[adamant]

from the extractor to the bucket is 600 micron all i need or should i need a finer strainer?

 

[rast]

Probably finer than what I use, compare it to cheesecloth or womens nylon hose.

 

[Iddee]

I use paint strainer bags from lowe's. I use new ones.
How about your nylon hose, Rast?

 

[Crofter]

Mesh sizing of screen and micron size of openings is confusing. The numbers go in opposite directions. We found that two screens stacked with the coarse on top kept the finer screen from plugging almost immediately. The filtering was the bottle neck in our operation. I purchased another set of three three stacking screens that fit nicely on a 5 gallon bucket to use this summer. Mann Lake has this setup in their catalogue and online. 3 Screens and 5 gallon pail with honey valve for about thirty bucks I had to have it! If your honey has lots of time for the wax to scum to the top and you dispense from the bottom it is no problem but fine wax flakes can make the honey look murky; may or may not be a plus in the eyes of some beholders.

First year comb that needs lots of scratching of low spots probably makes lots of wax flakes.

 

[barry42001]

I always used layered cheese cloth to strain honey and cappings for that matter. Cheap, don't have an excuse to HAVE to re-use it more importantly it works.
Barry

 

[rast]

I use paint strainer bags from lowe's. I use new ones.
How about your nylon hose, Rast?

Depends on whether I'm selling it or eating it.:lol:

 

[efmesch]

This reminds me of my early days of filtering. I found nylon "stretch-panty hose" to be great. I would tuck with one leg inside the other, giving a double layered filtration. Aside from the nice filtering it did (tied over the spigot leaving the extractor), it was self-adjusting to the volume of the honey flow coming out. When the flow became heavy, the stretch filter would expand with it and allow more honey to go through faster. As the flow subsided, the filter would contract accordingly. I never had a problem of overflowing the filter. If the collected cappings etc. would stop up the filter, I would exchange it for another pair of hose. The stuffed hose could hang out and drain slowly until almost dry, leaving the junk behind inside, easily squashsed int a compact ball that would go into my solar extractor. Of course, this was on a four frame extractor, not a commercial sized arrrangement where the volume would be so much greater.

 

[tecumseh]

ef writes:
I found nylon "stretch-panty hose" to be great.

tecumseh:
works just fine for me. I did have a ss strainer basket made up by my fabricating buddy to act as a holder for the panty hose. I use this just prior to bottling. I also use a course stainer basket when I am extracting to remove the largest bits of debris.

 

[G3farms]

I like to use the nylon curtain sheers, can be bought at any fabric store or even pre-made at wally world. Lay it across the top of a 5 gallon bucket and push down in the center for a little holding capacity then tie a string around it and the bucket. When filtering gets slow take a spatula and scrape out the junk and the flow will pick back up.

 

[efmesch]

G3,
That's my present day systen. Only I use a 15 gallon waste barrel (60 liters) and a fine nylon fabric. I found that tying the fabric around the barrel is a bit risky since the weight of the honey, on occasion, pulls the fabric out of the string and then unfiltered honey pours into the barrel. My solution has been to use the kind of hooks that are used to tie seat covers onto car seats. The rounded end holds the fabric and the hook goes over the rim of the barrel. Eight or nine hooks do a good job of holding the fabric dependably in place. It's also easy to remove the filtering fabric when the job is done.

 

[G3farms]

HMMMMM that sounds like a winner, and yes I have had the occasional slip of the filter fabric also, makes you want to say a few bad words. Do you have a pic or link to what you are talking about, just can't picture them in my head?

 

[Zulu]

As for the original question, as they only cost $6, yes the 600 micron works very well, I came across mine while buying a bunch of other bee kit, and that is all I use.

 

[efmesch]

G3 asks:
Do you have a pic or link to what you are talking about, just can't picture them in my head?
Efmesch says: What effort is too great for one beek to do for another? I read your post about 5 minutes after you wrote it--since then I've bee trying to get you that picture. Dug up my extracting equipment from my shed, took a picture with one digital camera---no upload--it's incompatible with my computer. Took another camera---dead. Tried another computer, not luck. Finally, a third camera took a charge and gave me the following picture that I finally managed to upload. So you got it.

View attachment 3319
I even did a search through my digital library of pics and found another one, showing the system at work. The honey is the dark summer honey produced by wild flowers (2006). After an hour of not being able to move this second shot from my computer to the forum, I've given up. Sorry

 

[G3farms]

Thanks Ef, did not mean for you to go through so much trouble!!

Will have to try that next time, do you put anything in the fabric where the hook goes through?

 

[efmesch]

Nothing. I cut the fabric into a square large enough to amply overlap the edges of the barrel and double over the fabric along the edges where I insert the hooks. It's strong as steel, never tears.

 

[G3farms]

Sounds good, will try it next time.:thumbsup:

 

[Iddee]

Can you post the pic. I cannot open the attachment.

 

[efmesch]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong, bu I hope something comes through this time.

 

[efmesch]

It looks like I got the second picture in this time too. If you look around the rim of the (covered) barrel, you can see the hooks holding onto the rim.

 

[G3farms]

HAHA Dadant and Coke-Cola all the way around the world.

Thanks for the pics!