Under what conditions does one decide which mesh filter to use on newly harvested honey? I have 200, 400 and 600 micron filters that came as a kit and the 600 mesh appears to filter out really well so why would I use the 400 and 200 sizes? Thanks...
Strainers, they're strainers. Aren't they? Metal screens? Filters are much finer. Some made so the honey has to go thru diatomecous earth, heated and under pressure.
I can't tell you the technical differences, but the terms "strain" and "filter" are ones which mean somewhat different things.
If you are strapped for time, use the 600, if not the finer the mesh the clearer the honey. I use the 200 without heating but I'm not straining over 50 to 100 lbs at a go round.
Strain is the correct term. Filtering, especially ultra-filtering is being prosecuted in Florida and other states that have honey laws. The feds are seeking additional revenue also. It is all the result of illegal Chinese importation, but every law was made from someone cheating or being stupid. The good news is Florida beekeepers can bottle and sell honey under the Cottage Food Law up to $15,000 combined food sales from their back door, roadside stands and flea markets/ farmer's markets. Anything beyond that is netting Florida $5000 per violation and they "stop sale and hold" the product.
Remember that the finer you filter your honey the more goodness you'll lose such as pollen clear honey has almost none. So much for the nutrients when you heat it up also. Any time you use heat it changes the molecular composition of everything the heat touches. Like when you reheat coffee it gets that nasty taste far different from fresh brew.
Ok, I get the point that I am STRAINING the honey, not filtering. So since I am not filtering will the finest mesh strainer at 200 microns take out the pollen that I want to keep in the honey or is this only possible with filtering?
I STRAIN the honey through a 1/16 " sieve and all the pollen is in the honey - only the " bees knees" are gone....and my customers love it this way.No heating at all.
Most plant pollens are from 2.5 to 200 microns in diameter
(found this in one of my very old text books) so it looks as if my smallest mesh strainer at 200 microns would let the vast majority of pollen through the mesh.
I don't filter; I only strain @ 600micron to remove debris without removing the pollen.
time is indeed my friend - and my friend and I have decided to process in an efficient way so we can do other things than skim honey (which accomplishes the same thing with more work).
Not trying to make too big a distinction out of it but "filtering" is forcing a liquid under high pressure (that has usually previously been strained) through a cartridge or tube containing a filtering medium that will remove foreign matter as small as 10 or 20 microns, sometimes smaller.
Example: The motor oil in you automobile is both strained to keep large foreign objects from damaging the oil pump, as well as filtered by an oil filter that catches and removes much smaller material that is pumped through the filter under high pressure by the oil pump. Straining and filtering honey is similar to the lubercation system of your autobobile in this reguard.
Time is money. The finner the screen the longer it takes to flow through the screen. So you may not have time for 50lbs of honey to strain through 600 mesh right out of the extractor.
So instead you run it through 200 mesh out of the extractor which flows at a good rate. Later you move to another setup were you have 400 or 600 mesh and can let it sit over night and strain.
Personally i went with one shot 400 and was happy with the results.
Filter, strain, there is no difference. Straining is filtering. The only difference is to what degree. When you are straining you are using pressure it is called gravitation pull which decreases by the volume. Neither requires heat. Heat just makes it faster by lowering the viscosity of the honey.
There is a difference. One doesn't strain coffee, they filter it, otherwise we would have coffee grinds between our teeth. One doesn't install an oil strainer on their car for obvious reasons. At least I thought they were obvious. #1 Bird, where do you buy your oil strainer for your vehicle?
Okay then, it's an industry technicality, or technical term. Strainers are of courser mesh, filters finer. You will never find a strainer made from layers of cylindrically confined discs layered w/ diatomecous earth, which requires honey to be heated and FORCED thru by pressure, not the pressure of gravity, but artificially applied pressure.
What almost all beekeepers do is straining. Nylon bags, nylon cloth, and metal wire mesh bowls are strainers.
Terms commonly used amongst beekeepers, those who are small scale on up to those who are commercial, help us to communicate a common understanding. We can argue the point, but, after a while, we should quit doing so and come to a consensus. I am of the camp which thinks these things have already been settled and that those new to the industry should learn the already established lingo. In some ways similar to when someone moves to a new country and learns the language rather than insisting that those where they have moved to accomodate them.
Well, After all this great discussion I decided to "strain" some honey I harvested yesterday. It was already strained with a 600 micron sieve right out of the extractor. I ran 2 gallons through a 400 micron sieve and two gallons through the finer 200 micron sieve. There were no percievable flecks of residue seen with the naked eye with the 400 micron and 200 micron sieves but under a 35 power hand lens there were many wax flecks seen in the honey left in the sieve at 200 microns. I assume how much one feels they need to filter is up to each individual and their time on a project. YMMV
Here is a bit of a different answer to the question. Also straining and filtering both are targeted at the same object. to remove unwanted particles. but they are different in the scale of particles they will remove as well as the mechanics of the process required.
I use these strainers of a purpose other than honey. One that actually allows you to see the size of particle that is passing the strainer mesh. 600 micron will allow a particle that is clearly visible to the naked eye and in fact would be felt on the tongue or mouth with ease. like a grain of sand. The 400 micron will allow only slightly visible and barely feel able particles to pass comparable more to flour. In my application these particles are so fine they cannot be dumped from a bowl from there own weight they simply cling to the plastic much like flour clings to everything it touches. I do not use the 200 micro in what I do but obviously there would be a comparable reduction in particle size. as was mentioned before you are getting down to pollen particle size.
You use two or more strainers/filters in series so the coarser materials are taken out before they get to the finer strainer/filter. This keeps the strainers/filters operating longer.
1) Jesus told some Pharisees "Ye...strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."
He did not say you filter at a gnat...
2) Unsure if anyone has ever attempted to strain a camel, but in the 60's or 70's - R.J. Reynolds filtered one.
I thought this to be beneficial to this discussion. Thank you.
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