600 hive operation extractor options

[Dancing Bee Apiary]

hi there,


Sold my old extractor last fall. Run 600 colonies and plan on staying around this number. Looking to buy. Can any commercial tell me the best extractor to get for my money? Also how well it works for them.
Waited to the last second; so hope its not too hard to get my hands on something.

Thanks,

[sqkcrk]

What was the extractor you sold? How well did you like it? Maxcant. Cowen. Dadant. If you got tit shipped into Canada from the US would you have to pay duty on it? Maybe you want one from somewhere in Canada?

[honeyshack]

Check with Herb Issac sales on line. Beemaid Winnipeg has several adds up. I just ordered a cowen in line took two months to get to WPG (still waiting but the arrival date has not happend yet).

[Dancing Bee Apiary]

Just wondering what others are using with the size operation I have? Any models to avoid?

[jim lyon]

I have heard from more than one source that the old Hubbard's are probably the best radial ever made but there are lots of good radials out there as they are essentially a pretty simple machine. If you have the space, the budget and pretty good frames it's pretty hard to beat a Cowen auto-load but as Honeyshack pointed out it will take quite awhile to get one in and set up. I was at their factory earlier in the summer and they were really booked up.

[Roland]

I have used an old Hubbard with the pegs for frame spacers in the bottom support hoop, and was not impressed. Back in the 60's we had a pair of extractors(friction drive, slide the wheel on the platter), Kelley's? that had notches with angled sides for the side bars to sit in , much nicer.

Crazy Roland

[Dancing Bee Apiary]

I've found a used 60 frame s.s dadant for sale. Not sure the age or model yet. I've also found some older Kelly 60 frame extractors. Have not seen them yet. Looks like I have some long drives ahead just to have a look.

[funwithbees]

We use a 60 frame dadant that was new 2 seasons ago.Very well built machine-works well.Also run a maxant 50 frame that we put a new variable speed DC drive on. Serial# is 21. Bought it used and it is built like a tank. We spun 21 loads in about 5 hours on Friday.Not as effortless as a cowan auto loader, but much less money.We run 700 colonies.
Nick

[jim lyon]

We use a 60 frame dadant that was new 2 seasons ago.Very well built machine-works well.Also run a maxant 50 frame that we put a new variable speed DC drive on. Serial# is 21. Bought it used and it is built like a tank. We spun 21 loads in about 5 hours on Friday.Not as effortless as a cowan auto loader, but much less money.We run 700 colonies.
Nick

Good advice Nick. The challenge in any business is differentiating what you want from what you need.

[kilocharlie]

A buddy of mine runs 550 hives and has two 72-frame radial Maxants. He and another beekeeper teamed up to rent a work room for carpentry and honey. The other guy buys all his honey, de-caps it, and processes it for sale at the local farmers' markets. He stays busy, and wishes it was two 144-frame units, as less process time means more selling time, and fewer frames sitting around for 3 days with beetle larvae making slime. Two other buy-and-sell companies nearby, non-beekeepers, one uses a single 60-frame unit, but I don't know how many hives she's buying from.

[bhfury]

and fewer frames sitting around for 3 days with beetle larvae making slime.

Beetle larvae in California? Is that just a Central Coast thing?

[kilocharlie]

I don't know about the rest of the state, but I've had 4 kinds of them here the last 3 years, and a friend in Goleta gets them bad if he lets frames sit after taking them out of the hive. His hives spend a lot of time up around Buellton, too. It's a real drag when you make your living selling honey at the farmers' markets!

[bhfury]

Oh OK I thought you were talking about small hive beetles...

[Sweet to the Soul]

Just got a bee blast from Mann Lake. They have the 114 (102 segmented) frame extractor on sale for $4500. I have no experience with it other than what i read in their catalog, but I thought it might be helpful for ya to know since your looking.

If anyone uses this extractor I would also greatly appreciate your thoughts on it. Not that I'm planning on buying one today, but you never know about tomorrow. Its hard to pass up a sale on power equipment and another extractor would help the extraction process go much faster.

[alpha6]

Go with a Cowen 28 or 60 frame extractor system. You won't be sorry and it's complete...solid construction and good people to boot.
http://www.cowenmfg.com/

[Dancing Bee Apiary]

I bought an older 60 frame dadant with a newer (3 years old) speed control that had been replaced. Will find out in a few weeks how it works. So for now, it looks nice in the shop.

[Ian]

60 frame Cowen all the way

[dgl1948]

Here is a link to a fellow in Sask. who builds a couple of extractors.

http://www.bogend.com/bentley/extracinfo.html

[kilocharlie]

Dancing Bee - Congrats! and good luck. I'd like to hear about how many frames processed in how much time with all these different setups! We have a chance to learn something about efficiency before we buy, here on this thread...anybody???

bhfury - Yes, SHB's, western hive beetles, some slightly larger brownish ones with tiny heads and small antennae, and some beautiful green beetles with polka dots. The hive beetles and Western hive beetles are the main problems. Find any better trap bait than veggie oil?

Another neat trick - putting a black widow spider in the hive tends to really keep down the wax moths. Just watch out for her and wear your gloves. She'll only eat a few bees a year, and doesn't seem to ever get the queen.

[TooFarGone]

Hey Kilocharlie-
Intentionally putting or leaving Black Widow spiders in the hive does not pass my personal risk-benefit analysis. I have treated several patients with Black Widow spider bites and some got infections and other problems. Around here, the little buggers are just waiting to bite the back of your hand when you move the lumber pile. Also, my wife would kill me if I got bitten by one that I had allowed to stay in the hive!