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Offline omnimirage

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Honey strainer getting clogged
« on: September 28, 2017, 03:44:24 am »
The other day, I was pouring honey, and as I was getting closer to the bottom, the wax that was floating on the top started to get into the jars at excessive rates. Now there really wasn't much wax on the top, but I decided to put all the honey in the strainer.

It was going slowly, I was stirring and moving it around but not making much progress. I had to go to sleep, so I put the strainer inside my heating fridge, which was sitting at 36 celcius.

I woke up and hardly anything went through the strainer. I stirred it and not much happened, and I took a photo of it:

https://imgur.com/a/5MACa

So I've been using the crush and strain method to create my honey. I've been having a lot of issues with the honey not being strained properly. I'm now rather perplexed, as I couldnt even strain pure honey.

This sieve I'm using is one that's specifically marketed for honey.

Could it just be that my honey is thicker? Could I get something else to strain through, maybe I need bigger holes?

Offline Psparr

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2017, 05:04:53 am »
Will it not go through even after cleaning it? Seems like you've got wax in the screen. If you crush and strain, let the wax settle to the top in a bucket with honey gate. Once fairly separated, you can strain the honey from the honey gate into another bucket.

Offline omnimirage

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #2 on: September 28, 2017, 06:01:04 am »
I cleaned that thing by pouring boiling water on it and scrubbing it for a few hours, and poking out bits of tough wax with wooden sticks, and I even used a torch to burn off some of the wax(worked well but I saw that it'd damage the strainer in time). At the end of such, maybe five to fifteen percent of the holes still had some fragments of wax inn them, mostly in the bottom sieve around the sides.

That method that you described is essentially what I went to do, but then the honey wouldn't strain through the sieve.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #3 on: September 28, 2017, 08:23:02 am »
Omni,
Instead of using that very fine strainer that clogs up very quickly, I use a 5 gallon paint strainer. I have a 2 bucket system that has one bucket that has the bottom cut out except for A 1/2" ring all the way around the inside edge. This supports a perforated metal plate that supports the bottom of the filter. A lid that goes to another 5 gallon bucket has a hole the size of the bottom of the first bucket cut in it and it is glued on the bottom of that bucket. You put the paint strainer in the top bucket and pour the honey in it. I let it sit for a week to allow the wax to float to the top. Then I bottle the honey from the honey gate in the bottom bucket.
Jim
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #4 on: September 28, 2017, 08:48:30 am »
Here is what it look like:
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/5-Gallon-Strainer-Bottler-Unit

You can make one your self. Even if you do not glue the lid to the bottom of the top bucket you can just sit the top bucket on the lid with holes in both to allow the honey to flow through. The strainer goes in the top bucket. I can get the strainer at the paint store for $2. They are $7 at the bee stores for the exact same item.
Jim
Jim
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #5 on: September 28, 2017, 08:58:21 am »
It looks like crystallized honey.  That will not go through a fine screen.
What I do when I am dealing with crystallized honey:
Use a larger screen 30 mesh or larger something that will let 5 gal through in an hour.  Now let the honey sit for a day or two.  The crystals will sink to the bottom at least move in that direction.  Now you can pour from the top not the bottom into a smaller screen.  When you get to the point where 1 quart will not go through in an hour you have to make a choice.  Use that honey for cooking, mead, or let it crystallize and sell it as crystallized honey that looks like creamed.  You have one other choice and that is to heat it and dissolve the crystals but then it is not raw anymore.
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Online Michael Bush

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #6 on: September 28, 2017, 10:56:42 am »
It looks crystallized to me as well.  If you really want to strain it (I wouldn't) you will have to heat it (I wouldn't) enough to get the crystals to melt.
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #7 on: September 28, 2017, 12:50:12 pm »
If you take it to 100 degrees and keep it there for a few hours, depending on the amount, it should all dissolve without damaging it.
Just change the temperature setting on your heater.
Jim
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #8 on: September 28, 2017, 01:47:36 pm »
If you take it to 100 degrees and keep it there for a few hours, depending on the amount, it should all dissolve without damaging it.
Just change the temperature setting on your heater.
Jim

It depends Jim.  This 1 pound jar was left in my warming box overnight and then left to settle.  The temperature gets to 110 degrees F.  If you look closely you will see two layers of crystallized honey still at the bottom of the jar.
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/DSCF7752_zpsh0jmdgew.jpg
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Offline tycrnp

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #9 on: September 28, 2017, 11:32:59 pm »
A lid that goes to another 5 gallon bucket has a hole the size of the bottom of the first bucket cut in it and it is glued on the bottom of that bucket.

Jim,
Do use anything special to glue the bucket? Would silicone be OK?

Offline omnimirage

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #10 on: September 28, 2017, 11:58:42 pm »
@sawdstmakr

That is a great idea. I just happen to have already built something that you've described, just haven't glued the lid down. I haven't been finding a use for it since I got the heating fridge, since unfortunately, it's too tall to fit in there, but that sounds like a good way of going about this. I was once experimenting with paint strainers but abandoned them as I had issues with the honey getting clogged and not going through, but that was before I had an ability to actually warm the honey up beforehand.



Are there much people who actually want to be crystallised honey?

Why wouldn't you do that Michael? What would you do?

