I've recently purchased a good quality 20 frame radial honey extractor. I'm seeking to learn the most efficient way of using this thing.
I haven't got a hot knife yet. Is there anything I should be looking for when purchasing such?
I have an old fridge that I use as an insulation unit, it has an old small oil heater. I'm under the impression that, if I place my honey supers in there beforehand to warm up, that it'd make the spinning easier. Is there any temperature range I should be setting it to?
Since it's radial, I can spin it in either direction. I assume that, much like a car, it'd be bad for the gears if I have it going quickly in one direction, and then reverse the engine to get it to spin the other direction. When using it, I've been basically stopping the spinning before spinning it the other direction. I've noticed that, if I turn off the engine, it stops spinning faster than if I simply put the spinning at 0, neutral not spinning in either direction. I'm not sure how cautious I should be, how much I need to wait for it to stop.
I've learned that the comb can easily be damaged in these things. What are some practices that I can do to minimise comb damage when spinning?
The extractor has a honey gate on the bottom. I figure it'd be best to then place a sieve, honey strainer underneath, sitting on top of a honeybucket with a honeygate on it, so that it goes straight from the extractor and strains into the bucket.
I'm really unsure what I should do with the sticky frames after spinning. If I just leave them out in my shed, I'll have exposed honey constantly which will invite animals to feast upon it, like bugs and maybe even mouses. I read that it's common for people to store frames in freezers, but my freezer simply does not have the space to store such.