Heat gun uncapping

[vegasvalet]

I just saw this video of a guy using a heat gun to uncap his honey, what are your thoughts? anyone every tried this? pro-cons?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL7vbrJ6Pvw

[BMAC]

Have not tried it. Not sure pros or cons. I have discussed this with my friend to some extent. My only concern would be carmelizing the honey right on the surface and getting melted wax flung inside my extractor.

Again I have never tried it and maybe those are not concerns. Just my thoughts.

[genie]

i've never use a hot knife simply because i don't have one. is it really necessary to use a heated knife?

[Cedar Hill]

The heat gun works well. It's fast. The wax melts and congeles so quickly around the very edges of the each cell that you needn't worry about wax being flung around. The heat does not remain very long near the honey so it doesn't seem to taint the honey at all, in contrast with a heated uncapping knife. I used to use a vibrating fish fileting knife to uncap, it worked quite well. Presently have Kelley's vibrating knife which is not heated when used (but it can be) and I wouldn't do without it. OMTCW

[Vance G]

I still want to build one of these! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2tBl...eature=related Don't know why that won't work search russian uncapping knife on this forum.

[Katharina]

I had to roll some candles and the wax sheets had bloomed and the sheets were brittle. They were no longer sticking either. So I has debating the heat gun or the hair dryer. I'm glad I did the hair dryer first, because at full heat it did melt the wax. Anyway it was nice to see the bloom disappear and the wax turning into the original state. I was able to roll them and they did not break up any longer. They point is you may be able to use a hair dryer instead. I would worry about the honey scorching with the heat gun.

[RayMarler]

A good bread knife would be faster.

[alfredd]

Heat gun works for me. It is faster than a bread knife, and not a messy. I also use a hot wire to level off the comb after I spin out the honey. There is not enough heat/time with a heat gun to even warm the honey let alone caramelize it.

[snl]

I really like the heat gun.......no cappings to mess with, honey extracts clean & does not harm the honey or the comb.............of course, I've only +- 20 hives.............

[dnichols]

Just watched a video on this. Looks sweet but who knows. If you are rendering beeswax this would pretty much put an end to that.

[KQ6AR]

One of our members demonstrated it at our last meeting. I couldn't believe how fast & clean it was.
He said to be careful not to turn the heat to high, I think he used the low setting on his $8 harbor freight gun.

[crofter]

Has the heat any effect on plastic frames?

[KQ6AR]

He moved the heat gun across the frame so quickly, I doubt the plastic even got warm. Uncapped 1/2 a frame in about 3 seconds.

[crofter]

Most of my honey frames are newly drawn and all were tightly spaced so lots of low spots the capping knife misses. Scratching capping sure puts lots of wax slush in the honey. Got to give that a try some time in the next couple of weeks!

[dfortune]

The heat gun only works with dry cappings. Wet cappings just lay flat over the honey rather than sticking to the sides of the cell. If all or most o your honey is dry it works well, faster than a scratcher but slower than a knife. Frames dont drip and virtually zero cappings in your honey, very clean. Bees also accept the frames and clean them up nice. That should pretty much sum up any questions.

[Bear Creek Steve]

For what it is worth:

First 2012 harvest yesterday with my wife running the H.F. heat gun and me running the extracter. She followed it with a bit of capping scratching which did add wax sludge to the honey strainer. She definitely liked the heat gun over an electric knife and the operation was much faster. If we are so lucky to get a second harvest the capping scratching will be reduced or eliminated altogether.

So far my 2012 harvest is 60% below my 2011 harvest. **** drought!

Steve

[rmcpb]

Now that is worth a try!

[Russ]

What is the Wattage on the Heat Gun that you use for Uncapping?

[Bear Creek Steve]

Russ,

1,500 Watt, Harbor Freight Item, 96289, cost $8.00 on sale. Also bought a set of "heat spreader clip on tips" but they were not helpful.

Regards,
bear Creek Steve

[dnichols]

Glad I dug this thread back up. Good times good times.