The Amazing Lyson Automatic Bottler!

[@Shawn-cg2wu]

I have been running a lyson bottler for going on three years. I have run about 6000lbs through it and it has absolutely made my processing more efficient. I skipped the using a jack to put the bottling tank on and went straight to a compact honey pump. I run a smaller bottling tank on a stand above my bottler with a large settling tank on the floor. The smaller bottling tank warms faster and I run a shorter hose to compensate for the variation you will get in temperature. Great investment my kids can bottle, label and case 350 bottles per hour. Even if you’re selling at $10 a pound that equals to $3500 per hour out the door. I would recommend building a bottling station on wheels with a small tank right above the bottler and a table that will be at the same level as the machine to put full bottles. You run out of space quick when it’s just yourself bottling.

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

@@Shawn-cg2wu I like the reply’s from people that have used automatic bottlers . The comments from non user are so incorrect .

[@beesintheweeds]

Fact

[@beesintheweeds]

Awesome! Glad to hear it has worked so well for you for several years. I really enjoyed using mine and look forward to decades of use!

[@Sullivans_bee_farm]

Get an enclosed trailer to bottle honey/ graft some bees/ even extract honey in the enclosed trailer

[@BrianCooper901]

That should save you some time! I noticed Nathan at Duck River Honey outlines where his bottle is placed (maybe with a paint marker?) on the filler so he can just quickly place a jar and fill it. The foot pedal is nice if you have much more honey I could see you probably could get in a rhythm of grabbing empties and moving the full ones and tapping your foot to speed up the process but I would think that would be more at a much larger scale. Efficiency is important! One of our local guys has a swienty with a turn table that is a massive time saver. At 90F I would consider that "warming" honey not heating it, like you said that's less than a normal hive temperature. I just wouldn't leave it at the temperature for very long but if you are bottling it all I don't think it would be left that high for long. Bob Binnie has a good video on how the enzymes break down at different temperatures over time.

[@beesintheweeds]

Hey Brian! Completely agree on all accounts. I have seen Nathan's video and kind of copied his idea on using the hydraulic lift. I've also seen Bob Binnie's video on the breakdown with temps. He gave the same presentation at NAHBE earlier this year. Good stuff for sure. And I definitely want to get more efficient. Just going to take some time using it. And I do not keep the honey stored in the tank. I bottle everything I dump in the tank within a few days. Cheers!

[@susanl3702]

I like it. Your bees look good. Got a cheap hand blender to mix up apiguard top to bottom 3RD gen

[@sonofthunder.]

Is it a gear pump,or diaphram?

[@beesintheweeds]

Fairly certain it is a gear pump.

[@michaelmcnair1880]

How do you plan to sell most of your honey? wholesale? farmers markets?

[@beesintheweeds]

Hello! I currently participate in the La Grange, KY farmer's market Saturday mornings. I also plan to have next year's honey up on a website. Folks also come to my door for local pickup. I'm fairly flexible.

[@codygibbons1513]

My recommendation is that you build your own pole barn.... And whats up with the peanut butter?

[@beesintheweeds]

Why would I do that when my Dad offers up his for use? 🙂 The peanut butter in the distance? Used to bait mouse traps.

[@reck9953]

You should have looked into the Hill co Speed Fill it’s AMAZING ! and there’s no topping off!

[@beesintheweeds]

Are you weighing each and every bottle to within a tenth of an ounce?

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

You are kidding me right? First off it’s really not a Hilco. They just put somebody else’s label on it. That thing is made in China and for the most part assembled in China and Hilco put a few tweaks on it in the USA made . My goodness . What is the deal with this Hilco cult?

[@mrwonk]

Given that 453 grams is a pound (or 454, as there is some change there); it seems to me, there may be a calibration issue with your bottler. you shouldn't be having to do your "topping off" process.

[@beesintheweeds]

I’ll look into it. Thank you.

[@dcrosco1458]

I like the machinery that you just got for bottling. I cannot believe the price for the fittings wow. But with the prices of everything you bought means the price of your honey is going up. Which is not right for the consumers, Hope you dont lose any consumers of your honey. This recession we are in could hurt your business. GOD bless you and I am happy you got the new up grades.

[@beesintheweeds]

Hello! It’s actually the opposite although it may seem counterintuitive to you. I actually LOWERED the price of my honey this year from $20 a pound to $16 a pound. I do not pass my expenses on to my consumers. Yes, selling honey does help to offset some of my costs but it’s not why I’m a beekeeper. I keep bees because I enjoy doing so and want to help our extremely important pollinators. Cheers and have a wonderful day!!

