Leonard extracts the honey in his garage operation. He has a ten frame
extractor, run by an electric motor. He uncaps the frames by hand with an
electrically heated knife.
Mary loads and runs the extractor while Leonard decaps. It is hot in
the garage, but as Leonard says: "The heat makes the honey flow easily, and I
drink plenty of water." He also keeps it dark in there, so the bees stay
out. They don't like dark, unfamiliar places anymore than you do!
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Leonard & Mary Extracting. |
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Leonard sweats plenty as he decaps. The "ninja" beekeeper. |
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Electric Knife. |
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The knife is electrically heated to melt through the wax cappings. This allows the honey to flow out of the comb. |
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Decapping. |
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The master slices the cappings. I tried it, but it is not easy; plus you need a strong wrist. |
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Peeled Frame. |
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The capping wax rolls up in a nice roll. Leonard keeps the wax and included honey as payment for his labor. |
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Mary at Extractor. |
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Mary loads the decapped frames into the top of the extractor. |
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Extractor. |
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The frames spin inside the drum very fast. The centrifugal force makes the honey flow out of the combs and into the drum. |
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Extractor Barrel. |
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The spigot at the bottom allows the honey to flow into the bucket. |
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Golden Flow. |
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I strain the honey with fine nylon mesh and bottle it. Honey is not pasteurized, but will keep 3,000 years, if the water content is right. |
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