600 hive operation extractor options

[kilocharlie]

Gee, whiz! There I go - too much beekeeping enthusiasm clouding common sense! I should stop the practice altogether. And I wouldn't want a wife biting me either! Both could be deadly! LOL

[KQ6AR]

i find black widows in my inner covers all the time, they really like the hive environment. No beetles up here in the SF bay area.

[EastSideBuzz]

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.

My partner has a cowen 60 and swears by it. I have a maxant 20 frame but, will be going up in the next few years and need to go big. So will be looking at a 60 also. Let me know what you decide. You cant go wrong with a Maxant or Cowen in my opinion. Stear clear of the Mann Lake stuff it is Chinese and you wont be able to read the instructions.

[Birds&Bees]

We have a Cowen 60 Air. I wish it was about 18 inches longer, it doesn't allow enough comfortable space to have two people scratching frames after they come out of the uncapper. I highly recommend the deboxer. This was, I think the 8th season, and one of the air valves quit functioning properly on the last day of extracting for the season, so overall, very trouble free. It holds 58 frames and not 60. We've been able to extract about 350 supers per 8 hour day roughly 18-20 drums.

[jim lyon]

We've been able to extract about 350 supers per 8 hour day roughly 18-20 drums.

That equates to about an 8 minutes from start to start and more like 6 minutes start to stop. You have found that to be sufficient run time?

[Birds&Bees]

I can stop, load and start in less than a minute, if I don't run it this fast it holds up the rest of the line, it could run longer but the gain is hardly significant. I will eventually upgrade to the 120, just not decided as to a cowen or cook & beals.

[Joel]

I would be likely to get a 2nd maxant 20/40 and have them oposing over my clarifier so I don't have the lag of having to move uncapped frames from my 40 frame uncapped frame holder into an empty exractor. Also give me a back up if one breaks down.

[megakg9]

[QUOTE=kilocharlie;833854]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.[/QUOTE
Black widow there's already enough things to worry about !

[jim lyon]

I can stop, load and start in less than a minute, if I don't run it this fast it holds up the rest of the line, it could run longer but the gain is hardly significant. I will eventually upgrade to the 120, just not decided as to a cowen or cook & beals.

You will gain some but maybe not that much considering where you are now. We run a C&B 120 and about 70 to 75 (9 frame) boxes per hour is about all I like to try to push through them and still have stuff coming out dry. A bit slower if the honey is dryer and a bit faster if the honey is thinner. That is about 10 minutes start to start with about 1 1/2 minute change times.

[Keith Jarrett]

Hope this is not off topis too much, But, does steam help alot with the thick honey on the 60 run cycle?

[jim lyon]

Hope this is not off topis too much, But, does steam help alot with the thick honey on the 60 run cycle?

Yeah I am sure it would. I don't happen to have a boiler and didn't really want to make the honey house even warmer but this summer it would have most certainly paid for itself. Most years we get by just fine without it.

[Ian]

Ya, a neighbour has installed a steamer into his machine and it really helps pull the dry honey out.

Hope this is not off topis too much, But, does steam help alot with the thick honey on the 60 run cycle?

[Ian]

So I will run 40 boxes or so an hour through my 60 frame Cowen.
How would running a 120 frame increase capacity? It runs the same uncapper, and I keep my uncapper full all the time, putting 50 boxes through max. My uncapper is my limiting factor

[jim lyon]

So I will run 40 boxes or so an hour through my 60 frame Cowen.
How would running a 120 frame increase capacity? It runs the same uncapper, and I keep my uncapper full all the time, putting 50 boxes through max. My uncapper is my limiting factor

Ian: guess I wasn't clear that I was talking mediums which will run through the large Cowen when properly set at about 1,000 combs an hour deeps should run about 700 combs per hour maximum (Cowens website claims 80 boxes) . My experience is that if the honey isnt too thick and you have 3 really busy workers it is doable at least for a time. Realistically though for us it's tough for us to get much over 75 per hour on average as the Cowen spinner can slow things down and of course there is always the occasional jammed frame and all the other stuff that happens in an extracting room.

[ryan]

Hi Ian
There are several large beekeepers who run multiple 60s. The argument goes on and on about which is better. I like my 120. What do you tell a guy who has 3 cowen 60s??? My smart mouth comment is "Didn't you have the money to buy the 120s?"
If the 60 is working for you without stopping the uncapper, you have nothing to gain.

[Ian]

so the 120 just gives longer spinning time then,
I spin my extractor for about 8 min, and most all the honey is out.

[jim lyon]

I don't mean to suggest that there is anything wrong with running 60's. By all accounts they are a really efficient setup. I know a guy who is running 3 of them with 2 C&B spinners and putting a million pounds a year through them. Like Ryan says if it's working for you.....

[Ian]

Im thinking of changing gears to slow the uncapper down a bit. Thinking it will help prevent some of the Wax pushing problem that sometimes happens when the machine has alot of heavy frames running through

[jim lyon]

Are you using the slotted or serrated blades?

[Ian]

serrated,
do you like the slotted?