How to decrystallize honey good enough so it can go through a strainer

[sammyjay]

Hi, I was wondering, is there a way I can decrystallize honey good enough so that it can go through a honey strainer? I'm wondering because some honey crystallized before it could be strained.


Nathan

[mike haney]

you just need to heat it. above 120 or so i believe you start to lose/destroy enzimes, so be careful of the temps and stir constantly and heat slowly.

[sqkcrk]

Do you have a way to warm the honey in its' present container? Warm it to 100 degrees. You may have to hold it there to get the whole batch liquid. After straining, it will recrystalize so get it bottled soon.

[sammyjay]

Do you have a way to warm the honey in its' present container?

I think their might be. What are the advantages of heating it in the container it's in?


Nathan

[sqkcrk]

You don't have to dig it out and warm it in another container?

What is it in at this time? How big a container are we talking about?

[sammyjay]

What is it in at this time?

It's in a rather low quality plastic pail. However, there's a heavy duty pail designed for feeding sugar syrup that I could put it in if being in a low quality pail is a problem.

How big a container are we talking about?

It's in a 2 1/2 gallon pail. It's mostly full.

[rweakley]

If you have time and don't mind waiting. I have used a heating pad (like for sore muscles) to liquify the honey. In plastic jars I use it on the low heating wrapped around the jars and it liquifys totally solid honey in about 12 hrs, never going over about 105. Try putting the heating pad under the pail and leaving it over night and checking it. With a pail of honey you may need to stir it occasionally or use the medium setting.

[rob brown]

i have a roasting pan with the tempeture on it, i use this for jars, plastic bottles and buckets. set my containers it there fill with water and let it go to work. also use a crock pot for smaller quanities, works well

[JohnK and Sheri]

An easy way is to use the heating pads designed for small animals. They heat to about 90F so while it may take a day or two to liquify a larger container, it will not scorch the honey. Put a styrofoam box over the pad and your honey so the heat stays inside.
Sheri

[Myron Denny]

We have a producer that has an old refrigerator that the unit quit on. He has arranged the shelves so he can place his problem honey above a 60 watt light bulb in winter or a 20 watt bulb in the summer. His method works very well. If I was to refine this I would put a thermostat in the box to control the heat at near 100 degrees. I also thought about using this same box with a small "milk house heater" in it. The down side to this is you can overload the shelves if you have quart jars.