Extracting Honey, How I Do | Equipment I Use

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

Mike it’s good to see the honey flowing for you, after a rocky start. May you be blessed with tallow

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks, I’m sure liking this jump on the harvest I got. and the tallow is shaping up to be good. But only time will tell.

[@tommychew6544]

Great episode showing how it's done in your area! Hearing you describe why you do things is what I like the most, forever the teacher and you are great at it! I always look forward to the next episode from you.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much Tommy. I really appreciate your support!!

[@TupeloBeeMan]

I am a new beekeeper and I want to thank you for all your videos. They are very beneficial. Pray that you have strong flow of Tallow in the coming weeks. God Bless!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much and very happy that you enjoy the videos! Glad they’re helping you!

[@KajunHomestead]

Looking good Mike

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Brad!!

[@salembeeman370]

Folks welcome to the hardest working man in Louisiana! Mike you are always inspiring. In my little operation my biggest haul was 220lbs out of 4 hives and I was excited about that. Wow 500+ lbs. I'm praying your Tallo comes in good.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Wow!! Such a humbling comment! Thanks so much for the kind words.

[@jweaver7170]

Outstanding job. Now for my mud boots and check on the colonies. Finally getting some sunshine before the next storm. Thanks for taking us along,

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks! We’re into the rains as well. More tonight! But I’ll take it. Better than drought.

[@adamsoutdoors]

Liquid Gold, such a beautiful sight to see honey flowing. God Bless Mike.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes indeed! Thanks!!

[@Burntbranchcreekbees]

When I first saw the quilting square on your honey house, I said why does Mike have a quilting square with a face on it? Then I saw the bee.😂. Great early harvest and what a blessing. You harvested as much there as what we had all year last year, so👍👍👍. An uncapping tank and smooth quiet extractor are game changers. God bless brother!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea Russ that was a gift. I sure do like it. It’s a great start for sure and I hope we see the main flow go well. Only time will tell.

[@russellaymond312]

Great harvest Mike and thank you for the video.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Russell and you’re welcome!

[@brianbennett4374]

Looking good 👍 thanks for sharing 👍

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome! Thanks Brian!

[@redfish440]

Thanks Mike, that’s a nice honey haul, hope your tallow is even better, God bless!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much and I hope so too!

[@gallowaylights]

Sweet extraction 😊

[@MikeBarryBees]

Literally😁😁😂😂

[@honeyandthecoop803]

I love my Hillco 18 frame Ultramax Extractor as well, Mike. All I had before that was a 2 frame Tangential extractor. It took me a weekend and several days after work till bedtime to say enough is enough.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, it’s a great machine for sure. I just love how smooth and balanced it is and how quiet it is truly amazes me. I don’t regret buying it one bit. I can definitely relate to enough is enough.😁😁

[@jonclemons1421]

That is some beautiful CLEAR honey! I hope your next pull is as successful.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Jon! I hope so too!

[@billchriswell2925]

👍 good to see it flowing. Still have a ways to go up North. I gave up on initial straining last season. Just let it settle for a couple days in 5 gal buckets then skim the gunk off.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I agree Bill, happy to see it flowing this well. I’ve often thought of doing that with the settling. I am not sure how much space I’ll lose, but I’m almost at that point.

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

You have a nice system setup! Thanks Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Rodney!

[@keithspillman]

Pulling/extracting honey makes for some BUSY days!!!!! We have a lot of privet around here, but the tulip poplar trumps it on color so I don't get the light colored honey like you do. Looks like you're off to a GREAT start this year!!!! Happy for you!!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

You got that right Keith!! A lot of busy days for sure. I see you’re having a great season so far yourself. Take care!

[@Sam.2zo]

Mike I am a old Bee keeper. I had bee's for about 50 years. I enjoy your video's so much. I got to say you and Mr Ed and the dirt roster has showed me so many better ways on keeping bee's. Thank you so much

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well, I sure appreciate the comment!! So humbling to read this. I keep in touch with Randy and Jeff on a regular basis and they help me out immensely.

[@Jimhamby859]

Your extraction videos are always my favorite. Thanks Mike. Have a great week.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Glad you liked it Jim!! You have a great week as well!!

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

Those Kelly knives are great. When I heard Kelly was getting sold I bought a spare.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I sure wish I’d a thought about it. They are great!

[@dsummerscm]

Great video Mike! Always enjoy watching the extraction process and the different ways everyone does it. That honey looks delicious! Hope you get a lot more honey this season.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much Dawn. Hope you guys are well and have a great season as well!

[@KJO-1972]

Great video!! Thanks for sharing!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks and glad you liked it!!

[@rickyyeldell7262]

Nice start to the season.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I agree. Thanks!!

