Will honey drip out of the comb?

[reef10]

Can honey be harvested by cutting the caps, turning it over, and letting it drip out over night? Would it help to lay it flat for one night on each side? Would it work if the caps were cut deeper? How would the honey do if it was allowed to settle instead of being filtered? I am thinking I will not have many frames and I have plenty of time.

I am looking for a harvest method that does not use an extractor. I would rather not destroy the comb using crush and strain. My 2 hives spent all summer making 16 frames for their brood chamber. I think the comb building is very time consuming for them. I have no comparison as both hive started as 4 frame nucs. They did not bother to make me any honey.

[ccar2000]

Yes, that'll work. The comb is built at an angle so the thin nectar stays in until cured. You can either lay it flat or on the top bar of the frame. Though the area you are working in will have to be warm enough for the honey to flow.

[ccar2000]

I was thinking of something else. Your processing area should be bee resistant. If the bees find your honey they will rob you out without any conscious.

[Michael Bush]

>Can honey be harvested by cutting the caps, turning it over, and letting it drip out over night?

Some people seem to have succeeded at this. I never did. It would not run out. The surface tension holds it in. Perhaps it's a difference in the type of honey that makes it workable or not, but I would not recommend it based on my experience.

[Acebird]

http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/v...r/P1030990.jpg
I did this my first year and had pretty good success. There were cells of dark honey, almost jelly like that did not drain. The photo shows the frames oriented as they would be in the hive. I learned later that the comb is made with an upward slant (13 degrees). So if I were to do this again I would secure the frames in the box and flip it over.
Of course you will not get the frames as dry as you would with an extractor but if you give them back to the bees they won't care.

I should mention that this comb is not small cell.

[minz]

I pull a frame and set it at a 45 degree angle on a cooling rack with tin foil under it. Flat it did not run out. Scratch it with a fork and let the ‘little honey hounds’ come by and get it. Pick up the tin foil and pour it into a jar, wax settles back to the top. Kids got to like the cut comb (**** son eats half a square it with a spoon with his ice cream at a single sitting). I don’t think much of cut comb but maybe give a square at try. They seem to like it better when there is one frame on the table than gallon jugs and quarts, but they are kids and I do not pretend to understand them.

[Acebird]

It is not likely to run too well at room temperature. Warm it to about 110F.

[Michael Palmer]

Would it work if the caps were cut deeper?

Yes, it would. Cut them all the way down to the foundation. That's about the only way you'll ever get gravity to extract your honey.

[AstroBee]

I agree with MP. Honey will not drain out of uncapped comb.

Sounds like you're across the creek from me. Drop me a PM and perhaps we can let you borrow an extractor.

[BMAC]

thats funny. frames I leave on their sides in my uncapping tank overnight seem to have 50% less honey than a frame freshly uncapped.

[reef10]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't have anything to extract now. This is more a general question. The thought was to cut the cappings and leave it suspended in a tupperware container over night or how ever long... A dedicated plastic container to handle one frame at a time as a cheaper alternative. Then I would return the mostly empty frame for the bees to refill. Even if I got only 75% of the honey then reamining would be fixedup by the bees and recapped.

Astrobee:
We are close. Thanks for the offer. Was this a good year for your bees? How much space in the brood box do you give them to overwinter?

[BMAC]

they have cheapo plans of making extractors from bicycle wheels and such. Maybe that would be better for you to start with?

[AstroBee]

Astrobee:
We are close. Thanks for the offer. Was this a good year for your bees? How much space in the brood box do you give them to overwinter?

No problem. Just contact me next June about the possibility of getting an extractor to borrow. I suggest pulling the spring crop prior to the cotton/soybean nectar flow.

2012 was an awesome year for our bees - record honey yields! Regarding overwintering space, it depends on the size of the colony. We can successfully overwinter nucs, but most locals use 2 deeps. I generally use less. Most big colonies get 1 deep plus a medium. Really big colonies get either 2 deeps or 1 deep + 2 mediums (I've got more mediums than deeps). I overwinter most colonies in a single deep, but if you're just starting off with bees, then I suggest error towards the conservative side and give them lots of resources (2 deeps should be plenty).

[StacieM]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't have anything to extract now. This is more a general question. The thought was to cut the cappings and leave it suspended in a tupperware container over night or how ever long... A dedicated plastic container to handle one frame at a time as a cheaper alternative. Then I would return the mostly empty frame for the bees to refill. Even if I got only 75% of the honey then reamining would be fixedup by the bees and recapped.

Astrobee:
We are close. Thanks for the offer. Was this a good year for your bees? How much space in the brood box do you give them to overwinter?

This was my first year beekeeping, and I definitely didn't have the extra money to fork over for an extractor. But, after a call to my local county extension office they put me in touch with a local beekeeping club who has an extractor that they allow members to borrow. It worked great!

[AstroBee]

thats funny. frames I leave on their sides in my uncapping tank overnight seem to have 50% less honey than a frame freshly uncapped.

I've actually tried exactly as suggested. I uncapped a frame and placed it suspended over a tray overnight and found only a few drops had actually came out of the comb the next day. I then placed the same frame-tray setup into a warmer at about 105 F and saw the same thing. I don't believe that it is a viable way to get honey out of frames, particularly our local spring crop that typically comes out pretty dry.