Honey processing

Categories: All about bees, Bee hive keeping, Bee kits, Bee products, Honey extractors, Honey facts, How to keep bees |



Here we tell you how to process the honey. This is the important thing in keeping honey bees. First, what do we need? First – a clean jar. Beekeepers pour honey in such flasks. Clean, dried, washed with soda jar. Next, we need the frames  with honey from the apiary. They are sealed. Of course, we need extractor. It is such a device, with which we pump honey. Next, we need a plug – in order to expose the cell. We need a bucket of water to wash hands of honey, stool and a small container for zabrus. And the grille to keep the frame. Take the frame. One side we have already pre-cleaned. Now we tell you how to clean the frame. As you can see – they are sealed. You need to open a frame with a fork or knife. The hotter the weather, the better the honey is out of the cells. Bees make honey sealed. And the bees add special substances that they do not add anywhere else in these caps, which we take off. There are substances that kill bacteria and they are particularly powerful. There is also a bit of propolis. The composition of these caps is unique. It is present nowhere else in the hive. And it is unique for its disinfectant and antibacterial properties. That’s why we need to clean off zabrus that accumulates here, it has quite strong disinfectant properties.  You can give children zabrus a few times, so that they have passed the flu. Here in this way, we clean the frame, and  now we need to put it in the extractor.

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Now we explain how the extractor worksIts principle of operation is very simple. We untwist the handle to spin the frame. Now we wash hands, because they are in honey. We rotate frame and honey pours on the walls of the extractor by centrifugal force. The first time you need to turn not very much, in order not to break the cell. Extractor you need to put on a horizontal level. So that it does not heave during the rotation of handles. Then we are slowing. And now the walls are all in honey. Honey goes down and gradually accumulates. Now we change the direction to pump the other side of a frame. Now we need to rotate with all the power. The smell, of course, is incredible. Millions of tiny droplets, ejected from the honeycomb, hit the air and the walls of honey extractors. Quite time-consuming task. And so on, while extractor is full.

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        So, we already have enough honey in honey extractors. Ie cassettes have already begun to touch the edge of the risen honey. Therefore it is necessary to make the extractor empty. For this, we took it up on the case, put the container, put special two strainers for filtration. Open the tap, it is very hard to open. And the magic moment – honey by  amber broad stream rushes into the jar. Qualitative mature honey always goes like a ribbon raft. This suggests that honey is a mature, high-quality and thick. In the thick honey there is little water content, and it is known that it does not develop harmful bacteria, and the concentration of vitamins and useful minerals is maximum. Many beekeepers  evacuate honey early. Somewhere in the middle of July, much earlier. But traditionally honey must be evacuated later. For it to mature. This will ensure the highest quality of product. Smell will be great!

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What affects the production of honey and beeswax?

First of all – the hereditary properties of the queen, its age and her way to care for the family. The natural conditions are also an important factor that affects the success or failure of beekeeping management.

Is it possible to pump out the honey from the framework with a sealed brood?

With careful pumping such a framework has no loss of the brood. But if at this time the young bees begin to leave  the cells, they fall and lose. The same can be said about the pumping of honey from the framework with the open brood. So it’s best to pump pure honey, not brood. But sometimes it is necessary to pump out the honey from the brood frames, mainly from stocks of honeydew honey, which must be evacuated.

From what hives honey can be pumped only once after the main harvest?

Only from the type of multi-hive with low frames  (15-17 cm) (5-7”), which can always be rearranged, and when you can put it between the hulls another one that has a frame with honeycomb. In these hives bees always have a place to put honey. But what is more profitable: to use a single housing with large frames and pump honey once or to have several housings, keeping on migrations reserve frames.

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How often can the honey be pumped out in good harvest?

More frequent pumping of honey from the frames in the main harvest leads to increasing of bee activity. Left for a few days filled with honey hive reduces the quality of the honey.The view that premature evacuated honey is immature, is unreasonable, because brought nectar thickens in 48 hours so that it does not go from the comb and it can be pumped. In practice, this means that you can pump a rich honey harvest every 4 days in the early morning hours.

How to place the frame in the extractor?

When using the extractor frame must be put in the drawer so that the bottom of it is in the direction of rotation, and the frame must be placed in the cartridge vertically (parallel to the shaft). In radial extractor bottom edge of the frame should also be directed to the shaft and parallel to it. In parallel-radial extractor bottom edge of the frame is also directed to the shaft, but turned to it at an angle of 90 °.

What to make during evacuation of honey?

During the evacuation of honey from the first hive you should remove frames from the second – to to put there those evacuated from the first hive. To do so until the last bee house. Last evacuated frames with honeycombs you put into the first hive. A prerequisite for such work is the absence of infectious diseases in the apiary, ie bees should be perfectly healthy.

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Does bee remover facilitate work on pumping honey?

No, but, on the contrary, makes it more hard and time-consuming. It is better not to use it when working with the bees. In the presence of bee remover bees can get out of the hive, but not to get back. Since removers need to be put into the hive the day before the evacuation of honey, the honey in the hive will be cool without flight bees, but only with young bees, honeycomb can be very long in extractor, and the abandoned by flight bees frames have less honey. In addition, during the installation and removal of removers beekeeper is in direct contact with the bees.

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What are the important works before pumping of honey?

First of all, make sure that all the necessary equipment to pump honey is in order. First check extractor, beekeeping knife, smoker with manual or electric drive, sealing of lids on cans and plug of extractor, no holes in the stack of beekeeper, etc. Remove lubricating oil from the equipment  and rub it with honey, as even a single drop of lubricating oil that gets into the honey can spoil it. Do not wipe washed and rinsed with hot water  things, but leave to dry in the sun. Then pour clean water into the sink , take a towel and all work clothes. Do not forget about the stock matches and wood for smoker and feathers for sweeping bees from framework.

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