Preventing an extractor from walking?

[Adrian Quiney WI]

I took my extractor for a spin, I extracted my first medium super .
My question is, other than bolting it to the floor what methods do people use to prevent it walking away? It's a Maxant 10/20.
It has bolt holes in the 3 feet, and I was thinking of bolting those to a wooden base and then rested my 105 pounds of John Deere tractor weights on the wood. Is that enough weight? What do other folks do?
Thanks, Adrian.

[sqkcrk]

Instead of bolts, use lag screws. I bet it'll still walk on you w/ themethod you are thinking about using. Or you will have to use so many tractor weights that they will be in your way.

But, maybe you will be successful. Try it and let us know.

[beemandan]

I have a small one (9 frame) that's bolted to a pallet.

[MAXANT]

With the 1400 series I would get a piece of 4x4 sheet of 3/4 or 1 inch plywood, run 3 bolts through the underside. Then set the extractor leg hole tabs over the bolts. Tighten down with some wingnuts for quick and easy removal. You now have a larger surface area for stability. If you want to get a little more creative you can take some weights and set them underneath the exctractor.
If you are in a spot that the extractor will stay, then you may consider lags through the floor.

[sqkcrk]

Maybe sand ags would be better than tractor weights. then if you stubbed your toe against the weight it wouldn't hurt as much.
Just a thought.

[Bradley_Bee]

I have an older 50 frame Root Extractor. Its mounted on a wooden base and the base is also secured into the cement floor

[Barry]

Anytime you have an extractor up on legs, you will be fighting the turning force. The most stable extractors I've seen don't have legs. Take the legs off and mount it directly to a solid base, high enough off the floor for a bucket to fit under. A nice wooden platform works well.

[dixie_beek]

I have the Maxant 1400PL. I have had no problem with extractor walking and I don't have it anchored. Just start the extraction slowly and give the load time to balance itself, then you can run wide open with no walking or knocking.

[StevenG]

I too took my extractor for a spin two weeks ago... new 20 frame Dadant. On a stand, not bolted down. It didn't walk. I balanced the frames as I loaded the extractor, then started it out slow, built up speed as the frames continued to become more balanced. Minimum vibration, no walking.

My cappings spinner is another story, however.
Regards,
Steven

[Fuzzy]

Guys, guys, guys....

Give up on all the bolts, plates, and weights. Instead secure machine to a sheet of heavy plywood AND then bolt 3 large swivel caster wheel in a triangle pattern around the outside of legs (like for a furniture dollies ).

It is counter-intuitive I know. BUT IT REALLY WORKS!!! The machine will wobble gently as it spins up. The faster you spin, the less it wobbles. It will certainly want to move around the floor but gentle hand pressure is all it will take to keep it in one place. This also takes the pressure off of the extractor bearings and they will last much longer -- probably forever.

Give it a try -- Fuzzy

[hemichuck]

I have a Kelley 3 frame(3 deeps,3 mediums or 6 shallows) that I put a motor on and I mounted it on a piece of 3/4 plywood with a stainless steel tray over it and I mounted the 3 legs on old automotive valve springs and used the spring retainers as washers.I also added 4 wheels to the bottom so I could roll it outside for the bees to clean.I used it last week and it would spin so fast that the comb would bend in the frames(still trying to work out the pulley ratio)but I didnt have a lot of vibration problems.

[bermybee]

Here you go. 60 framer, extracted 1,000 gallons so far with this set up, has not moved or wobbled an inch. Bolts are countersunk in with large washes from underneath the concrete slabs. One day I'll cut off the excess.

Remember even the best plugs will not catch concrete floor 100% of the time. and don't forget where your plumbing or electrical runs before you start drilling.

http://s562.photobucket.com/albums/s...1.jpg&newest=1

[Swobee]

Maybe an old shoe on each leg would help it. If it walks with a limp, you've got it out of balance. Well, I t hought it was funny, but I've been sweating in attics all day long so far and think my brain is fried.

[ekrouse]

Fuzzy,

I like the 3 caster approach. My only question is that I keep a bucket under the gate so the honey flows out during the extraction and doesn't build up to dangerous levels in the extractor. How do you keep the wheel based unit from moving away from the bucket? Or does the bucket sit on the base so it moves too?

ekrouse

[ekrouse]

Adrian,

Currently I have a Dadant 6-12 extractor. I use a half sheet of 3/4 Inch plywood (larger and thicker would be better). I use wood nuts (the kind with teeth to grip the wood) on the underside so it sits flush to the floor. Then I bolt the stand's legs down through the plywood base and into the wood nuts. That way I can easily remove the base when I'm done for storage. I weight the base down with anything I have handy... a bag of quick-kreet concrete, a piece of railroad rail, and some concrete bricks. Works well if you take the approach mentioned above.... balance your load and start out slow. With that said I may try the 3-wheel approach mentioned previously.

[Fuzzy]

Ekrouse,

I made sure the base was large enough for the bucket to rest on also. You will find, with a highly imbalanced load that a bucket with little or no honey will vibrate and move around. I have been known to "duct tape" the bucket to the deck.

I'll warn you now... if you try the wheels you'll never go back.

Fuzzy

[beehive]

i used rubber suction cup that had bolts in them that i mounted them to the feet and it ran so smooth. i got the suction cups from cabelas it was for a french fry makers ar something.

[stoweski]

I'm building a wall cabinet/countertop area in my sugarshack/honey house. I plan on mounting the legs to 2 2x4's that run under the cabinet about 3' in each direction. I'm going to use tie down straps to secure the extractor to keep it from wobbling/shaking. These will be attached to the wall... and possibly the front of the cabinets or even the top of the countertop with "U" bolts. I don't see how messing with just the legs will keep it from wobbling around unless you go through concrete.

when it finally cools down and becomes less humid I'll get around to it and finally test it out. Maybe we'll have some decent weather come December!

[NowThen]

Here's my Maxant 1400P. It's bolted to 3/4" plywood on a 4x4 frame (there's a stringer in the middle too.). Fuzzy's right. Start it slow. Let it balance. Smooth as silk.

http://s404.photobucket.com/albums/p...=iphone101.jpg

[Fuzzy]

Nice job NowThen.

The real test is spinning out that last orphan frame. It is a balance nightmare but works great with the wheels.