[@dcrosco1458]

@@beesintheweeds NO I would of not raised my prices. Business 101 the lower the price the more you will make. That is great to hear.A lot of people would of raised their prices up and people cannot afford that today. It is good to hear people that sell honey is enjoying their bees first and not second. ENJOY your bees and keep them safe.

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

I thought an automatic bottler would run continuous bottles without having to stop and weigh them?

[@beesintheweeds]

Hi Glen. I've not seen one like that but I'm sure they exist. Perhaps the Swienty models?

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

@@beesintheweedsyour will if you buy the turn table

[@jamesruan913]

I started my beekeeping life just like you went all in ,need all the best known equipment ,am looking for my own land also - so beekeeping buying the best equipment on the market seeing KZbinrs bringing you closer to the next best product ,but $3K I’ve not paid that it’s was just short of £650 it’s genius technology is coming from the science lab accuracy ,watching you add .01 oz to get your pound ,I know your very excited and it probably far better than you’ve done in the pass 2 years but program the machine so that it’s spot on a pound ,changing over to glass you’d have to program again but it’s just the once - your killing me adding that 0.01 everytime wasting more of your time to get your pound - am loving your enthusiasm but ask for your money back or is that all import taxes am not sure which country mines made or came from but am based in the UK in but $3k oh come on - we’re backyard beekeepers or side-liners .

[@beesintheweeds]

Hello! I agree, however, it does get very dialed in after you get to a consistent temperature of honey. This video was shot before the warm honey made its way to the bottler. Once the warm honey begins to get bottled it is very consistent. And part of me wonders how EXACT others are trying to get it. I fill bottles at exactly 1 and 1/2 pounds. Not a tenth of an ounce more or less. Perhaps my consumers don’t care that much but the engineer in me does. Cheers!

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

Every bottler out there you are going to have to fine-tune it every time you start to use it. The honey in the tank is 95° unless he keeps his shop at 95°. It will take a little while to get adjusted.

[@sonofthunder.]

Its nice...expensive, I see the china fill machines around 300 bucks,I hope theres some warming tanks at the show without all the overkill fittings

[@beesintheweeds]

Buy once, cry once. I don’t want the cheap Chinesium.

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

There’s a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon of made in China but assembled in the USA A lot of rebrand CHINA stuff . there is a difference in quality stainless steel. Everything is steel and stainless is a coating . I do not want honey products to be store in cheap stainless steel

[@randyblankenship2115]

For the money you paid for that i would think that that thing should fill the bottle to the exact amount you want.having to top it off manually seems kinda like that’s defeating the whole purpose of the machine.I’ve seen others on you tube that fill them to the exact amount.i think this is the only one I know of that you have to top it off.maybe I’m wrong.either way no hate dude.love your videos

[@beesintheweeds]

Hey Randy! I agree, however, it does get very dialed in after you get to a consistent temperature of honey. This video was shot before the warm honey made its way to the bottler. Once the warm honey begins to get bottled it is very consistent. And part of me wonders how EXACT others are trying to get it. I fill bottles at exactly 1 and 1/2 pounds. Not a tenth of an ounce more or less. Cheers!

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

Every bottler out there you’re going to have to fine-tune it with a few bottles every time you reuse it. His honey in the tank is 95° his shop I’m guessing is mid 70s so the honey in the hose is different temperature than the tank so you will wait until the honey in the tank all the way through the hose then the bottles will be perfect

[@johniac7078]

You shouldn't have to weigh every bottle that is ridiculous for that amount of money. I think you need to dial it in a bit.

[@beesintheweeds]

It’s accurate within tenths of an ounce. I’m being anal and getting it exact. My consumers probably don’t care but I do. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@jeffcotton2235]

With such a small operation as yours, why would you spend so much money on a $3,000 device? The return on your investment will take YEARS for you to recoup.

[@beesintheweeds]

To each their own. I think the investment is worth it. My time is short and valuable so anything I can acquire to make me more efficient is a good investment in my humble opinion. And Lyson stuff is built to last. This bottler will last a lot longer than me and can be handed down. My operation has more than doubled each year (1 hive to 4 hives to 10 hives to 22 currently). At this rate it won't be long before hundreds if not thousands of pounds of honey pass through this bottler annually. I respect your opinion but feel it was a worthy investment. Thanks for watching!

[@handsburyhoneybees893]

The first year I use mine I saved $648 worth of Honey because I was overfilling the jars. Who cares if it takes three years to pay for it. You’re giving away honey when you over fill the jars and time is money

[@banjerlegs3051]

Buy now and buy it cheaper and keep expanding your business and goals year after year, smart move

[@beesintheweeds]

@@banjerlegs3051Thank you!

[@Shawn-cg2wu]

I recouped my investment on this machine in 18 months. It’s now paid for and I can enjoy being more efficient. Why would it take years to recoup your investment?