[challenger]

I am doing my bottling manually using a 10 gallon plastic bottling tank. It is soooooo slow. I am trying to find information on those valves I've seen on tv that fill a bottle a precise amount when the bottle is pressed up against it.
I am also looking for some type of filter that I could put in line as a final filter prior to bottling. I'd like something with a suitable screen that I could drop and clean as needed. Sort of like the whole house cartridge style but with a 500 micron mesh instead of the paper??
Thanks

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

Well, a plastic bottling tank implies to me that the contents of the tank are not being heated. One way to improve honey flow is to warm it. Have you considered a heated bottling tank?

While I suspect that you are not of a scale to support it, there are semi-automated honey fillers that can be set to a predetermined quantity. How much money are you prepared to spend?

 

[Acebird]

I am doing my bottling manually using a 10 gallon plastic bottling tank. It is soooooo slow.

What volume are you looking for? There are machines that fill tubes and bottles very quickly. Because the wetted parts are stainless these machines are expensive but if you search used machinery dealers you sometimes can pick these up for a steal. We had one at my last place of work and it is nothing but a stainless steel cylinder and associated check valves with a hopper on top. You could fill a half gallon jug in a second. You set stops on the cylinder so every shot is exactly the same.

 

[Roland]

I would imagine Ladish Tri-clover would carry a small filter, but never looked. They make SS fittings and pipe.

Crazy Roland

 

[challenger]

I figured the items would be more than I can afford. I sell to raise $ for a cancer foundation so I am pinching pennies. I thought the valve by itself would be in the $1-200.00 range but I am seeing higher prices.
I use compressed air on my current tank to increase flow which works very well but is not as simple an operation as an auto valve. I looked at bottling tanks but they are too much $ right now. Maybe next year.

 

[Acebird]

I use compressed air on my current tank to increase flow which works very well but is not as simple an operation as an auto valve.

Be very careful using compressed air on a vessel. Even at low pressures a tank can explode if it is not designed to handle the flex.

 

[challenger]

Be very careful using compressed air on a vessel. Even at low pressures a tank can explode if it is not designed to handle the flex.

Good advice. This is a plastic tub and I only use a couple of pounds at most.

 

[woodedareas]

I also sell my honey and use funds for breast cancer research. I have purchased a Maxant tank where I apply a small amount of heat and use their dripless stainless steel valve. I do not have an automatic bottle filler but am considering it. Check Dadant.

I figured the items would be more than I can afford. I sell to raise $ for a cancer foundation so I am pinching pennies. I thought the valve by itself would be in the $1-200.00 range but I am seeing higher prices.
I use compressed air on my current tank to increase flow which works very well but is not as simple an operation as an auto valve. I looked at bottling tanks but they are too much $ right now. Maybe next year.

 

[challenger]

I also sell my honey and use funds for breast cancer research. I have purchased a Maxant tank where I apply a small amount of heat and use their dripless stainless steel valve. I do not have an automatic bottle filler but am considering it. Check Dadant.

Can I ask which Maxant unit you bought? I thought they were all heated but I may be wrong. I suppose I could deal with a gravity type bottling system but I don't know how fast they fill given an average temperature. When I put a little pressure in the tank I am using I fill a bottle every 7 seconds .With no pressure at the same temperature it takes 30 seconds. 30 seconds is like an eternity to me. For a case of 24 1lb bottles it takes me 15 minutes to fill and cap. Then the labels take another 6 minutes or so. That means almost 25 minutes per case of 24 bottles and that is when everything is set up, clean and right at hand. I should add several more minutes to each cycle to include the preparation etc.
Thanks
Thanks

 

[woodedareas]

I use this model but also purchased the dripless valve.
MODEL 600-2 200# or 16 gallons
17.25" Outer Diameter x 24" Outer Height
15.25" Inner Diameter x 21" Inner Height
$999.00
Yes it takes time but I only use 8 ounce glass hex jars as they are more attractive than 1# bottles.The heat in the Maxant tank is from the water jacket that surrounds the internal tank of honey. I bottle over a period of days and apply labels periodically when time permits. The only other option that I am aware of is to purchase an automatic filler but you will still have to place each bottle in it and when finished place on the cap and the label. If you have a larger production all of this could be automated.
Good Luck

