Honey Extracting

Paul Kelly, Research and Apiary Manager, with the help of Apiary Assistants Taylor and Catherine, demonstrate the honey extracting system used at the University of Guelph.
Frequently asked questions: @
A descriptive transcript is available here: www.uoguelph.c...
For more videos, check out the University of Guelph's Honey Bee Research Centre KZbin channel at this link:
/ @uoghoneybeeresearchce...
Filmed by Nancy Bradbury; Edited by Andrew Pitek.
We would like to thank Québec beekeepers Marie-Hélène Majeau and Susan Kennerknecht for translating our videos into French. We are very grateful for their help with this project. (To view translation, click on settings then subtitles)
Nous aimerions remercier deux apicultrices du Québec, Marie-Hélène Majeau et Susan Kennerknecht pour la traduction de ces vidéos en français. Nous leur en sommes très reconnaissants. (Pour accéder à la traduction française, sélectionnez paramètres et ensuite sous-titres)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thank you to everyone for watching and supporting our videos! If you have any questions about our videos, please check out our list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS on our website, which can be found at honeybee.uoguelph.ca/videos/frequently-asked-questions/

[@duncanjames914]

Your videos are incredibly informative and well done. Thank you for making these valuable lessons available to the public. Great job!

[@scubamario2006]

Hi, and thank you for your videos. I'm watching you from Romania and I love your videos for the good and condensed information . Do you move your bees to a better harvest or you are in a good nectar resource area ?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

@@scubamario2006 Hello way over in Romania! Nice to hear you like our videos. We do try to keep them short and to the point. We keep our bees in one location for the most part. We don't have better areas to move to as you likely do. Our area has a good nectar flow from June until mid September from a variety of flowers. It all depends on the weather though. A cold wet spring here so far :(

[@scubamario2006]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Hi, indeed a capricious spring also here with hot days alternating with cold and wet. The main nectar flow here is from acacia tree who is blossomed this year only 10 to 20 %.

[@ronaldwilkes1814]

So glad you're making new videos, one of my favorite channels

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Ronald We did 21 last year that are being released now and hope to do more in 2019. Thanks for your encouragement!

[@razenroy8386]

I see this channel regularly. Very good short videos.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks! We are happy to be able to help.

[@johnnyeyez78]

I’m not sure how this channel was recommended for me but I can’t stop watching. Something so peaceful and easy about bees and a bees life. Now I want my own hive for our giant family garden and for some amazing honey.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi There That's a nice description of your impressions. Thanks!

[@chrisbgarrett]

Quite impressive. I've been eye balling that style of extractor. Thanks for the video

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

You are very welcome Garret.

[@pionirsrka]

Great videos! Keep going! Nice work!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:) !!!

[@dawntless]

This is such an interesting video! Actually all your videos are. They are pretty informative too! So you just entertained me at this quarantine time. 😉

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Dawn Great to hear you are staying safe at home and enjoying our videos! Thanks.

[@bvierville1]

That is a lot of honey! Thanks for sharing!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Never enough! You are most welcome.

[@beebob1279]

Always wanted to know how the larger operations like yours cleans all that equipment. What's the process? How will you process your wax? Where does your product go? I'm very small but can sell all my product to keep the hobby/business going.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi again Bob Warm water and lots of it at the end of extracting season. I wrote a bit on that on our website. See the tips tricks and tools section. I hope to do a video on wax processing next year. We sell everything out the front door. 300 kg a week plus other hive products. That helps us keep doing what we do. I'm sure you'll do well with sales. We find that the only problem is producing enough!

[@vaclav2062]

great informative videos

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thaks Václav!

[@andrewsherwin2664]

We use a cowen 60 frame. This is just a small version of that. I like it. I’m thinking I should get one of these as a backup or for extracting in our southern base in GA.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Too bad. They don't make the 28 anymore. Want to swap?

[@gstreets2084]

Great video!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks!

[@nikigores8774]

It's fascinating and slick how you just tipped the honey supers to insert the bee escape before harvesting. I noticed one colony had seven supers in all! How is there enough room for all the bees to escape into that one deep?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Nicki Sometimes there isn't. We have to look at the supers as we harvest them to make sure all the bees are out. If there are still a few we blow them out or brush them off. Most times though the escapes work well and there are very few bees in the supers.

[@christianschmidt9112]

Impressive just gosh darn impressive

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Well thanks Christian!