[@johnnybstuddd4482]

That clear honey looks delicious. I always heard that privet honey wasn't very good tasting honey.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s a very floral honey. I have some folks that love it. It tastes fine to me but it’s not my favorite. But I’ve never understood why some say it isn’t good honey unless it’s a regional deal. Could be other varieties of privet give a different taste or different soil type cause the plant to yield different tasting nectar made up of different concentrations of the sugars. I don’t know. They are a wild ligustrum, so there could be many varieties. I will blend most of it with summer honey as it goes in the bottler and it blends into a great honey. Thanks for watching!!

[@mikesbeesllc3352]

Great video Mike. I built my honey house very similar to yours and I use your method for drying my honey. My extractor is the Hillco 9 frame and my uncapping tank is also Hillco. Thanks for sharing and God Bless.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Mike! I got kicked out of the kitchen, so my honey house is converted from climate controlled storage that I was building😁😁

[@russellkoopman3004]

Your new job sure keeps you busier than in the past. Looks like you may have a bumper crop this year which hopefully will make up for last year. Mike, have a good one and thanks for the video.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It really does have me up against the wall Russell. Something has to give soon. The tallow is shaping up to be good, but I never really count on anything until I see it in the boxes.

[@timmorris7022]

Oh man that looks good! Kentucky is having such an early flow but a good one.Long time coming imo.Thank you mother nature! That Hilco extractor is awesome ,i cant wait until we start harvesting supers. Is that a new Mike Barry t-shirt ?I gotta get one or two those when they are available. As always thanks for sharing !

[@MikeBarryBees]

Glad y’all are getting some early flows Tim. The HillCo machine has set me on a better level for sure. As far as the shirt, I made a couple to test the waters and see what it took to make them, so I haven’t went too much farther than that. If I do, I’ll be sure to let you know. Appreciate you my friend and all you do! Stay safe!

[@phillipduncan2497]

Looking forward to using my new Hillco extractor this year. I may have to move to the Hillco uncapping tank if we get a great flow here in Missouri.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Great machine Phil! I love mine for sure.

[@Devonhoneyandcandles]

you've got some quality liquid gold there Mike

[@MikeBarryBees]

I think so Devon! Ready to get into some thinner stuff though😂😂

[@creekbird_homestead]

Lawww, east Tn here. 3 swarms and I am now behind because of work and crops

[@MikeBarryBees]

I gotta say, I stay behind😁😁. A day at a time is all we can do. The whole work thing really gets in the way I’m finding🤨😂

[@creekbird_homestead]

@@MikeBarryBees don’t it, though!! 🤣

[@framcesmoore]

Ha Mike so glad for u. I use my kitchen for the extracting and I do have a mess every year. I put a tarp on the floor, I also dry the honey for 3 days, I seen how to do that on bob binnie vedio a very long time ago. but I only run the de humidifier and the fans and when I extract the honey it is 90 in the room does the ac make it cooler. Really enjoyed the video and again very glad you are getting a crop. Looking forward to the next video. Hope u have a God Blessed week.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Frances. Well, I got booted from the kitchen, so I had to make a honey house😂😂. I would like to have a hot room rather than it being g so cool, but just not able to make it happen with my little ho why house.

[@josephrawls]

That was fun!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Would’ve been more fun if you’d been in there helping me😁😁

[@pawelcc38]

👍👍👍

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks!

[@HaasBuzzHomestead9909]

👍

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks!!

[@WindwalkerBees]

My bees are too new to have made a big surplus from the privet, hopefully enough for me to sneak a taste soon though. That looked like an exhausting day!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Definitely exhausting!! I hope they make you a frame or two just to squeeze into a jar for yourself. But then again, believe our goal with new bees is to have them ready for winter so that come next spring, they’re happy and healthy and ready to pollinate and gather. Hope you have great successes with your bees!

[@riverfish15]

Mike, always love your videos! Where did you get the idea for the "Frame Cracker"? if you can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it. Mark from "A Mark of Beekeeping"

[@MikeBarryBees]

It came from Kuenzer Honey Farm at the Bee Expo. They have a facebook page and you can contact them on that. Check out the links in the description of my video and you should be able to link to them and then message him. Glad you enjoy the channel and thanks for the support!!!

[@SortOfaBeekeeper]

What a great start to the season! I really enjoy your videos and how you do things! Do you have a video of pulling honey supers off the hives? I struggle getting all the bees off and getting the the frames into the house bee free😅

[@MikeBarryBees]

So glad you enjoy the videos Carol!! I do have some videos on pulling the supers. I use a fume board with an all natural commercially sold repellent. The last video last week shows how I do it, but here is a link to last year’s video that goes a little better into how I do it. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHvSk52Jdqh8rbcsi=HRf7seZVbcBCvSfB

[@SortOfaBeekeeper]

@@MikeBarryBees thank you for the link. I will definitely check out the video 💖

[@thomasbroussard3761]

Mike,just to verify. Was this video made April 1st or May 1st? I ask because I have the same problem most beekeepers have . Never enough drawn honey supers.

