Assuming honey is one of the reasons you keep bees, a honey extractor is a critical tool to have access to. Sure you can collect honey without a honey extractor. But that usually involves crushing the comb and it is really messy. In this review, we will stick to the smaller honey extractors more suited for the hobbyist or small producer.
When deciding on an extractor there are several things to consider and your budget may drive some of those decisions. The power source – manual or electric and the style – tangential or radial are good starting points. You can save time and effort with a good-quality honey extractor. A well-built unit can last for many many seasons, if not generations of honey extracting.
A Quick Review of What an Extractor Does
Before we get to what to look for in a honey extractor, here is a quick review of what a honey extractor is
The honey then runs down to the bottom where there is a honey gate valve to drain the tub. A quality extractor can truly, be a huge time and effort saver. Just think, a typical Langstroth-style hive uses 10 frames. If you are extracting 5 supers that is a total of 50 frames of honey to extract. So you really want to match your extractor to your honey extracting operation.
There are a variety of options for various budgets and how many hives you might have. So what should you look for?
Tangential or Radial Honey Extractor
Tangential and Radial simply refer to the orientation of the frames within the extractor. There are pros and cons to each of these types of extractors. Size, cost, and efficiency of extracting honey are the primary differences between these styles of an extractor.
Tangential Extractor
A tangential honey extractor refers to the extractor where the frames are loaded with one side facing the outside of the extractor. Looking down from the top you can see in the figure how the frames are positioned in the extractor. This style of an extractor will require each frame to be removed then flipped and spun a second time to remove the honey from the side facing out. Each side of the frame has to be spun once so as to remove the honey from both sides of the frame.
Disadvantages
- Requires additional time since frames have to be removed and flipped to remove honey from both sides.
- Excessive speed can damage the comb, especially pure wax foundation
- Time-consuming if you have more than a couple of supers to extract.
Advantages
- Often they are smaller and easier to store
- Great for a small beekeeper with only a super or two to extract
- Typically cheaper than a radial extractor.
Radial Extractor
The radial honey extractor is the style where frames are loaded with the frames pointing to the outside of the extractor, like rays from the center. You can see in the figure how the frames are oriented much like the spokes on a bicycle. There is no need to flip frames in this style of the extractor. As the frames spin honey is extracted from both sides of the frame at the same time. This style is very efficient when compared to the tangential since you do not have to keep removing and flipping honey frames. This style of the extractor is a great choice if you are extracting several or more supers.
Disadvantages
- Often they are more expensive when compared to tangential honey extractors.
- Can be larger than a tangential style, therefore, more difficult to store when not using
Advantages
- Very efficient. Extracts both sides at the same time
- Does not require spinning the same frames twice.
- Less risk of damage to the wax
foundation Well suited for beekeepers with many beehives.
Manual or Electric Honey Extractor
Smaller extractors, 2 to 5 frame sizes are typically available in manual power and sometimes with electric power. Larger extractors, often 9 deep frames (see video above) and up are typically available with electric motors. There are pros and cons to each power source with the cost being the most notable. And the physical effort required probably second.
Manual Extractor
The manual honey extractor is operated through your physical power, usually by turning a hand crank. The hand crank through a set of gears drives the rotating frame inside of the extractor tub. The internal parts, such as the cage or frame are basically the same regardless of the power method. The crank and gear systems are typically different from an electrically powered unit. Manual powered extractors are typically smaller and hold 2 to 5 frames and sometimes up to 9. The more frames that the unit holds the more effort it usually takes to spin the extractor.
Disadvantages
- Less efficient when compared to electric extractors.
- Increased extraction time especially if using a tangential extractor
- Increases physical effort of extraction
- Often smaller so can fit a limited number of frames at a time into the extractor
Advantages
- Can extract when electricity is not available.
- Typically cheaper than similar electric extractors.
- Sometimes more portable than electric.
Electric Extractor
The most notable difference between this and a manually powered extractor is, yep you guessed it, it is powered by electricity. Rather than using good old human power, the spinning action of the extractor is accomplished with an electric motor. A speed controller to adjust the speed at which the unit spins the frames will be found on a good quality unit. The frames must spin at a speed fast enough to get the honey to come out of the comb. However, excessive speed, especially when coupled with an unbalanced loading of the frames can potentially damage the frames, the extractor, and maybe even you if you get too close.
So if you go this route take care in loading the frames such that there is roughly uniform weight distributed around the extractor. Also, begin spinning at a low speed and slowly increase the speed. Typically, electric honey extractors are used in large-scale commercial operations, but they can also be used by smaller beekeepers too. They can save a lot of time, sweat, and energy if you have more than just a handful of frames to extract.
Disadvantages
- Usually more expensive when compared to manual extractors.
- Requires access to an electrical source
- Needs a little more care in clean up and maintenance to protect electric components from water
Advantages
- Can extract larger amounts of honey within a shorter time.
- Requires less physical energy by the beekeeper to extract honey
- In terms of speed, the electric unit is usually faster than a manually operated extractor.
- It is well suited for larger-scale bee operations.
Both an electric and manual honey extractor will do an excellent job extracting honey. The choice really comes down to the number of frames you plan to extract, your access to electricity, and your budget.
What Else to Consider When Buying a Honey Extractor
Regardless of the size and power source of the extractor, there are some key characteristics we think are worthwhile looking for.
Construction and Material: We recommend looking for a unit built with a stainless steel tub and preferably stainless steel legs. The rotating cage or frame would also be stainless and sometimes is aluminum. Stainless steel will provide a durable unit that is relatively easy to clean and will stand up to the moisture associated with clean-up. Stainless steel will prevent rusting and most quality units use a heavy enough thickness of stainless, so the extractors are relatively stable, due to their weight. This is assuming you balance a load of frames in the unit. We also recommend that the drive mechanism be metal. That is the driveshaft and any associated gears depending on the style of the extractor. And avoid galvanized metal. Old extractors were often made with galvanized metal.
Honey Gate: You should also make sure the unit has a good quality honey gate. A honey gate that is easy to open and close and seals well is important. You want to be able to control the flow of the honey as you drain it out of the extractor. One that is hard to open and close or worse yet, leaks can lead to a sticky mess as you drain the honey out of your extractor.
Use, Cleaning, and Storage
You will want an extractor that is easy to use, clean, and maintain. In addition to being stable for both loading and spinning, you want a unit that sits at a comfortable working height. A unit that is too tall will be difficult to load frames in and out and too low will be difficult to place containers under to drain the honey into. And if it is a manually powered extractor, you want it at a height that is easy to operate the hand crank.
Then finally, you want to look for an easy-to-maintain and service extractor. You will need to wash out honey, remove pieces of wax and propolis as part of the cleanup process. A unit that is relatively easy to access and even partially disassemble for cleaning is important. Additionally, most units will require the application of some food-grade grease on parts of the drive mechanism. The easier it is to accomplish this cleanup and maintenance the quicker your overall extracting process will go. And good maintenance should lead to a
And do not forget storage. I like to clean and dry mine. Make any repairs and apply grease to the areas needing lubrication. Then when that is done, I wrap it in stretch wrap to keep dirt, dust, and insects out. This way there is little prep work the next time I need to extract honey.
Happy Extracting!
