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Finally extracted our honey

40K views 101 replies 18 participants last post by  Acebird 
#1 ·
Well we finally got a Sunday free where we could extract our honey.
Not a big harvest this year but I aggressively split the one hive that made it through the 2011-2012 winter a couple of times and ended up with three active hives. I probably took honey on two hives that I shouldn’t have so if I loose two it may be to starvation or mites. Next spring we will see and learn.
Extractor improvements:
I changed the mounting of the 3 inch PVC center pipe using a toilet flange that was machined down and drilled to accept screws on the ceiling fan. This worked great. It uses a O-ring (normally for sealing) to drive the center tube which carries the frames on metal clips. A lexan plate covers the motor ventilation holes and acts as a slinger for any honey that drips on it.
The wooden top bearing brace was painted and a section was cut out to facilitate loading of the frames without removing the brace. Cabinet drawer ball bearings were added (4) to prevent chafing of the PVC on wood that happened in the prototype. The brace was also screwed to the plastic barrel so I did not have to hold it in like last year. It is now a hands off extractor. Some of you thought that was a big issue.
The wiring was run through the center of the PVC tube to eliminate the wire being in the path of the wet honey.
Four stainless angles were added to the bottom of the barrel as feet to lift the barrel so as not to touch in the center and give the system more stability. Of course shimmy is to be expected if frames of different weight are added in an unsymmetrical pattern. As you can see in the video these frames were pretty well matched.

http://s697.beta.photobucket.com/user/acebird1/media/Harvest2012024_zps45b2bcc4.mp4.html


http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Harvest2012019_zps21f79175.jpg
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Harvest2012018_zpsb941b6f3.jpg
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Harvest2012025_zps91816e56.jpg
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Harvest2012028_zpsaa539d9f.jpg
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/Harvest2012030_zps73791116.jpg
 
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#6 ·
Very impressive!

I was thinking of trying to build something similar , but was just too busy this summer when honey time came around.

I ended up buying a six frame stainless extractor for about $500.

What was your cost to build that?
Is that a motor designed for an extractor?

Again , impressive.
 
#8 ·
What was your cost to build that?
Is that a motor designed for an extractor?

Again , impressive.
Well if you are not going to get too technical including gas mileage and such I spent less than 20 bucks (mostly electrical fittings). The stainless steel stock I had in my basement but that is not more than 30 bucks.
The motor is a ceiling fan motor which is perfect for the application as long as you don't let any honey get in it. The slinger disc and toilet flange worked perfect. This time we barely got honey on the floor.
My biggest issue was a lot of the honey that was crystallized in the comb. This created some shimming as you would expect as the frames emptied but was still able to run hands off. I just didn't leave the room like I did on the first batch you see in the video.

Squarepeg, the honey is like last year, heaven.:)
 
#11 ·
No, a ceiling fan motor does not have enough torque to handle much friction so you either have to hang it like it is when it is used as a fan or you have to set the frame rotor on top of the motor like I did. However if you look at a typical cloths washer I think you could convert one into a honey extractor but you will not have much capacity. You would have to be draining the tank while the basket is spinning out honey.
Warning if you try this. Using a washing machine will be somewhat dangerous because the motor is more powerful and it is not a torque limiting device. You could easily take your arm off if you got caught up in it while it was spinning.
 
#16 ·
I probably should mention that the way I have constructed my extractor provides a lot of cooling air to the motor in the bottom. The frames act like fan blades. You can feel a considerable amount of air coming out of the barrel. The incoming air travels down the PVC center shaft going through the motor and then out the barrel along the outside edge. I run this extractor in the direction that the vanes in the motor will pull air down the tube. I don't know if the ceiling fan motor will keep cool if it were mounted on top or below the barrel.
 
#17 ·
The shaft will pass through the honey. Because of imbalance I would not use less than a 3/4 shaft. The bigger the shaft the more resistance going through the honey. The mounting of the bearings and the motor would not be adequate if the vessel was a plastic drum.
Your vessel is a plastic drum.... add a drain "la voila"

Secondly, the coupling. How will you couple a ceiling fan motor to this shaft without adding a whole lot of friction (relative to the torque capacity of the motor)?
A spline coupling...

