Filtering system?

[Preston]

This is the first year that my girls produced enough honey to harvest so I'm getting everything together. Out of my six hives, I have two that produced a surplus. My question is about the different filtering systems. In the new Brushy Mtn. flyer they have the 5-gallon filtering system and the stainless steel double sieve on sale. Would I be able to use just the 5-gallon filter or do I also need to get the double sieve to adequately filter the honey? I'm trying to save a little money and don't want to buy more than I need at this point.
Thanks.

Preston

[kwest]

my first year i just filtered through a pair of nylons. it works just fine. now i use the the 5 gallon bucket from mann lake with the 3 filters. they are plastic filters and i only use the coursest one. it or the nylons work good.

[Vance G]

You can just use the five gallon bucket with filters if that is what you want to call them. What I would recommend for the minimal setup is going to the grocery store cake and bakery department and buying a couple used five gallon buckets with lids. A dollar or two apiece. I think Brushy and others have the same gate for under $8 that turns a bucket into a $20 bucket when installed. If you can cut a hole in a bucket, you have just saved $11. With that $11 you can buy two more buckets and some cheesecloth. If you are going to extract, catch your honey in one of the buckets without the gate. Keep it clean and set it in your car or sweltering hot lawn shed for a day. Now steal your wifes collander and line it with cheese cloth and pour the solar warmed honey thu the cheese cloth into a clean bucket and repeat process another day if much wax and little black flecks of bee cocoons made it thru the cheesecloth. Pour it back thru cheese cloth into bucket with the gate on it and put it back in car or lawn shed till the wax rises to the top and bottle from the gate. I think you are out of luck on the buckets with filters. I was told they were back ordered. I am not against them, you said you wanted to do it cheap! If you are in the crush and strain business, you need more cheesecloth and lots of hot water to clean up the %#@** MESS.

[StevenG]

If you're cheap, get the 5 gallon buckets as advised, then go to Wally World, get some large kitchen strainers, maybe one per bucket. Wash some nylon hose, slice them, lay them over the strainer, and filter your honey that way. Cheesecloth works, but it frequently leaves fine lint in the honey. Or buy the filter cloth some supply houses sell.
Regards,
Steven

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Gravity works good - all the bad stuff floats to the top if you let it sit a few hours and draw off the bottom. I never had a complaint in 40 years. Less air and lint is introduced into the honey without straining.

[HEV261]

Wallyworld will give you the 5 gal plastic buckets at the bakery the will give what the have or ask them to save for you. don't use cheese cloth to much lint. i have found those hair net food handlers have to wear works fine can get for a little of nothing. the will fit over a 5gal bucket top ,use closepins around side to hold in place my 2cents

[Dana]

I use 2 five gallon buckets like this: http://www.bushfarms.com/beesharvest.htm#crushandstrain and use a paint strainer in the top bucket.

[Preston]

Thanks everyone for the advice and great ideas to save me some money. I have almost $1K into this hobby and have yet to see any profit. Not that I started beekeeping to make money; I personally like working with my bees but my "banker" is starting to question why this is such an expensive hobby. Thanks again for all the tips.

Preston

[StevenG]

Preston, you've only got $1k invested with no profit yet? Such a piker!
My co-banker asked me this past spring how much we had tied up in the bees.... reminded her the first time we got into bees in the '70's it took 5 years to show a profit (in the third year income exceeded expenses, but took the other two years to cover all the outlay). And then I said to her "Ask me in three years and I'll tell you."

She'd collect my life insurance if she had any idea how much I have invested so far. I hope this year to break even. Might start showing profit in two years.

Oh, and just remember, beekeeping is like farming, you get good years and you get bad years. Expenses keep going in the bad years.
Regards,
Steven

[HONEYDEW]

I have almost $1K into this hobby and have yet to see any profit. Preston

If you wanted a profit you should have just saved the 1000.00 and not started beekeeping....

[PCM]

I believe you are talking about straining your honey, not filtering.

Filtering is done under pressure with a pump, much like the oil in your car.

Filtering honey can become quite a expensive process.

PCM

[Grant]

If you really want cheap, pick up a large collander from the Dollar store. They have some large enough to fit over the top of a five gallon bucket. Buy some panty hose for a buck. Tie the legs off at the thigh and cut off the leg. Use this to line the collander.

Two bucks and change with sales tax.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[Fuzzy]

'I have almost $1K into this hobby and have yet to see any profit."

Darn, I've made my entire investment back every year after the 1st one. Not sure why everyone else doesn't. And I'm not even trying.

[odfrank]

Unlike us, they are not in an area where you throw any old swarm in a box and it fills five surplus boxes. The problem we have here now is every first year hobbiest is taking his/her several hundred pound crop to every new local farmers market and flooding the market. The new swarm chasers in town are so desperate for market honey they are selling the stuff they take out of cutout jobs with unknown possible poison contamination.