What extractor to buy?

[Orion]

I would like to buy a small radial extractor. I think 4-6 frames is fine. What do you feel is a good extractor for the price? I look at all of the and just don't know what the better ones would be.

Thanks in advance. Jim

[Ross]

Get a 9/18. The cost is almost the same and the size isn't much different. They are much more versatile and more choices.

[clintonbemrose]

It will depend on how many hives you expect to have in 5 years so you do not need to up grade to a larger extractor in several years. Try to project forward and think out your possibilite are. The 9/18 is a fine extractor for 10 to 20 hives. If you have more than 5 hives you might want one with a motor.
Clint

[GaSteve]

>What do you feel is a good extractor for the price?

Get one about twice as big as you think you need. You'll probably need the capacity later. Also, get the ones that are easily repairable. I talked to a lot of folks before I bought mine and most agreed that Kelley's are the easiest to repair. Others take special expensive motors, controllers, etc.

Used ones can be a good deal. They seem to hold their value well.

[Michael Bush]

I held out until I could get a 9/18 radial. It just fits comfortably through my kitchen door and I wouldn't have it any other way. For 26 years I just did crush and strain. That worked fine too when I couldn't afford the extractor. I'd hold out for either a large one or a cheap used one.

[Focus on Bees]

Ok, now I might be missing something, but why do the extractors have odd numbers instead of like say a 10/20 ? Ya know most people have ten frame hives, so why do only 9 frames instead of ten ???? :confused:

[beedeetee]

I suspect that most people use 9 frames in their honey supers. I do. They are much easier to uncap.

[shughes]

out of curiosity, how many hives are individuals running with the 9/18 and 20 frame extractors? I currently have a 9 frame hand crank radial I use (worked great for half dozen hives last year) but I am wondering how much I will like a hand crank after extracting 25+ medium supers this year now that my operation has grown.

[Joel]

25 hives X 3 sometime 4 supers in a season X 9 frames might mean 800-900 frames of honey to extract at the end of the season. 18 frames means 40-50 loads a season. If you've gotten to 25 the jump to 40 or 50 hives is probably in your future.

I would think about a good used 20/40. We have run Maxant for 10 yrs and are pleased with the unit but parts and support have been difficult. It's good to think about where you plan to go with Bees because if you want to grow it doesn't take much at the 25 hive level to make some quick increase. We have made several small jumps that looking back would have been better advised to get bigger than what we thought we needed at the time.

[Jeffzhear]

I suspect that most people use 9 frames in their honey supers. I do. They are much easier to uncap.

I use nine frames in honey supers also....and I have a Dadant 20/40 Stainless...and am very happy with it.

[Ross]

I have an older Dadant 20 because that's what I found at a good price. Otherwise I would have probably bought a 9/18 at some point.