Harvesting Honey With the Hive Lifter | Pros and Cons

Another weekend, another harvest. Stripping supers with my hive lifter is a bit slower, but the pain saved on my aching back is gold!! In this trip out to the bees, I'll be taking my hive lifter and I'll show you what I think the pros and cons are. For me it's a great tool and I use it where it fits and I don't use it where it doesn't fit. Simple as that. Let's go out and take a look at what we got.
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Thanks for joining me in my bee yard here in Louisiana as I share how I maintain my beehives. My videos are not meant to be 'How To' videos, but simply me sharing my experiences in beekeeping as I learned it from my mentors, teachers, and studies.
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[@kathyhathaway8823]

Something like that would sure come in handy for me with all the surgeries I have had on my back but my Bee yards are not level enough so I will just keep doing it old school an slow . It is good that you can work it into your operation when needed . Thanks for the demonstration because there are a lot of Bee keepers that can use it . Thanks

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, definitely need good ground to use it. It rolls on uneven terrain just fine and is easy to balance, but if the ground directly in front of the hives is not level, it just won’t work out.

[@johnmarshall6572]

Lord willing I will see ya in Pinehurst! Hoping for a Great meeting and good fellowship! God Bless

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes indeed. I’m trying to get the honey in the buckets before I leave!!

[@Burntbranchcreekbees]

Mike, I have the same model hive lifter as you. I don’t get in a hurry with my bees. Stressful for the beekeeper and the bees. God bless.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Good deal. I like mine and when I use it, I’m usually not in a hurry anyhow. It sure makes it easier as I’ll be talking about a little bit in another video.

[@KajunHomestead]

Now that i've gotten over 40 hives now , i'm thinking about getting a hive lifter also, think it could help out my back big time. Thanks for sharing mike.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You can come over this way and borrow mine and see if you like it or not before you buy one. And then go get Joey’s and try his out.

[@jerrydegroot1573]

I love my lifter!

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s a back saver for sure Gerrie!!

[@menace2584]

Looking forward to seeing you at the NCSBA meeting in July. Jeff and Randy were at our spring meeting and did a great job with presentations.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I’m looking forward to the trip!!

[@bowmag803]

Today was my first time ever catching a swarm no gloves,no hood, just me and the bee I got her did. So hopefully I will be a beekeeper

[@MikeBarryBees]

Good deal!! Catching swarms is always a great adventure!!

[@ThatBeeMan]

I love my hive lifter from Boris. I harvest 8000 to 10,000 lbs of honey each season and ALL of it gets lifted with my hive lifter. I usually lift two deeps at a time but sometimes three. The lifter can lift four deeps of honey but that's a lot to handle for me so I stay with two or three. I call my hive lifter my Backsaver 6100!

[@MikeBarryBees]

If I could get the honey b gone to work, I could do two or three supers at a time. Couple days ago I pulled 25 super and the suns was bright and hot and the honey b gone finally worked and I was clearing three supers at a time. Of course I was lift the boxes that day by hand, but three would have been easily doable. I’m switching back to honey bandit next season. It works even when there’s not a lot of heat on the fume board.

[@kenlowrey5612]

Thanks for another good video. I still have to rebuild the arms on my lifter. Boris cut them at the wrong angle and will not allow the lifter arms to line up with the hand holds. After several phone calls with Boris I gave up. He was adamant that I wasn't doing it correctly. Hopefully I can get the arms rebuilt before next year's honey pull.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome Ken and thanks for the support! Hate to hear that you’re still dealing with the lifter issue.

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

Thanks Mike!!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thank you Rodney!!

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

@@MikeBarryBees I did another cutout today in the mountains at Chimney Rock North Carolina. Beautiful place but way too hilly.

[@Ittiz]

almost all the oaks we have here up in New England are hard woods. The soft wood stuff are the poplars. They grow fast, fall often and make a big mess.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Water oaks are always rotten in the middle early in their lifespan. That’s the kind of tree that fell on my hive this year.

[@russellkoopman3004]

People with bad backs really enjoy the lifter. Have a good week.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Ain’t that the truth Russell!!

