sure lasted well for a lot of years and was a good machine as long as the guys extracting kept an eye on it once in a while.

Purchased the maxant this year. I have run the cook and beals in Florida the past few years. Did a great job. Only problem I have with it is you need the temperature of gthe honey at 102 and a little higher if dry to keep the air out. Since I. Bottle everything foggy honey is a issue...it is easy to run and use. I purchassed the maxan tbecause it is smaller and takes up less room. My honey extracting room was designed for a 44 frame Hubbard when I had 150 vpnies and was buying three semi loafs to bottle. So space is a issue. Also I didn't need to buy a heat exchanger shock is 6k or more. Down side is since its smaller around it is easier to get out of balance at start up.haven't used it much yet as it took me 3 times as long to make my room larger move electric and plumbing install drain under system fill pit and move drain then install a 60 frame cowen. End result is I have about 1200 boxes on the bees and another 600 I just pulled. I have used once...must start up at about 60 percent speed with a small stream at constant flow until it is full with honey coming out. Then speed up and let her go. Easy to operate u just have a learning curve. U
You must have a sump or tank for the honey to run into and pump it out to your tanks. So far honey is not foggy. And is ready to bottle. And yes if electric goes off hit dump valves. Best situation would be a two floor building with honey running down below. Will finish pulling this week...in two more weeks I should be well experienced. Both companies build great equipment.

Keep us posted suttonbeeman

I realize this is wandering off topic, but does anyone know if the spinfloat style separators remove ant pollen? It is important in light if the lawsuits in Florida and California over honey that has been ultra filtered. I can see the defense claiming that "Everyone" removes some pollen with a spinfloat type device.

Crazy Roland

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by suttonbeeman

Purchased the maxant this year. ......in two more weeks I should be well experienced. Both companies build great equipment.

---

Can you give us an update on this unit?

Could you give us an update? How did the Maxant work?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by suttonbeeman

Purchased the maxant this year. I have run the cook and beals in Florida the past few years. Did a great job. Only problem I have with it is you need the temperature of gthe honey at 102 and a little higher if dry to keep the air out. Since I. Bottle everything foggy honey is a issue...it is easy to run and use. I purchassed the maxan tbecause it is smaller and takes up less room. My honey extracting room was designed for a 44 frame Hubbard when I had 150 vpnies and was buying three semi loafs to bottle. So space is a issue. Also I didn't need to buy a heat exchanger shock is 6k or more. Down side is since its smaller around it is easier to get out of balance at start up.haven't used it much yet as it took me 3 times as long to make my room larger move electric and plumbing install drain under system fill pit and move drain then install a 60 frame cowen. End result is I have about 1200 boxes on the bees and another 600 I just pulled. I have used once...must start up at about 60 percent speed with a small stream at constant flow until it is full with honey coming out. Then speed up and let her go. Easy to operate u just have a learning curve. U
You must have a sump or tank for the honey to run into and pump it out to your tanks. So far honey is not foggy. And is ready to bottle. And yes if electric goes off hit dump valves. Best situation would be a two floor building with honey running down below. Will finish pulling this week...in two more weeks I should be well experienced. Both companies build great equipment.

---

Well I can say the maxant is definitely worth its weight in gold. Maxant does need a veido to help you learn how quicker. A fellow been in NY was of great help to me . Just gotta fine tune it. Start with pencil size stream at 60% speed. Honey I was running with was about 80 deg. When honey starts to come out outlet move cutter knives to about 25 percent cutting. (25% over from none). Speed up spinner to wide open...mine vibrates a little over 80 % so I'm running it there...need to figure that out. At end of day let machine run 15 minutes then cut wax by moving lever one notch at time all the was over AFTER closing to 55 %. Once wax is cut I slow spinner to 30% and open dump valves slowly then speed to 60 % to 80%. . Let run about 5 minutes and turn off. I turn water on knives when it starts cutting wax...turn off 30 minutes before shutdown. If you leave water on ...well its a mess...got watery honey so don't forget! Wax is dry ad powder...awesome

The C&B I have is 40 years old I have rebuilt once. On a good day we can run 22 barrels. This year was the worst in 40 years ran 22 barrels all year. Make sure knives are sharp and the heat exchanger is up to temp and run! It cuts wax all day. The capping are put straight into the wax melter to melt the next day. I check through out the day to make sure the cappings are dry and adjust the knives accordingly. If the honey temp is right and RPM on the is correct not much air in the honey. I run the water only when the knives are cutting. All the honey and cappings goes through spinner i have a sump for the honey and cappings then to a 2" moyno pump to the heat exchanger to the spinner. finnished honey to a small sump to the holding tank. I clean spinner every day.

do you pull the drum every day?

No, just reach in with your hand becareful not to get cut with the knives. And be sure to cut the wax down before you dump the honey at shut down. Then you can clean out the remaining wax. Only take the drum at the end of the year. Any wett capping you can rerun the next day.

how do you reach in? The machines I have seen are pretty well closed up

You reach in where the wax falls out. You need to make sure the knives screwed back. Don't lub the machine to much it as bad as not lubing enough. I lub once a year. I rebuilt the spin float in the mid 80's.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by suttonbeeman

Well I can say the maxant is definitely worth its weight in gold. Maxant does need a veido to help you learn how quicker. A fellow been in NY was of great help to me . Just gotta fine tune it. Start with pencil size stream at 60% speed. Honey I was running with was about 80 deg. When honey starts to come out outlet move cutter knives to about 25 percent cutting. (25% over from none). Speed up spinner to wide open...mine vibrates a little over 80 % so I'm running it there...need to figure that out. At end of day let machine run 15 minutes then cut wax by moving lever one notch at time all the was over AFTER closing to 55 %. Once wax is cut I slow spinner to 30% and open dump valves slowly then speed to 60 % to 80%. . Let run about 5 minutes and turn off. I turn water on knives when it starts cutting wax...turn off 30 minutes before shutdown. If you leave water on ...well its a mess...got watery honey so don't forget! Wax is dry ad powder...awesome

---

What were you putting through for volume in a day?