Maxant No Drip Valve
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I have the no drip valve on my MAXANT bottling tank. With warm honey I occasionally get a small drop after the valve is closed, but I normally have the next empty under the valve by the time the drop releases. In my experience the MAXANT valve is far superior in drip control, and ease of use, to the gates I have used in the past.
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Have a Danant one and most times I have a very small drip. Have learn to work around it
David
David
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I have the no dip valve. I usually fill a jar and then scrap the top of the jar against the bottom of the valve, so I haven't noticed any dripping. I have noticed small amounts of honey coming out along the vertical plunger as i move the handle up and down but that has not been a serious issue for me. I am generally please with the entire Maxant unit.I am going to spin th handle as recommended in the Maxant post.
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I have two Maxant bottling tanks. Both of them are old tanks. One I have had close to 25 years, so I am guessing it's 30 years old. The other may be 20 years old and I bought it maybe 10 years ago. They both had Maxants old style valve. They both dripped after each jar was filled. I always kept a drip bowl under the valve.
When I heard about the new Maxant valve I bought two and changed the old one that dripped the most, but didn't immediately change the other one. The tank I use for straining didn't drip as much as the tank I used for bottling. So I got to see the difference regularly and there is a world of difference.
My experience is that there is a bit of a drip when you release the handle. But that drips into the jar before you move the jar away. And sometimes there is a minor amount of honey that drips after that when the heat is set high.
Bottom line is that the valve is worth the price, but you still want something to catch drips. Or you are going to have to wash the floor every time you empty the tank.
I bought a new heat unit too. You have to pay attention to the thermometer. If you want your honey heated exactly to a specific temperature you can't set the dial where it says what you want and walk away for a cpl hours and expect it not to be higher when you return. Not at higher temperatures like 140 degrees anyway. Set it slightly lower if you aren't going to be right there and then bump it up when you start filling jars. I find the new control to get the temperature up much faster than my old control did. It used to take hours, now half the time. Maybe my old control had corrosion built up on the coil.
When I heard about the new Maxant valve I bought two and changed the old one that dripped the most, but didn't immediately change the other one. The tank I use for straining didn't drip as much as the tank I used for bottling. So I got to see the difference regularly and there is a world of difference.
My experience is that there is a bit of a drip when you release the handle. But that drips into the jar before you move the jar away. And sometimes there is a minor amount of honey that drips after that when the heat is set high.
Bottom line is that the valve is worth the price, but you still want something to catch drips. Or you are going to have to wash the floor every time you empty the tank.
I bought a new heat unit too. You have to pay attention to the thermometer. If you want your honey heated exactly to a specific temperature you can't set the dial where it says what you want and walk away for a cpl hours and expect it not to be higher when you return. Not at higher temperatures like 140 degrees anyway. Set it slightly lower if you aren't going to be right there and then bump it up when you start filling jars. I find the new control to get the temperature up much faster than my old control did. It used to take hours, now half the time. Maybe my old control had corrosion built up on the coil.
It is a excellent must have for the bottling tank. I have even done modification to a 55 gallon stainless steel drum to accept this valve and I use it to fill feeder jars. I just ordered another one last week to replace the old brass valve that is beginning to show signs of age.
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Any suggestions on how to more accurately calibrate the thermostat? I just came back from bottling some raw honey. The tank temperature showed what I figured the room temperature must have been, since the tank was unplugged and had been sitting full for a cpl of days. I wanted to warm the tank just a little to make the honey flow faster, so I set the dial to just a little above 75 but well below 100. The gradations are not noted any finer on the dial, so guessing where 80 is is just a guess.
When I got back to the tank, after gluing and stapling 8 or ten supers together the temperature dial read 100. So, is that just the reading of the temperature of the water in the jacket? Or is the honey actually that warm? I guess I would need a really long stemmed thermometer to find out what the core temp is. I don't want to heat this honey any higher than necessary so it will flow. I get bored it flows so slow. lol
When I got back to the tank, after gluing and stapling 8 or ten supers together the temperature dial read 100. So, is that just the reading of the temperature of the water in the jacket? Or is the honey actually that warm? I guess I would need a really long stemmed thermometer to find out what the core temp is. I don't want to heat this honey any higher than necessary so it will flow. I get bored it flows so slow. lol
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It's the one I bought from Maxant when I bought the No Drip Valves. If there are finer marks they are hard for me to see, especially since the heater dial is at one o'clock. If I ever buy a new tank from you I want it special built so the heater control is at 4 o'clock. I think you build some that way now, don't you? If you don't, I think you should. Makes them more user friendly, seems to me.
But I still wear my Maxant hat when I goes places. When I am not wearing my Mann Lake hat or one of my many other hats. I am wearing my Maxant t-shirt as I type this.
But I still wear my Maxant hat when I goes places. When I am not wearing my Mann Lake hat or one of my many other hats. I am wearing my Maxant t-shirt as I type this.
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it takes time to transfer heat from from a cooling/heating jacket or plate to a tank of liquid. there are variables, the size and shape and thickness of the plate/jacket, the material that you are working with [honey], the material that the heat is flowing thru [stainless steel is not a good heat conductor as metals go], the big rate factor is the difference in temperature [the bigger the difference the faster the flow]. so if you have the actual jacket heat higher then the liquid, it will heat faster. if you agitate the liquid then the heat will transfer heat quicker. it does not take much liquid movement, a lot more does not help. I have more than 30 years experience with milk tank refrigeration.
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I went across the road to the honey house to look and see what kinds of heat controls I have and to check the tank temp. The tank w/ the Watlow control I set at 75 degrees shows a temperature of 85 degrees. The side of the tank is not hot to the touch at all. The Watlow control does not appear to have any marks in between 75 and 100, or every 25 degree setting. Unless they are part of the dial and unreadable like painted tick marks would be.
My other tank has a Chromalox control. This Chromalox has numbers starting at 60 and then the next number is 100, then 150 I believe. It also has white painted tick marks every 10 degrees. The real draw back to this dial is it has no actual arrow so the previous own scratched and arrow in the paint and he also painted another mark which I don't know what that means and I use neither of those, I use a letter on the dial as an approximation of where I think the temperature should be set and then I keep an eye one it.
If I ever leave either of these tanks w/ heat on them over night I always set the temp well below what I want it to be the next day and then I bump it up the next morning.
My other tank has a Chromalox control. This Chromalox has numbers starting at 60 and then the next number is 100, then 150 I believe. It also has white painted tick marks every 10 degrees. The real draw back to this dial is it has no actual arrow so the previous own scratched and arrow in the paint and he also painted another mark which I don't know what that means and I use neither of those, I use a letter on the dial as an approximation of where I think the temperature should be set and then I keep an eye one it.
If I ever leave either of these tanks w/ heat on them over night I always set the temp well below what I want it to be the next day and then I bump it up the next morning.
Mark, I was just reading your comment and you have a Maxant Bottling Tank with a thermostat control on the heating element? Mine is just preset with no control....I just never thought about it, but it makes more sense to be able to adjust the temp. I guess mine is old like me!
It ain't so! ........... A honey gate (if you've a good one) isn't that bad to use......just takes a little longer......
Thanks, Go figure...
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Glad to be of help. You could always get a new control.
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