Honey bottler

**Grant** · 07-12-2011, 09:08 PM

I'm still using 5-gallon buckets with honey gates to bottle. I bottle at room temperature and it works for me.

I am considering a water-jacketed, heated bottler. How many of you use one of these? What temperature do you keep the heater? What size do you use?

Grant
Jackson, MO

**sqkcrk** · 07-13-2011, 05:16 AM

I have two 25 gallon/300lb Maxant Bottling Tanks. I love them. Especially the new dripless spout. I like the old thermometer better. It's easiert to read than the new one.

I only have heat on it when I am going to use it. Though I will have it set low over night so it doesn't take so long to get up to temp the next morning.

I warm my honey to 140 degrees in the one tank, so I can liquify what is crystalized and strain the honey thru a nylon cloth. Then the honey goes into the other tank for bottling at 110 degrees.

I unplug the tanks when not in use. I haven't installed the new heat controllers yet. Maybe they will completely shut off when turned down all the way. Pulliung the plug gaurantees no heat.

**Grant** · 07-18-2011, 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by sqkcrk

I warm my honey to 140 degrees in the one tank, so I can liquify what is crystalized and strain the honey thru a nylon cloth. Then the honey goes into the other tank for bottling at 110 degrees.

How do you transfer honey from one tank to the other? I like the sound of your set up.

Grant
Jackson, MO

**sqkcrk** · 07-18-2011, 07:20 PM

I warm the honey in one tank and strain that honey into buckets thru nylon cloth. Then the honey is dumped manually into the second bottling tank.

**MAXANT** · 07-18-2011, 09:26 PM

Just make sure you have a pail perch to ease the pain! No one likes holding a bucket waiting for every last bit to drain!

**sqkcrk** · 07-19-2011, 07:00 AM

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention those. I have four. Two for each tank.

I like the ones I got from Maxant, but really prefer the ones I already had. They are made w/ two straight L shaped parts for the bucket to stand on. I don't put the bucket down in the crook of the L but up on the end of the L, which keeps honey off of the Perch, mostly.

Both kind work well for me.

I also find a good spatula is necassary to get the last of the honey from the bucket. And, for buckets of crystallized or partialy crystalized honey I have an aluminum Ice Cream Paddle. Which is much better than a spoon. Which I have used also.

**candlaman** · 07-19-2011, 07:20 PM

I have the small Maxant (15 Gal.?). Have used it for 3-4 years. LOVE it. I keep the temp about 110 while bottling but unplug it when not bottling.

**StevenG** · 07-25-2011, 08:14 AM

I just bought the Walter T. Kelley jacketed tank, so what I'm hearing is great news. I plan to build a bottling table out of 2x4's and plywood, with shelves under the tank. Will have the tank set on top, and two fold-up shelves set lower in front of it. I can sit between the two shelves, empty bottles on the left, fill, put them on the shelf on the right. When not in use, I fold down the shelves, and roll the tank out of the way.
Regards,
Steven

**beemandan** · 08-04-2011, 08:04 AM

I have a Maxant 25gal bottling tank.
It does double duty.
I don't use any heat when bottling honey....unless the honey has crystallized. Then I'll heat to about 130.
I also use it to mix sugar/syrup. For 1:1 I add 12gal of water (3gal pail x 4), heat to about 150 F, pour in 100lbs of sugar, stir and allow it to cool. Makes about 20 gallons of syrup. I 'bottle' my syrup into 1 gallon baggies....a bit more than half a gallon in each.