I've been leaving my honey in my heating fridge at no more than 100, it's been sitting there for a week as I've been stirring this big clump of honeywax, trying to strain it, it going through very slowly. I am concerned that, with my method, leaving it in a 100 f room constantly would be damaging the honey, I'm not sure if I should lower it. Whenever I do turn it off for a day or two, it quickly turns back to crystal. I'm a bit lost as what to do, I have a lot of this to process and it's difficult to get much of the honey out of the wax, feels like a waste. My uncle, who's been using this method also, is adamant on buying a press to squeeze out and squish all the wax and honey, I've told him we'll just get an extractor instead but he's insistent on it for whatever reason. It's difficult enough to strain it even with the heat. Has me thinking that I really should get a honey extractor, crush and straining seems to really struggle on a larger scale.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #11 on: September 29, 2017, 12:51:18 am »
If you take it to 100 degrees and keep it there for a few hours, depending on the amount, it should all dissolve without damaging it.
Just change the temperature setting on your heater.
Jim

It depends Jim.  This 1 pound jar was left in my warming box overnight and then left to settle.  The temperature gets to 110 degrees F.  If you look closely you will see two layers of crystallized honey still at the bottom of the jar.
http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv333/acebird1/DSCF7752_zpsh0jmdgew.jpg
Brian,
Something isn't right about that jar. 110 degrees over night should have liquified that jar completely.
I would see what is in the bottom of that jar.
Jim
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #12 on: September 29, 2017, 12:55:12 am »
A lid that goes to another 5 gallon bucket has a hole the size of the bottom of the first bucket cut in it and it is glued on the bottom of that bucket.

Jim,
Do use anything special to glue the bucket? Would silicone be OK?
The glue on my settling buckets is the same plastic as the bucket is made out of. Silicon may work.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline omnimirage

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2017, 05:40:37 am »
Since there's been lots of talk of honey straining, I figured I'd share some photos of what I've been doing lately:

https://imgur.com/a/i7n5w

I bought two food grade plastic storage boxs, I used a drill to put holes on the bottom of the top box, and the lid on the bottom box. I'm using some curtain cloth to strain it in, small but decent size holes. I have these buckets full ofcrystallised bits of honeycomb that I scrapped into a bucket, so I've been heating the buckets in the fridge, then tipping the honey out of the bucket into the straining boxs, it all comes out as a solid, then turns into that sludge and so very slowly strains down. I leave it in a 100 f / 36-38 c environment almost constantly. It takes an excessive amount of time and it's very difficult straining it down much further. I might try to hang the sacks above a bucket in the fridge. The buckets contain about 30 liters of honey/wax and stuff.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2017, 07:04:17 am »
I tried something new last week. After extracting the honey, I put the cappings into 2-5 gallon paint filters and tied them to the top center shaft of the extractor. It took some trial and error to get it to work. Had to get them exactly opposite of each other and had to make sure that the bags could not touch the sides. It worked pretty well but I did keep the honey from it seperate and used it for our own stock. It had a lot more fine wax and pollen in it than the extracted honey. After settling, it did come pretty clear.

Jim
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #15 on: September 29, 2017, 08:30:20 am »
Are there much people who actually want to be crystallised honey?

There are many people who want honey truly raw and they will pay a premium for it.  Most don't know that crystallized honey is an indicator that the honey is raw.  All it takes is a demonstration.  Take your best home made bread pop it in a toaster.  The instant it pops spread that honey on the toast and hand it to them.  One bite and you have a customer for life.  The heat of the toast will liquefy the honey instantly.  The second advantage for crystallized honey is it spreads like jam, no mess.
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #16 on: September 29, 2017, 09:08:05 am »

Brian,
Something isn't right about that jar.

The jar is glass.  What is at the bottom of the jar is varying degrees of sugar.
Jim if I can't make the Beefest I am going to send you some crystallize honey.  You can pass it around and see how many people don't like it.

What happens is if you don't get a jar of honey completely clear the crystals that are in the honey sink to the bottom and then they will continue to grow when the heat is removed.  Now they are bigger than they were and will make straining even worse.  So I think if you are going to heat the honey you should let it set for a day or two and then pour off the top thin honey and sell or use the bottom for cooking.
I think they make agitators for bottling tanks that would help to reliquefy honey quicker and at a lower temperature.
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #17 on: September 29, 2017, 09:19:11 am »
Has me thinking that I really should get a honey extractor, crush and straining seems to really struggle on a larger scale.
If the honey crystallized in the frame an extractor is not going to help much.  If it wasn't crystallized in the frame to start with the straining has to be right after the crushing, not days later.  The bits of debris induces crystallization.
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #18 on: September 29, 2017, 10:47:05 am »
I guess my experience with crystallized honey is different. When in put honey in my heater at 100 degrees, it all dissolves in a day or so. I have never had it separate out like that. I usually do not have a problem with my honey crystallizing. Some honey seasons, usually spring, it does not crystalize after being in a jar for a couple of years.
If you pull off the honey from the crystalized part there is a high possibility that it will be thin and may ferment on you if it is not used up right away.
Jim
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Re: Honey strainer getting clogged
« Reply #19 on: September 29, 2017, 01:58:37 pm »
If you pull off the honey from the crystalized part there is a high possibility that it will be thin and may ferment on you if it is not used up right away.
Jim

There is some of that but you know that before you try to dissolve the crystallized honey.  I am saving that for mead.
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