Harvesting

[Doug Shaw]

Should a frame of honey be completely capped before is is extracted? I harvested a few frames last week that had maybe 5% open cells of honey on the frame. Spun out about 30 frames and only 3 were not completely capped. I put all the other frames that had more than 5% open cells back on the hive for them to finish off.

[Jacobs]

5% open should be fine. I have heard of people extracting with considerably more than that uncapped and not having a problem. The main concern is that the overall percentage of water is low enough that there is not a problem with fermentation. A study reported in The Hive and the Honey Bee, Revised edition, 1992, p. 900, states that if the moisture content is less than 17.1%, it is safe regardless of yeast content, and above 20% moisture content, is always in danger of fermenting.

You may want to invest in a refractometer so that you can measure the moisture content of what you have extracted. Also, honey will absorb moisture, so leaving extracted honey in open containers to settle may cause it to absorb water from the air and increase the percentage of moisture. I haven't seen any studies about using a dehumidifier in the extracting area or whether one could be used to lower the moisture content of honey. If anyone does have information about this, I would like to know about it.

[mike91553]

My mentor (30 year beekeeper) says after they stop storing honey in supers they will never cap the remaining open cells but after the end of June he will extract all the frames in supers.
I have followed his plan and never had a problem so far. For example you may have a super with most of the center frames capped and 2 outer frames on each side partly filled and not capped. Hives with several supers may have a light partly filled top super that is all uncapped. A strong hive may have uncapped frames in the bottom super because they have started eating it.

[larry tate]

We extracted late this year due to a new grand daughter. Mid June. We generally shake the uncapped frames with a hard jerk. It seemed that in some the bees had water stored on each side of the frame maybe an inch or so in. Anyone else notice this?

[Jacobs]

As a small volume "producer" of honey, I take extractable frames when I see them. If I see a small number of open cells, I shake the frame over the hive. I assumed that the liquid that came out was fresh nectar that still had a high water content and liquid that remained in those open cells was nectar closer to the capping stage. I could be wrong.

[Doug Shaw]

Got my refractometer today. Spun out a box of uncapped frames after harvesting the capped ones. Did keep the two batches separated and plan to feed the higher water content honey to a couple of new hives that I am starting. Getting the bees and comb from a friend that does extractions. We are still in the middle of a soybean flow in western Tennessee.
Thanks for the help.

[ski]

Doug,
Which refractometer did you get?

Rob,
I have heard the same thing, maybe from the same source, that if a frame is uncapped give it a good shake and if nectar comes out its not ready and if none comes out its good to extract. A refractometer sounds like a good idea.

[Doug Shaw]

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Ho ... info/532A/

[ski]

Thanks Doug,
I also got a flyer in the mail with that refractometer for $65. It does not appear to have Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC) and I am not sure how important it is to have ATC if we are just doing one sample.
If any one has any comments I would appreciate it.

[ski]

I decided to go with this one for $97.77 it has:
* Scale Range: 10%-33% Water
* Divisions: 0.10% Water
* Accuracy: +/- 0.20% Water
5 years warranty
comes with storage case, manual, screw driver and pipette.
Glass optics and cover plate.
Uses water for calibration and has ATC.

I can't say it s any better than any other refractometer, its just my choice today.

Not sure I will have it by the next meeting if I do I may bring it along.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0773286177

[sprayburn]

The question about the ATC or automatic temperature compensation is important. The refractive index is strongly dependant on temperature.
I have extracted frames with up to 15% uncapped. I do follow the shaking method described above and I havent had any problems.

[ski]

Got my new PC and its nice having full time access to a computer again.

Got the Refractometer today and am not all that impressed.

It does not have a glass cover plate, it does use distilled water for calibration at 68 degrees F. So it cannot be calibrated until the distilled water and refractometer are at 68 degrees F then once calibrated it is ok for temperature fluctuations from 50 degrees F to 86 degrees F.
The divisions of .10 for water scale is a joke.
The water scale divisions are as follows:
12.0
13.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
17.0
18.1
19.2
20.2
21.2
There is nothing that says it has ATC, and the instructions are pretty general. There are no markings or stampings on the unit at all, it could be any model.

[ski]

Well it turns out the operating manual that was sent was for a different refractometer.
The folks at opticfactory were very nice and easy to communicate with but we were not able to work out the operating manual. They have offered a full refund and return shipping. SO the unit is on its way back.

In the mean time I talked with Bluesky Beekeeping and their ATC refractometer comes with calibration fluid and Blue sky sells additional fluid. We shall see how this works out.

http://www.blueskybeesupply.com/blue_sk ... meter.html


Notes:
ATC - uses a bimetallic strip that moves the scale when temperature changes. ATC comes into play when the temperature of the refractometer changes not the sample. Non ATC refractometers can have an incorrect reading if the ambient temp changes by 2.5 degree C about 4.5 degrees F.
The sample and refractometer should be at the same temperature.
Let the sample set on the refractometer for a minute before reading to ensure the temperature of the sample and the refractometer equalizes.
ATC is only good from 50 to 86 Degrees F(10 C to 30 C).


Thoughts:
So if the refractometer is stablized at a temperature is then calibrated and the sample and the refractometer are at the same temp there is no need to have a refractometer with ATC unless the ambient temperature is changing by more then 2.5 degree C or about 4.5 degrees F.
Maybe a flaw in this plan is that the refractometer may have to be recalibrated at 68 degrees F.

[ski]

I received the Bluesky ATC Honey Refractometer today and really like the looks of it.
It has only one scale, that scale is from 12% to 30% with 5 divisions between each percentage. Correction - there are 10 divisions between each whole percentage.
I did a test run and a .2% is clear and easy to read, a .1% is a bit harder since the blue line is a bit thick, maybe if you squint lol.
I am going to let it set overnight so it will be the same temperature as the honey and do a calibration with the calibration block and fluid.

So far I would recommend this unit over the last one I had.

Notes:
What temperature should this unit be calibrated?
The ideal temperature to calibrate is room temperature, 68 degrees f. That is how it is set at the factory.
However, you can calibrate at any temperature, to 19.6%, as long as you will be measuring honey in that range.
However, I recommend calibrating at 68 degrees f. if possible.
Best,
Jamie Morehead
Blue Sky Bee Supply