What process do you use to clean an extractor after use.

[RABray]

I finally pulled the trigger on a Maxant 3100 extractor as my hives already have two and three full supers and working diligently on more. I did not think I would be able to keep up with it using crush and strain. I am making boxes like crazy also trying to stay ahead of the girls. Anyway; I have never owned an extractor before nor have I seen them used so I am wondering what people do for cleaning after use. Do people dismantle the unit and scrub all the surfaces or just run a good cleaning material over all the surfaces and rinse? Seems like a dumb question looking at it now but I really do not want to mess this up doing too little or waste efforts doing to much. Thank you in advance for your answers.

[Dubuquer]

Garden hose - just clean water.

[Keth Comollo]

Yeah, garden hose works great. I personally will give the girls a day or two to clean it out themselves. Just leave it outside the honey shack for a day or two and they will clean out most everything.

[RABray]

Thank you.

[sqkcrk]

Yup, water. Hot water will work faster, of course. But, just water.

[zookeeper]

I have a Maxant 3100 also, and I take the motor off and rinse it out in our shower. Hot water works MUCH better than cold. Definitely make sure there's a screen over your drain to catch the wax though!!!

[sqkcrk]

Why would you rinse your extractor motor off in the shower. That doesn't seem like a good idea.

[Luke]

Any time I leave wax or honey out for the bees to clean up all hell breaks loose. I rinse mine out with warm water.

[zookeeper]

LOL I didn't phrase that very well did I? I take the motor off so it doesn't get wet, then put the EXTRACTOR in the shower. :-)

[sqkcrk]

Oh. I see.

Thought so. I just thought it a funny thing. lol

[RABray]

LOL I am sure the "it" was the extractor and not the motor.

I suspect putting the extractor in the shower might put me over the threshold for my wife.

[beemandan]

Just to add two cents. I clean mine first using cold water. An old beekeeper recommended this to me some years ago. His theory was that you remove most of the wax with the cold water. If you start with hot, some of the wax will soften and find nooks and crannies to get stuck in. And in an extractor there are plenty of places for that.
Again, just my two cents.

[NasalSponge]

I throw mine in the back of my truck and head down to the car wash where I give it a good spraying down. I cover the motor with a plastic bag.

[Acebird]

Are you asking an FDA inspector or are you concerned about ruining the extractor?
I use a plastic barrel which might be easier to clean than stainless steel judging on how the wax and propolis sticks to the pots I use. First the bees feast and then a cold water rinse with a the garden hose. I little sanitizer and rinse before next use.

[taxonomy]

Let the bees clean it

Remove motor/basket

rinse with cold water and flake off what wax and propolis you can. The colder the water the better for this part.

leave in sun to heat up.

rinse with hot water.

[kbee]

I clean with cold water. then dry the inside and out before putting it away. I don't take the motor or basket off.

[MAXANT]

Let the bees clean it, then rinse out.
No need to take off the motor unless you
like to get a little wild with the hose.

[Roland]

Due to the risk of spreading disease, I would NOT recommend letting the bees clean it out. Don't get greedy for that little bit of honey, water works fine.

Crazy Roland

[schmism]

Due to the risk of spreading disease, I would NOT recommend letting the bees clean it out.

I suppose that depends on how many hives you have and how many out yards you have. For us hobiest with just a few hives sitting a few feet from each other, its unlikely that hive A has a disease that hive B doesnt. If you fall into that category, letting the girls clean out the extractor is certainly a good way to reduce lean up time and recycle a few cups of honey.

As to the method, i do like taxonomy post #15 said.

[notaclue]

Break it down then cold water then hot water, a little Dawn, rinse well, swish with bleach water, rinse well, dry, then cover and store then all I have to do is uncover and use next time. The longest part is the drying.