[@TexasBeekeeper]

I starting pulling my hamstring this year when moving heavy things, so I ordered the hive lifter for that (in addition to saving my back). It's been great. It sure helps a lot. I did just lift a box inside to move it a couple feet and.........pulled my hamstring again. The hive lifter is a great tool. I did get the B3 Model. It's been a pretty bad year for honey though, in my area, so a lot of what I've been doing is pulling a few frames here and there, aside from a couple colonies that had full boxes. For those the hive lifter was great to lift off the box and blow out the bees. Sure have been enjoying your "How to" videos. =)

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, it is great for just moving boxes out of the way. I hate that you have hamstring troubles. Such a painful injury. I was out for a few weeks years back with a torn hamstring. Hope you get it healed up and thanks so much for the support!!

[@goingsouth01]

Up in NC. Looking forward to seeing your talks at the July state meeting.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Looking forward to the trip. Not sure the talks will be any great revelation😂😂. Just going to give y’all what I know😬😬

[@goingsouth01]

@@MikeBarryBees as a newer beekeeper I am looking forward to it all

[@wpankey57]

Thanks for sharing. I appreciate all the camera work you did to make this video. That’s a lot of extra moving around on such a hot day.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks and I appreciate the comment. It does make for a busy day when I’m shooting video. Thanks for the support!!

[@ThatBeeMan]

Boris, who builds the hive lifters, is indeed from Manitoba. He lives no far from me.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I thought so. I talked to him the other day about switching my lift brackets so I can interchange from side grabs and front grabs. Planning on a few two way pallets and I need to be able to grab from the side too.

[@framcesmoore]

Mike so glad you got some honey this year the vdeo was great looking forward tyo your next hope you have a wonderful week.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Frances. Hope you have a great week!!

[@brucesbees]

Certainly has been a handy tool for your operation Mike. Those are some nice looking colonies!

[@MikeBarryBees]

It is handy and looks like I can easily modify it for lifting from the side too when I move some hives into two way pallets. I really like it for moving deeps.

[@StanGore-mk8ow]

man that lifter is awesome!!! wow what a back saver Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

It really is Stan. I don’t use it as much as I should though.

[@morrishomesteadgirls]

Thanks Mike ! Looks like you got a good harvest there

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thank you for watching!!

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

Thanks for showing the hive lifter. I make all my boxes from logs I harvest on my place so I don't know if it would be for my operation. It really does the job and saves your back.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, the lifter needs good handles. That is the key. All the weight rests on about a 1/4 inch on each side in the handhold.

[@tommychew6544]

Great video Mike! it's good to hear the heat and flow comments and how to navigate through those times. Saving the back is always a good thing as we get older, mine is just about shot now days. When you're young you think you'll always be strong, then as you age you learn the truth of the matter. You give such good explanations for why you are doing what you're doing, I can't say that enough, I'm just right on keel with what you are describing so that I can understand better!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Tommy and yea, we feel indestructible when we’re young. I have gained wisdom in the last ten years and now I know when to stop and take a break and when to ask for help. Takes some hard days to finally learn that sometimes.

[@lindagray5857]

Could you please put a link for your blower? Thanks and good luck with your honey.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It's the Ryobi 18V Cordless Compact Workshop Blower. I actually inherited mine. The link is about a page long, so just search for Ryobi 18V Cordless Compact Workshop Blower and it should come up for you.

[@terryhagen2711]

You can do another livestream when you spin out your frames

[@MikeBarryBees]

I almost did one this evening, but then just got in a rhythm and never stopped. I have plenty of boxes to extract, so maybe tomorrow. I have :5 under fans right now in the honey house and I have to have them all done by Tuesday morning.

[@filipvernica258]

Tithing with straps under more secure if the box is small er

[@MikeBarryBees]

That would take too long. If I run across boxes that don’t fit, I just grab them and carry them. There are not that many that don’t fit, so carrying one here or there infant a big deal I figure. Thanks for watching!!

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

Mike hate I’ll miss your presentation at the NC conference, I’m still a slave to the man for another few months. Enjoy NC and safe travels

[@MikeBarryBees]

That’s too bad, but Lord willing, I’ll see you at the Expo again.

