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Honey extractor kits to loan

Honey extractor kit for hire

Honey extractor kit

New for 2025: free for one week for paid-up Conwy Beekeepers members, with a £20 returnable deposit.

Update August 2025: New kit collection point: Sychnant Pass, Conwy, from mid-September 2025. Contact details to follow.

We are looking for two more members to help run the loan scheme, ideally on the North Wales coast. Please email the Secretary at secretary@conwybeekeepers.org.uk for details.

Each kit includes an uncapping fork, a simple uncapping bowl, a 3-frame stainless steel extractor in a box, a 13mm ring spanner, a strainer and a settling tank.

Before taking the kit home, check that it is clean, complete and in working order. Check that the extractor plastic lids are not cracked or broken.

Terms and conditions

  • Please treat the equipment with care.
  • You are responsible for the safe and prompt return of all equipment in a clean condition.
  • You will lose your £20 deposit if the equipment is returned damaged, especially if either extractor lid is cracked or broken.
  • Please report any problems.
  • Clean the kit thoroughly before returning it.
  • Do not lose the steel ball in the drum bearing. It can easily fall out. If lost, £5 will be deducted from your deposit.

You will need to provide

  1. Honey jars and lids
  2. Labels
  3. Kitchen scales, preferably electronic
  4. A stand for the settling tank

Safety

  1. Be aware of moving parts.
  2. Before use, check that the two nuts on the extractor cross beam are tight, using the spanner provided, and check that the yellow handle turns freely.
  3. Familiarise yourself with the extractor and, if in doubt, ask for help.
  4. Load and unload combs using only the front plastic lid. The rear lid stays permanently closed.

Watch this useful video from the Isle of Man before extracting honey for the first time.

Instructions

  1. Check that the equipment is clean and that the workspace is suitable for food handling.
  2. Place the extractor on the floor. Check that the honey tap is closed. Place a bucket under the tap.
  3. Uncap both sides of a frame of honey.
  4. Place three frames in the extractor and close the lid.
  5. Hold the extractor firmly and turn the handle until about half the honey is removed from one side of the combs. Do not spin the handle fast or you may damage the combs and extractor.
  6. Turn the combs round and spin out the honey from the other side.
  7. Turn the combs round again and finish the first side. This helps avoid breaking the combs.
  8. Do not allow honey to rise above the bottom bearing of the extractor.
  9. Place empty frames back in the super.
  10. Continue until completed.
  11. With the extractor on a worktop and the settling tank below, fit the double strainer to the settling tank.
  12. Check that the settling tank honey tap is closed.
  13. Tap off honey into the strainer.
  14. Warning: honey flows silently. It does not gurgle. Do not allow the strainer or settling tank to overflow.
  15. When complete, place the settling tank on a stand on the worktop. Fit the lid and leave for about 48 hours to settle.
  16. Wash extractor and strainer thoroughly. Do not leave them outside for the bees to clean, as this may cause robbing.
  17. Wash jars.
  18. Place an empty jar on the scales and tare to zero.
  19. Fill jars to the correct weight tolerance.
  20. Fit lid and label.
  21. Wash out the settling tank.
  22. Full jars can be stored in a blue plastic mushroom box, which holds 15 x 454g jars.
  23. Store honey in a cool, dark place. It may ferment if stored in a centrally heated room.

Afterwards

  1. Clean all equipment thoroughly and return the kit promptly in the boxes. Open the extractor tap before placing it in the box.
  2. Place the super of wet combs back on a hive above a crown board so the bees can repair and clean them. Reduce the hive entrance to prevent robbing. Remove the dry combs after a few days and store in a dry place.
  3. Place wax cappings in a feeder above a crown board in an empty super on a hive so the bees can clean them. Remove the clean dry wax for candle-making or other uses.

To dismantle the extractor for cleaning

  1. Do not attempt to dismantle the yellow gear mechanism.
  2. Lift the front lid, slide it to the right and remove it.
  3. Using the spanner provided, remove the two 13mm nuts.
  4. Lift off the two yellow brackets and rear guard.
  5. Lift the complete cage mechanism from the tank.
  6. Clean thoroughly. Do not turn the drum upside down. Do not lose the steel ball in the drum bearing.
  7. Reassemble the cage to the tank, ensuring that the shaft is correctly located in the bottom bearing.
  8. Refit the rear guard and the two yellow brackets without force.
  9. Refit the two nuts and the front lid. The lid must be open when fitting. Check that the lettering on the lid is the correct way round.
  10. Check that the handle turns freely.

Please report any problems and let us have your comments.

Work safely, and remember that you are responsible for any damage.

To book the kit, please contact the Secretary at secretary@conwybeekeepers.org.uk.

Collection from:
Ynys Goch
Ty’n y Groes
Conwy LL32 8UH

Updated July 2025