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Moisture Content

16K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  Fivej 
#1 ·
Does anyone know the FDA suggestion for moisture content. I have harvest just some of my colonies and with capped frames they are reading 18.5.. Seems to be the same every year, however, I assume the moisture content is different for different geographic areas. I did check a few uncapped frames and they were 19.5.
I use a digital meter and it is very easy and accurate. Any issues with 18.5???? I also noticed the readings will drop at least 0.5 in my heated Dadant water jacketed holding tanks.
 
#31 ·
Okay you might be able to explain this. I always test my frames with a refractometer from brushy mountain. I checked the calibration with the device at the same temp as the honey then test frames. Every good. 16.5-18. Now bottling I’m getting screwy results. My buckets are reading anywhere from 19.5-22. That’s the same bucket. Yet I test every bottle from that bucket and got consistent readings between 17-17.5. Don’t know what to think. I rechecked the calibration using evoo and get a brix scale reading of 71.5 just as the literature says. Any ideas how the buckets can vary so much with each reading yet the bottles are consistent? I stopped filling bottles and did all of these test with bucket at the same level just to make sure there was no type of moisture stratification.
 
#32 ·
Honey will pick up moisture from the air very quickly. And maybe the moisture isn't the same everywhere in your honey, but being hydroscopic it should equalize fairly quickly. Crystallization will shift more and less moisture depending on where the crystals are. The crystals will be less moisture and the liquid between them more moisture.
 
#33 ·
Greetings all

I have an opposite problem but can't find a thread about it.
I have frames that had a small amount of honey that was not capped. I usually let my bees keep all the honey and don't super my hives. However I did last year and ran into a problem. I Wasn't sure how the uncapped honey would affect the honey once it was spun. A fellow Beekeeper thought it would be a good idea to put the frames in a room with a de humidifier so that's what we did. Long story short now my honey measures 15.8 on the refractometer. Can anyone tell me how I might be able to bring the moisture content up so I can spin my frames? Or is this honey crop a wash? Thanks
 
#34 ·
Never ran into that problem before. How you handle it probably depends on how many frames you have. Just thinking out loud, but I might consider wrapping a few frames in a damp towel and place them in a plastic garbage bag for a few days and see if the moisure level comes up. Don't think this would work if the honey has crystalized though.
 
#35 ·
Your honey should spin out fine. Maybe it is not warm enough or it crystallized? If you think it really is because it is too dry, read the post above yours. Honey will readily absorb moisture. Put it in a humid area and it will reabsorb moisture. JW beat me to it. J
 
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