[beekeeper1756]

I just gathered some honey and while much of it was capped, I want to make sure my water content comes down.

Does anyone know where I can get a honey dehydrator and the price range?

 

[Beeslave]

If you don't have to many supers you can stack them in a small room and put a dehumidifier(home) in there with them.

 

[brac]

sounds like you should have a refractometer first.

 

[beekeeper1756]

I'm looking at refractors on Ebay. What is this 58-90% BRIX/Honey? What is Brix???

 

[brac]

brix is a measure of sugar content. Mine reads brix (which I use for maple syrup) and water content read as a % which I use for honey.

 

[FindlayBee]

Just make sure you order one from the US. I bought one from Hong Kong by mistake. Forgot to check US only listings.

Cost me the same as one I could have gotten from California and had in my hands by now.

I wish ebay would allow the user to select an option in the user controls to show only US or Selected Countries only.

 

[Fuzzy]

"I'm looking at refractors on Ebay. "

Then I recommend that you search for RHF-30ATC. It is a very accurate instrument at a reasonable cost. It has a scale that goes from 30% to 10% which is perfect for honey.

You did not specify how much honey you had to dry. If not too much then shallow plastic storage containers from wal-mart or target, with a large surface area. In a closed room with a dehumidifier running. It should dry out reasonably fast.

 

[FindlayBee]

Ok, got my refractometer from Hong Kong today. Good news (well its better than I expected) is that my honey is right on the 18.1% line for water.

The bad news, thing broke when I raised the daylight plate to clean off the honey. Cost to send back for warranty is free with a shipping cost of well over $40. Total cost for the refractometer was just under $30. Just about the same price you can get an economy model for right here in the U.S.A.. Just remember to click on "US Listings Only" or your Country of residence before searching. Will save a long wait and you have a lower return shipping cost if something goes wrong. The one I go is also "Latest Version" this means it was redesigned to use a thumb screw for calibration rather than a screwdriver and it uses an upgraded (meaning breaks easy and no replacements) daylight plate.

My mistake from doing a buy it now before reading the Country of origin.

 

[heaflaw]

"I'm looking at refractors on Ebay. "

Then I recommend that you search for RHF-30ATC.

I searched for it, but it returned 0 items.

 

[Fuzzy]

Try this link:

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Professiona...s-Brix-90-/370325936546?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

 

[heaflaw]

Thanks. Would you know how it would compare to the RHB-90ATC? That one is less than $20 compared with the one you suggested for $100.

 

[honeybeekeeper]

The only difference is the $80 bucks! Nothing wrong with using either one!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380196993758&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

[FindlayBee]

This is a photo of the one I got and the one that broke 3 minutes after I got it.

This one hinges off the end rather than from the top. I found a website that sells replacement daylight plates for the other models, but not this one. Unit worked great until I went to lift the plate for cleaning. The daylight plate broke right off.

 

[Peter]

Looks like the broken cover is a common problem as they now appear to iclude a spare one for when the first one breakss
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Honey-Refra...58-90-ATC-/230505492333?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0

 

[sqkcrk]

I just gathered some honey and while much of it was capped, I want to make sure my water content comes down.

Does anyone know where I can get a honey dehydrator and the price range?

So, did you get a refractometer? Do you still need a dehumidifier?

Is there a difference between %water and moisture content? I have always heard beekeepers that I know refer to the moisture content, not % water. Just seems like two differenrt things to me.

 

[Fuzzy]

"Would you know how it would compare to the RHB-90ATC? That one is less than $20 compared with the one you suggested for $100. "

Heaflaw,

The correct answer is accuracy. the 90ATC is +/- 1% on moisture
the 30ATC is +/- .2% ...... That is a 5x improvement and very worth my money.

Unless you honey is well below 17% the 90ATC may not be good enough.

Good luck -- Fuzzy