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

@@MikeBarryBees yes Lord willing I’ll be there

[@researcherAmateur]

I wish I could use something like that but not on this terrain. It's way too rocky and uneven.. l use a lot of jester nucks when I'm alone and not much honey .. or a friend comes and we use a "hive stretcher". It's like for humans but it has a square hole in it with a strong net made from straps.. for moving hives on rough terrain. You can adjust how deep will the hive drop down in the net to be sure you won't drop everything if you make a wrong step. I'm pretty happy with it if I can say it myself because I invented it for moving hives in impossible places here on the islands. It works great for moving only supers of honey. That's when you bring a couple of strong friends and you feed them good 😂. Have a good one my friend and stay away from the heat if you can

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea for sure this lifter won’t work on rough and very rocky or uneven terrain. I like hearing about inventions like yours. Beekeepers have so many of their own innovations to make the job better or easier. Have a great week!!

[@researcherAmateur]

@@MikeBarryBees thanks Mike. Did you see the "story" l wrote about how we had to extract nectar on one island and bring it to our main island.. spread it on a lot of hives so they can finish it into honey.

[@MikeBarryBees]

@@researcherAmateur I sure did. I remember you explaining that. I thought about it like island hopping with honey😁😁

[@researcherAmateur]

@@MikeBarryBees Haha, we never went back with the hives. Back then it was too much work when there was honey everywhere. Now l'm thinking about one last try with a small group of friends next spring. We don't do much lobster fishing like than so we would have time. And now the lighthouse keeper has a big tractor with a trailer. The biggest job is from boat to land.. and back.. it must be done with a small dinghy to the beach. But everything else would be much easier. Our boats are made to live in for days on open sea. TV, fridge, bathroom, kitchen... even the sink 😁. Shower The island is a little bit of pine trees, sheep and covered with rosemary bushes and no other bees to compete with. But by July everything must be moved back home or they would starve. It just cuts over night and becomes a floral desert. And you know it would be a good adventure to do it one more time prepared. Not like then when my father fished and I was talking care of the bees. If we do it I'll send you pictures

[@caterthun4853]

Need a hive lifter that folds down to carry in car

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, that would be nice. This one is very bulky. It fits in the ruck no problem, but then there not a lot of room for anything else. Thanks for watching!!

[@adamsoutdoors]

What do you use on your fume board? I made one for this years harvest, have never used one. Just wondering what works best to get the bees out of the supers.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I have been using Honey-B-Gone the last couple years and it's just OK. If the fume boards are in good sun and get really hot it works really well. But if there is any shade or it's not hot, it's just ok. Personally, I am going to go back to Honey Bandit. Not Honey Robber. Honey Robber is the really awful smelling stuff. But Honey Bandit worked better in my opinion than the Honey-B-Gone. Fishers Bee Quick is also a good one. I went to Honey-b-Gone because of the available size and sprayer. But I will go back to Honey Bandit next season. Just works better to me.

[@filipvernica258]

What vacuum /blower you use?

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s a Ryobi shop and bench blower.

[@wadebarnes6720]

It's so hot here I started at 6 ft I'm 5'5 melted in my shoes

[@MikeBarryBees]

😂😂😂

[@honeyandthecoop803]

About to move to using fume boards next season, how many supers will a fume board clear at a time? Can it do 3 to 4 or just one at a time, thanks Mr.Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

In very good sun and heat where the board get good and hot, it will clear two to three, especially the Honey Bandit brand. I was doing three at a time today in the heat.

[@researcherAmateur]

Only 94 and 50% .. here is 150 and humidity is 90% in the minus.. under 0. If l only knew how much is 94 degrees. I have 35-40c and no humidity at all. The honey is always dry here

[@MikeBarryBees]

I think that’s the issue with the honey taking so long to cure. The bees are blowing humidity right thru the hive. I had one that was fermented in the frame and bubbling like soda!!

[@researcherAmateur]

@@MikeBarryBees yep, probably. If the outside is humid like the inside there's no use of them ventilating humidity around. The only solution is what you do and dry it yourself. Here it usually comes out of the extractor thick and slow. And most of them when they crystallize they already look like creamed honey. It's the dry air.. the same that makes my dearth so long