Before you invested a lot of time in making one I would suggest trying it with the motor on top and a small bearing in the bottom and holding the motor by hand like some have done with a drill. This would prove that there is enough torque. Who knows, maybe you can get away with it.
I will leave the acrobatics to others...



I was replying for your benefit. Trust me, I'm not making an extractor. Unless of course I find a ceiling fan approved for food contact...:rolleyes:
 
#18 ·
Hi Ace
Very nice extractor in action! My concern regarding your design is how easy to clean it after use? My understanding is that you have to remove the motor, right? Also, do you use any bearings on top and bottom? If so, how you isolate them from honey and honey from grease? Sergey
 
#21 ·
The bottom bearing are the (2) motor bearings. Have you ever seen or heard of oil or grease drip down from a ceiling fan? Not likely in twenty years of operation. The top bearings are cabinet slide ball bearings (4). They have a plastic race and it is very unlikely that oil or grease will end up in the honey. The wooden support arms are painted white. Do you see anything coming from the bearings?
 
#22 ·
But I imagine there could be some sort of contamination to the honey since technically a ceiling fan motor is not food grade? And like what was asked, just how do you break down your extractor for cleaning, and out of curiosity, do you break down the fan motor to clean honey/wax and what ever else particles out of it?
 
#24 ·
But I imagine there could be some sort of contamination to the honey since technically a ceiling fan motor is not food grade?
Don't make me laugh BeeGhost. Are your frames food grade. Is anything in your hives food grade. Do you sterilize your honey after processing. Food grade is a joke for honey.
I don't break down the motor. I wipe the slinger disc and the brass mount down with a wet cloth.
 
#26 ·
I'm sorry Acebird, but you said food grade is a joke............yet you bashed my home made extractor because you said it would contaminate my honey? Just trying to clarify things as I believe you are as confused as I am with what your beliefs are?

So you don't clean the fan motor which contains last years extractions such as comb, propolis, insect parts and honey which has been fermenting and will be included in this years honey extraction?

Yummy.
 
#35 ·
Because I upload my photos to Photobucket and full resolution. If I insert them in the post as I did initially, Barry sends me nasty grams (forum rules). The point of photos is so you can see so why limit the resolution that is already uploaded and hosted on the internet?
 
#38 ·
Do you think the high resolution is necessary for snapshots?
There are those that are looking for fly crap in pepper. I like to let them have their fun.:D
The link takes up less band width then even a thumbnail so you could say I am more considerate on bandwidth than those that embed photos.

Has anyone had any problems using the links I provide?
 
#37 ·
I upload my photos to photobucket as well, then post them on here, haven't had a problem yet? The higher the resolution the more wasted space it takes up on this site, hence the reason for smaller pictures, and this and all other sites need the bandwidth for useful information, not high def pictures. I didn't post high resolution of my extractor because I didn't feel the need to polish a turd, the pictures just showed what I built, plain and simple.
 
#48 ·
How interesting would Lauri's posts be if she only had links? Not very... How much detail are we missing from her photos? None
I do not like the posts with a lot of pictures embedded - it makes reading difficult. Also it forces people to see something, which may be they do not want to see, for instance Lauri's pictures with killed animals - manifestation of human superiority! I find the uploading pictures at beesource confusing (to me!). I have no desire to re-size my images just for beesource. Links are essence of the WEB: hyperlink transfer protocol, so it is desirable to use links.
 
#40 · (Edited)
I don't worry about my posts being interesting after the first page. They usually get trashed by the same few people.
Lauri probably has as much a hobby in photography and wood working as she does with bees. She should do as she pleases if Barry is OK with it.
 
#41 ·
I don't worry about my posts being interesting after the first page. They usually get trashed by the same few people.
Lauri probably has as much a hobby in photography and wood working as he does with bees. He should do as he pleases if Barry is OK with it.
You are absolutely amazing... How many times do you need to be informed that Lauri is a woman?
 
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