[@tommychew6544]

I wondered about that one too. I lose track of time and dates like nobody's business myself. It's odd that time moves faster as we get older, I see it all the time in my life. Time crawled by when I was young and races by now in my late 50's, part of me sees it as a gift. I don't know how to explain it, just life I guess.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It was May 1st. Did I put April? Oh, I hope not. I need to go back and check. It was definitely May 1st and the supers were pulled on April 30th.

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

Mike what is the white thing on the floor under your supers. Looks like a pad of some sort.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s just a 4 X 8 sheet of plastic board. Same stuff yard signs are made of. I use that and cardboard so it’s easy cleanup. I can take the cardboard to a recycle center and the plastic board I can just scrape and then hose off. It then goes back in the loft.

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

@@MikeBarryBees Good idea. I use card board but it doesn't last . The plastic is reusable.

[@kendledoll1597]

As for the hot knife Sometimes old habits are hard to change I am not in the honey business but I am in repair with tools and I just cannot use new ones cause I am so used to my old ones so much so I go on line sometimes and buy one just like my old ones to keep from using the new style I bought. I am crazy

[@MikeBarryBees]

And I do believe that’s really a lot of it for me. Just like you said. I want to re-try a hot knife one of these days.

[@creekbird_homestead]

About to harvest mid to late next week for the first time. Kinda nervous😂

[@MikeBarryBees]

Great!! Hope it’s a good one!! Nothing to be nervous about. You’ll have a great time and it’s always fun for family and friends. Give us an update.

[@creekbird_homestead]

@@MikeBarryBees I hope so!! Thank you and I will :)

[@chriskalnasy7116]

Hey Mike, so are you just doing a single filter out of the extractor on top of the bucket and thats it? Will be extracting for the first time myself here in about a month and just gaining whatever knowledge I can.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s a double strainer actually. It has about 400 micron bottom strainer and a 600 on top. It’s slows down quite a bit when I’m getting a lot of wax in it. A settling tank is on my wish list😁😁

[@kendledoll1597]

When you are done do you market it as privet honey or do you mix it later

[@MikeBarryBees]

I’ll market the first 10 gallons that I’ve set aside and only to folks word of mouth. The rest just get blended in with the tallow and other wildflower. It’s truly a hard thing to do separate containers at the market with our schedule, limited time and most of all, only one heated bottling tank. I know that sounds kind of lazy, but it really doesn’t yield the results versus the effort marketing and bottling it separately. It the first ten gallons we’ll keep separate and it’ll go fast.

[@smittysbees6860]

How long does the radial extractor need to run to get the honey out. My extractor is a tangental and its pretty fast.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes is what I’ve seen. All depends on honey. Tallow will be put in 8 minutes.

[@doctortcbkk2027]

That extractor is sooooo quiet! Mine is so wonky and loud

[@MikeBarryBees]

Oh yea, it’s a gem and it hums!! I love the HillCo.

[@Peter_Gunn]

Mike, I bet privet would make some beautiful comb honey since it's so clear! Glad your having a good year.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It does. If I knew I could count on that flow, I’d make a box. It’s so clear and clean!!

[@3Beehivesto300]

I would set you ac air temp to 90 deg

[@MikeBarryBees]

That would be way too hot for that room because it doubles as climate controlled storage as well. For the small amount of honey produce, I’m ok with it being cool in there. The humidity is really the main driver for drying honey, so color hot, I keep it at 35% and I can dry honey in a 24 hour period. Hot rooms are more efficient, but for small amounts, being cool doesn’t hurt the process for me. But it would make the honey flow easier, that’s for sure.

[@asklandrup]

Double screen / snelgrove?

[@MikeBarryBees]

Not sure what you’re asking, but if it’s if they’re the same, then I’d say almost the same. SNELLGROVE just has a bunch of entrances so you can bleed bees off of a particular box and double screen has one entrant. Both are double screens used for particular sits. If you already knew that and were asking me what I use, then I don’t use SNELLGROVE. Way too complicated for 40+ hives.

[@asklandrup]

@@MikeBarryBees u might get better result with bob binnies setup. Double screen method. He does it a simple way and I think he run 2000 colonies

[@MikeBarryBees]

@@asklandrup I don’t use double screens as much. I like Bob’s method, and he runs 1500 colonies, but I have my own method that is geared toward 40 colonies and works for my own time and schedule. I have been working with double screens for 12 years now and I fit them in when I need to. In the other instances, I use excluders and shakes, as does Bob as well. Just depends on goals and flows.

[@rodkirt9273]

Great plan but unless one has the capacity to produce the energy from a solar panel system , your plan is not feasible for economical gain .? 🤷‍♂️ The overall cost of electricity would render your net profit for a respectable amount of net gain/profit .? 🤔🤷‍♂️

[@MikeBarryBees]

Umm, ok? I’m good with my power.