[@GolfSuperTillman]

New to beekeeping so I apologize in advance if this is an ignorant question. By removing all the supers and forcing all the field force bees into the single deep, does this not promote an instant swarm instinct more or less?? Wouldn’t the population appear to explode in the bee’s view?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Welcome to beekeeping! Bees swarm just prior to the main nectar flow. For us swarming starts in Mid may. Removing all the supers in the fall works as 1 The population is dwindling then 2 It's colder so bees cluster more closely. 3 It's not swarm season

[@BroJim62]

Great videos! I have been steadily watching all of them. I work with beekeepers in Kosovo, but I have not previous experience with honey bees. I’m learning a lot as I go. I can’t seem to find a good video on lowering the moisture content of honey. In the video it appears that you store the honey immediately. Do you ever need to lower the moisture of your honey? If so, can you share your methods? Again, wonderful video!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:) our video honey moisiture answers your questions. Thanks.

[@BroJim62]

You all are amazing!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We like to share - it feels good! :) You will too. Thanks so much for your positive feedback.

[@BernyHi_CosmicHoney]

Thank you for sharing. I am wondering if you collect the honey that drips out of frames after they are uncapped, yet still waiting to be put into the extractor?

[@davidfornaro7390]

Love your channel - Watched them all...Clear, and Percisie info, love it! Keep the videos coming! I do have one question, im in australia and ive always had a lot of trouble with ants...the real small ones always seem to find my honey boxes, stored frames and even sometimes between harvesting frames and extraction. it is a real pain. Any tips?

[@davidhelbock1859]

Excellent Videos! Thank you. My bees are better off this year and more productive because of what I learn watching your videos. Where did you get the red table used to clean the empty hive, really perfect and a nice height. Thanks again!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi David We had that made up at a welding shop. I added the white plastic strips cut from plastic cutting boards. This was used for stops and glides. Another time I'd add a chute to better catch the scrapings in the tote below. Thanks for your kind comments! Great to hear our videos have helped you.

[@Quarterhorsey1]

Is there somewhere you address crystalized honey? I'm very smalltime but am constantly challenged with crystalizing honey, mostly from Canola. What would you suggest i do with it? I tried using it as winter feed but learned the hard way that it doesn't always work well because i'm told it takes too much energy for them to utilize it ;\ I had 4 deadouts w/ it and another 8 supers all with crystalized honey. Can you suggest an easy way for a smalltimer to extra honey after its crystalized? Now that i know how quickly it turns (within days, not weeks), i am better prepared this year (my 2nd yr). Thanks so much ;]

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Sarah No we haven't addressed this topic yet. Crystalization isn't a major problem for us here. Where it is a problem beekeepers have to harvest their honey very soon after it is ripened by the bees. For example in areas where canola is grown the honey is harvested right after the bloom finishes. I'm not sure what the best way to deal with already crystalized honey. We just put frames with crystalized honey back in the supers for bees to deal with the next year. That may not work well if you have a lot.

[@offshoot1008]

This is my first year with 1 hive in june 2021. A beekeeper i buy supplies from mentioned that bees get diarhea and in sept in canada i should take all the honey this year and start feeding syrup . Have you heard of this and what are your suggestions .

[@peterlightbody8443]

Why is there a plastic liner in the 44 gallon drum .

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

I can't clean a barrel enough to satisfy my OCD so we use perfectly clean barrel liners.

[@MsDaddyrabbit1]

Excellent

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thank you!

[@Phreekful]

Love the videos! Can you describe how you store empty frames/supers over the winter? Do you use moth crystals?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

No crystals. Freezing temps. Thanks!

[@mooneyfarms2440]

Can you do a video on using 9 frame honey supers? If you start with a new honey super that has to be drawn out, do you start with 10 frames then reduce them to 9 so that the comb stays even? Or do you start with 9 frames even if the frames aren't drawn out? Thanks. Love your videos.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

HI there We use 9 frames spacers in our honey boxes so draw the comb out that way. You could see our video ' Drawing Comb' for more details. Nice to hear you find our videos helpful!

[@josephwoodall832]

Wow very cool

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:)

[@khawk7365]

How many barrels of honey do you get on average season? How many hives are you running to get that number of barrels? I am a hobbyist with 2 hives but I want to ramp up once I get the basics down. So I am trying to figure out what the numbers will be to transition from hobby to making a living.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We get about 100 lbs per colony but it varies year to year and location to location. Ask around in your area to see what the average yield is. Good luck K Hawk.

[@SolusD]

Huge fan of your channel, and everything Guelph. Question: What temperature do you keep you aim to get your honey to in the settling process?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

28 to 30 C you have to do the conversion! :)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Forgot to say thanks. THANKS!

