Extractor speed (RPM'S)

[paulka]

Regarding Radial extractors, Do any of you with the big powered units know at what RPM you need to run them at to get good clean extraction?

If you do I would also like to know the diameter of the extractor or its manufacturer/model number.

Can anyone out there help me with this bit of information?
Thanks,
Paul

[The Honey House]

Define big.

When I was building my twenty frame, I spoke with Rick at Maxant and
he said that his extractors went 475RPM (He was refering to thier 1400 model)
I went to 400 and got good clean frames.

[paulka]

The Honey House,

What is the diameter of your extractor?
How far is it from the center axle to the top bar of the frame?

at 400RPMs this information will determine the force exerted on the frames.

Paul

[Ross]

If at all possible, make it variable. It pays to start slow then speed up to prevent comb blowout.

[The Honey House]

The Honey House,

What is the diameter of your extractor?
How far is it from the center axle to the top bar of the frame?

at 400RPMs this information will determine the force exerted on the frames.

Paul

The diameter was 23"
The very top of frame rested against the inside of a wire cage so I
would say it was slightly less than 23" (22.+15/16")
I also used a Zero-Max drive unit which gave me >0 to 400 RPM< with a 1725 RPM general purpose motor.


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For all you "ME" types out there (I went the EE route)

My Maxant has a 1725 RPM motor.
It spins a pulley that is 1.75" in diameter.
This pulley is connected via a belt to a 5" diameter pulley.
This 5" pulley drives a 2.5" pulley via a slip clutch.
This 2.5" pulley is connected via a belt to a 5" pulley.

Some one can figure the RPM.

[paulka]

The Honey House,

By my calculations your top speed should be 301.875 RPM's.

I am assuming the following-
1. you are extracting Medium frames
2. The 23 inches is the diameter and not the radius.
3. there is no slippage int he clutch when it gets to full speed.
4. you are extracting at full speed.

One unknown variable is how long you run it. You should be able to get similar results by running at lower speed for a longer time. But time is money for a business.

After spending some time on the web sites of companies that make lab centrifuges I came up with the following information.
The reason for doing this is I don't want to run my extractor any faster than I have to in order to get good results. And also to minimize the stress on my frames and wax.

Results are for a radial extractor you described are-

For your extractor running at full speed the g force at the top bar is 25 and at the bottom bar it is 10 with a delta of 15.

On my extractor which is a little smaller I will have to go up 425 RPM's to reach the same g force on the bottom bar as you have. However this will take the top bar G force up to 45.

You have a delta of 15 across the frame and will have a delta of 35.

IF (big IF) in order to get the honey out of the cells nearest the bottom board, I really need a g force of 10, I wonder if the wax will hold up to the stress of a 35 g delta.

What I am trying to find out is how fast do I really need to run my extractor?

A by product of my research is that I discovered that if you use a 50 inch radial extractor you would only have to run it at 150 RPM's to get a g force of 10 on the bottom board and the the top board would be a g force of 14 so the delta would only be 4.

A big extractor will not only process more frames, but it is also easier on the frames and wax.

Note the other extractor you described

Would need to be run at about 225 RPM's and it would have a delta of about 8.

If you did run it at 475 you would have 50 gs at the Bottom board and 88 at the top board.

Interesting info, I would like to hear what the diameter and RPMs other people are having good extraction results with.

Paul