I worked with Bethany this evening after work to extract honey from 3 supers (30 frames) using a 4-frame hand crank extractor. Thanks to Michelle and Mark for loaning me the extractor. This would not have been possible with an extractor.
We got setup and quickly got into a routine working to remove the frames 4 at a time from the supers and placing them in a bucket. From the bucket we took each frame and held it in a de-capping tub and scraped the capping loose with a fork, exposing the honey. The frames were placed into the extractor 4 at a time. We would then crank the extractor and spin the frames allowing the honey through centrifical force to drain out of the cells in the frames and into the base of the extractor. After about 8 frames, we opened the valve on the extractor and drained the honey into our storage containers. It took us about 2 hours to complete the task and we ended up with about 11 gallons of honey weighing about 132 pounds. What a fun and rewarding evening. I loaded the now empty supers back into my trunk and I will return these to the hive very soon. We are coming into the Brasilian Pepper bloom and I want to get these supers back into the hives so the bees can begin to fill them up again!
Bethany and I hope to help start a local chapter of the Florida State Beekeepers Association. We have scheduled a first meeting for October 23rd and will have official from this organization on hand to help us get things setup. We hope to get other hobbyist and local beekeepers together on a regular basis to share information, socialize and learn from one another. More details to follow ...
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