Custom Extracting

[Honeyboy]

I'am thinking of charging per super this way they won't bring me half full supers. All the input is great thank you very much!!

[sqkcrk]

You are welcome. Why would anyone bring in half full supers? Because they only have three?

[cg3]

400 to 500 lbs

Man. That's a lot of work to make $100.

[jim lyon]

The irony is its easier (at least through an automated system) to run full frames than part frames. I believe I would price by the box rather than by weight to discourage someone from bringing in a lot of boxes with very little in them.

[jmgi]

I agree with Jim that pricing by the box is the better way to do it, I would think that most beekeepers would know not to bring in boxes that have frames with little to no honey in them. Even if they did, how much work is it to throw the empty or near empty ones back into boxes and not bother with them anyway. Just tell the customer ahead of time that you are not going to extract those kind of combs because its not worth your time and equipment wear and tear. Let them do the sorting before they bring the honey. John

[The Honey Householder]

Hey if I'm paying by the super, Im running all deeps.
400-500 med. super is about 16,000-20,000 lbs @.10-.15 a lb and it takes my crew 2-3 days to get it extracted. Even if I pay out a 1/3 for labor, 2/3 in my packet still isn't bad. I think the equipment looks better when it's running.

[jim lyon]

I didnt get into what should be charged for each size, just making the point that a per box charge would be preferable to me.

[Mtn. Bee]

I agree with Jim Lyon charge by the box would be a lot easier for tracking purposes.
The Beek I know has 2 different rates, one for meds. and one for deeps.
I asked him about shallows and he laughed and said nobody uses them anymore and then I told him that I do but eventually they will all be used for comb honey production only.

[jmgi]

The HH, I think the equipment looks better when someone other than me (the hired help) is running it for .15 a lb. Let's see, 20,000 lbs. @ .15/lb. is $3000, a couple days wages for a couple guys, yea that's not bad when you consider you just have to be the boss-man. John

[The Honey Householder]

Hey John, When your extracting season is only 10 weeks, every day counts to the guys. My boys understand I started at the bottom too. They make more in 10 weeks then most kids make at McD's in a year. They understand, you make honey when honey is ready, not when your ready.:roll eyes:

I like the charging by the super. So if a medium super is 40 lbs avg.@$.15, that would come out to $6.00 a super. Well you guys have convince me I should be charging at less $8 a super to make it worth my while. Might just have to give the boys a raise this year.

[Nick Noyes]

The quality of the equipment and wether it is all standard is the biggest factor when extracting. Followed by how much honey is in each frame.
There is a guy near here that charges $.11 a pound and keeps the wax. We can extract our honey cheaper than that. However if I was custom extracting I wouldn't do it for any less than $.15 pound in semi loads of supers lots.

[Ian]

Some really good stuff here guys, I have been asked to custom extract at one time, but had not a clue what to charge

[jmgi]

I agree Ron, when you work the bees for a living or even to supplement your income, you need to make money whenever you see a chance. Fortunately, there are many ways to do it with bees. John

[odfrank]

I am showing .0162 man hours per pound or .43 man hours a box time rates on my dinky operation. This is with an antique Cowan and antique Dadant 20 frame extractor straining through stainless screens and then pumping through nylon drainage filter fabric, no heat. I'd lose money at any of the rates stated here. I'd have to charge about $1 lb or $30 box to get near breaking even, if my figures are right. And I don't think that includes a thorough cleanup.

[CES]

Get another extractor and you will be able to improve on that production average. What are you uncapping with?

I am not looking to up production. I am retired so I do it to supplement income. I have about 50 Hives and I extract for local hobbyist and small sideliners. I don't want to hire any help.

I use a maxant planer to uncap the honey. I can uncap a load while the extractor is spinning.