[Wendi]

Do you ever inspect the entire hive? My first year I left everything for them in order to give them the best outcome possible. I am new to this and am a second year bee keeper. I bought my second set of bee's this year. They are doing fabulous and I have my third super on hive #1. Hive #2 I just put the 1st super on but they have plenty of capped honey in the 2nd brood box. I plan on getting more hives as well but am going to be purchasing a motorized honey extractor and have narrowed it down to 2 which is the Maxant Nine Frame Extractor POWER-9F or Bushy Mountain 9 Frame Power Radial Extractor w/German motor? How good are the electric de capping planers work? We are leaning toward the Maxant. Any info is greatly appreciated. Wendi

 

[kenargo]

I have the "Bushy Mountain 9 Frame Power Radial Extractor w/German motor" and it is quite nice; I can't say anything about the Maxant as I haven't used nor seen one in action. I've seen the de-capping planers; very cool but quite expensive unless you have a lot of hives. Last year I used a heat-gun, fast, easy and no-mess; but you don't get cappings (if you want them for something).

 

[Wendi]

Do you have an idea what the inside of the Bushy ones looks like? Is it conicle?

 

[kenargo]

It is round like a drum; the bottom is raised in the center (the frame chamber sits slightly up from the bottom). I don't have any images of the inside handy but I could get you some if needs be. It is well made IMO.

 

[beesohappy]

I'm a Maxant guy. I have bottling tanks and an extractor from them.

MADE IN THE USA!

 

[Bees In Miami]

I'd worry about getting hives through winter before investing in an extractor....unless money isn't an issue. If that be the case, I am a Maxant Made in USA fan. Awesome equipment.

 

[Chemguy]

I am in my second year also. I had planned on just increasing the number of hives this year, but after making splits I had a hive put on so much honey that I needed to extract in order to have empty, drawn comb. So, I bought an extractor a few months earlier than I had planned.

Like you, I narrowed the options down to Maxant and the SAF Natura (which is what BM sells). I plan on having about 10-20 hives, so these seemed like they would handle any situation I would encounter in the future.

Folk rave about their Maxant extractors for many reasons, as you know. By all accounts they are very good and the customer service is excellent. In the end I purchased the SAF 9-frame with honey tank, hand crank. Maybe I'll add a motor someday, but for the time being it will meet my needs very well. In trying to make the choice it was the integrated tank and the price point that tipped the balance toward the SAF. It works very well, and perhaps some day I will be able to compare it to a Maxant. A smaller extractor would have worked just as well for me, but my plans to expand made a larger unit a better choice.

As for uncapping, I just don't see me ever having enough uncapping to justify the purchase of a chain uncapper. A warm serrated knife and a cappings scratcher were more than enough.