Honey Extractor

Got Bee's? I knew this day would come. One day all those bees would make some honey then I would have to make a honey extractor-anator and extract all the honey in the tri-state area. After all what could go wrong?

I have been a city bee keeper for two years now and this will be my first harvest. I couldn't afford a commercial honey extractor and borrowing the local clubs extractor seemed like a lot of work planning ahead and rushing to go get it extract and then return.

This project went together by solving one problem at a time in sort of a hap hazard way and getting a bit of luck every know and then. Sorry if some of the pictures seem out of order I just went building the parts as i thought of them then wrote this trying to put them in a logical order.

The theory behind the extractor is to spin the frames of honey flinging the honey out and leaving the wax intact. I wanted to spend as least money as possible (under the price of a store bought one 150.00+) and to use what I had on hand.

I noticed that a frame from my hive fit in a food grade bucket that i had for making beer. Lucky me. If i could use that i would not need to buy a bucket.

Step 1 Stuff (parts) and things (equipment) I used.

Equipment

Drill with bits
Router
Scroll saw

Parts

Large piece of tivar (Polyethylene) or plastic bread board (wood would also work)
8 - #8 stainless steel screws
1 - 3/8x36" threaded rod
6 - 3/8 bolts, washers, Lock washers
3 - five gallon buckets (as i would later find out one of my 5 gallon buckets is a 6 gallon bucket)
Several pieces of wood
1 - 1/4x7" threaded rod
2 - 1/4 lock nuts
1 - 1/2"x5" PCV pipe
2 - 1/2" end caps
1 - 3/8 Stainless end nut
5 - 1/4" screws
4 - pony beads
Scrap wood or what ever you have on hand

Comments

[wizworm]

Plastic is porous, it traps chemicals forever you will end up with 'fertalizer' or whatever in your food. Working with industrial grade acid, you can take a 2 year old empty bucket add water and litmus paper and still get a strong acid. Go to a grocery store that makes doughnuts etc, and ask the bakery for buckets, you can get 5 gallon food grade buckets that used to have maple bar filling or something for a buck or for free, my Costco gives 6 gallon buckets for free if you ask.

[Jobar007]

Nice. Personally, after your first session of uncapping, I would melt down that wax and coat all wooden surfaces in bee's wax. It would make cleanup easier in the long run.

[turbobug]

That's a good idea. I was thinking to rebuild the base so the buckets fit under the shelf and the whole thing is easier to store.