Can I ask which Maxant unit you bought? I thought they were all heated but I may be wrong. I suppose I could deal with a gravity type bottling system but I don't know how fast they fill given an average temperature. When I put a little pressure in the tank I am using I fill a bottle every 7 seconds .With no pressure at the same temperature it takes 30 seconds. 30 seconds is like an eternity to me. For a case of 24 1lb bottles it takes me 15 minutes to fill and cap. Then the labels take another 6 minutes or so. That means almost 25 minutes per case of 24 bottles and that is when everything is set up, clean and right at hand. I should add several more minutes to each cycle to include the preparation etc.
Thanks
Thanks

 

[Acebird]

I use this model but also purchased the dripless valve.
MODEL 600-2 200# or 16 gallons
17.25" Outer Diameter x 24" Outer Height
15.25" Inner Diameter x 21" Inner Height
$999.00

Man, I remember paying (company) $350 for a 250 gallon tank. Actually I bought two but they were for storage and I pressurized these vessels to 30psi. Lauri had some 60 gallon tanks she was trying to off. I think you guys missed the boat not grabbing one of them.

 

[woodedareas]

Acebird
You are correct they are very expensive. I have noted that they are made extremely well and will last longer than me.I think they are a good product and have worked well. I did have one problem. I let some honey about 2 inches deep sit in the tank for a month or so and when I reheated i found the dripless valve was clogged with crystallized honey. I just removed the valve and cleaned the tank. If the valve could be heated it would be helpful to me.

Man, I remember paying (company) $350 for a 250 gallon tank. Actually I bought two but they were for storage and I pressurized these vessels to 30psi. Lauri had some 60 gallon tanks she was trying to off. I think you guys missed the boat not grabbing one of them.

 

[deknow]

These aren't just tanks..they are thermostaticly controlled water jacketed heavy guage. Anyone can source a cheap tank and make a project out of it....a maxant bottling tank is a solution ready to put into service to bottle honey and will last a few lifetimes.

 

[deknow]

We've used ours in an unheated space in the winter. A heat gun will work as well as anything, and doesn't add to the complexity of the tank.

Acebird
You are correct they are very expensive. I have noted that they are made extremely well and will last longer than me.I think they are a good product and have worked well. I did have one problem. I let some honey about 2 inches deep sit in the tank for a month or so and when I reheated i found the dripless valve was clogged with crystallized honey. I just removed the valve and cleaned the tank. If the valve could be heated it would be helpful to me.

 

[AstroBee]

For a case of 24 1lb bottles it takes me 15 minutes to fill and cap.

That's not terrible for a no-tech solution. The heated bottling tank will decrease that to maybe 6 minutes. I can fill 12 12oz hex jars, cap and box in about 3 minutes 20 seconds using a water jacketed bottler with a no-drip valve.

 

[Acebird]

These aren't just tanks..they are thermostaticly controlled water jacketed heavy guage.

Is it a closed system or do you provide the hot water and circulator? If it is closed I would think they would use oil not water.

 

[woodedareas]

Its a complete system with the water jacket surrounding the inner tank containing the honey. The thermostat and best control unit screw into the tank very similar to the old metal heating units we used to use to heat a cup of coffee. They are nice unit and as i said well constructed. There are pictures on the Maxant site.I have had mine for about 1 year and am pleased with it.

 

[sqkcrk]

Acebird
You are correct they are very expensive. I have noted that they are made extremely well and will last longer than me.I think they are a good product and have worked well. I did have one problem. I let some honey about 2 inches deep sit in the tank for a month or so and when I reheated i found the dripless valve was clogged with crystallized honey. I just removed the valve and cleaned the tank. If the valve could be heated it would be helpful to me.

Considering how it will last until your kids sell it at your estate sale and still get a good price for it, it isn't all that expensive.

You didn't turn the heat up high enough. But you worked it out. You could have poured hot water over it a cpl times to loosen things up.

 

[Acebird]

OK I see the picture. Doesn't answer my question.
http://www.maxantindustries.com/bottling.html

Where is the heating element and is it a close system?

 

[sqkcrk]

Brian, do you see the red canister on the side of the tank? That's the heat control unit. It has a dial to set the heat temp. Basically it is a hot water heater w/ a dial on the end of it. It's a double walled tank w/ a heating element in the bottom. Yes, a closed system. Though there is an opening near the top on the front where water is added as needed, which is always open. There is a sight glass and a drain plug.