[@danielforman1363]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre Coming back to say thank you, how Canadian! (Love and respect from the USA!)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

@@danielforman1363 'Thanks' Daniel. We do try to be nice. I just saw your comment. You guys are nice there in the USA too. I've had a lot of fun visiting US beekeepers. You are less reserved, say what you think and laugh easily.

[@lifeonsibuyanphilippines7212]

Is the damage to the comb a result of the orientation of the frames while spinning? It seems to ba a weird way/orientation to spin the frames. . . very convineint to load and unload though.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

The uncapper mashes up the comb a bit but it really isn'r a problem. This orientation of extraction allows feeding and unloading of the extractor to be very efficient. A Canadian invention!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Thanks for your earlier support in the comments Life on Sibuyan.

[@lovemagic469]

@@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre hello from Romania,how much the extraction machine cost if you don't mind?

[@3Beehivesto300]

Does your line have the silver queen on it?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Yes it does Justin. It works well but you need to keep spare push bars in stock.

[@campdavidsonfunctionaltrai8583]

looking to expand my bees and want something like your system. What is it? Where did you buy it?

[@hectorbarrios8178]

When are you going to add more videos!?

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

We have a few more coming out soon.

[@medic5836]

That’s a nice machine where can I get one.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Cowen USA.

[@brodyparro4679]

Where do you purchase your barrels? Thanks

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Brody We purchase barrels from a local company that gets them from fruit juice concentrate importers. ( Brubacher Drums in Elmira ON) They are about $20 each.

[@brodyparro4679]

Thanks!

[@billelabdou9841]

Thank you for this excellent video , is it possible to start the breeding of queens and i don't have the males? , that there is a bees of neighbors can be they have sufficient male, because I am a hurry to have queens, What are genetically inherited traits of males and what genetically inherited traits of maternal queens are, and thank you in advance.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Billel I'd only raise queens at a time of year when drones are plentiful. Defensive ness is largely inherited from the drones and the reverse for hygienic behaviour. That's about all I can comment inheritance on here.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Oh yes, you are very welcome :)

[@billelabdou9841]

Thank you very much for this excellent answer and we're waiting for new videos that are very useful as usual .

[@KajunHomestead]

where are the bees

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Bradley Please see our video 'Harvesting Honey" to see how we remove the bees.

[@SithMami]

How much does this extractor cost?? Eventually the honey will pay for it :)

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Cowan gave us a good deal about 15 years ago. It was around $10,000 Canadian. Paid for many times over!

[@bilalkanit2962]

sir do you have idea about bumble bee breading

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi There No we work with honey bees and their management is very different compared to bumble bees. I know a bit about culturing bumble bee but not enough to provide advice.

[@bilalkanit2962]

i'm really in need information because master degree in university sir but i didnt found and thang you again sir

[@hezaswellguy2734]

"Sweet" set up.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

:)

[@Bri_bees]

I would have thought you would put the empty box's outside for the bees to clean up before putting them into storage. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKHanpWjd8eWgdU I would like to thank you for all your wisdom , i have successfully grafted and mated my first queens with the help of your videos. The only trouble i had was any time i put the queen cell in they killed her so i had to let them emerge into a cage than put them into the mating nuc.

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi There Glad we could be helpful! We don't need to set the supers out to be cleaned up. They store well in an unheated building and are very attractive to the bees when we put them on the following year. There is also a risk of spreading American Foulbrood if we let the bees clean up the frames by robbing. I don't know why your queen cells aren't accepted unless the hive already has a queen. We get very high success of queen cell introduction, much higher than virgin introduction.

[@DraGon-cg6ge]

0:01name ?prices?link?thanks bro!

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi Dra All the equipment is made by Cowan in the US. www.cowenmfg.com/

[@jamesritchie8540]

advance 10 finished frames on the rails.....pickup a clean super and place it under the frames and lift it up putting the 10 frames into the super. pull the super toward the end of the rails and allow the frames to drop into the super....guess what !!!.....no handling of frames...faster cleaner and more efficient ....

[@UoGHoneyBeeResearchCentre]

Hi James That doesn't work well with our Stoller frame spacers mounted in the boxes. It takes longer to shuffle them into place. Your suggestion works well for those that don't have frames spacers though. We only put 9 frames in our supers.

[@detlefschmidt3927]

inefficient! they think and act very complex, technically! winning honey by hand must be the benchmark - for everything on equipment! Any exposure of the processed materials to the surrounding air is extremely bad - even for honey! lingering in the system and spinning for 10 minutes - generates a lot of heat.