Lesson 72: Extracting Honey

From capped comb to a bucket of liquid honey, and how to do it without an extractor

Extracting means getting the liquid honey out of the comb while leaving the comb whole, so the bees can reuse it next season. That matters: bees eat about a pound of honey to make a couple of ounces of wax, so returning drawn comb saves them a lot of work (lesson 75).

The equipment

• Uncapping knife: a (usually heated) knife that slices the wax cappings off the comb. An uncapping fork or scratcher handles low spots the knife misses.
• Uncapping tank: catches the cappings; honey drains from them through a screen to a spigot.
• Extractor: a drum with a basket that holds frames and spins (by hand crank or motor). Honey is flung out of the cells against the drum wall and runs out a spigot (the honey gate) at the bottom.
• Tangential extractors hold frames flat against the basket and extract one side at a time; you flip the frames partway through.
• Radial extractors hold frames like spokes of a wheel and extract both sides at once.
• Strainer: a coarse screen or cloth under the extractor spigot or on the bucket that catches wax bits and bees.
• Settling (storage) tank or bucket with a honey gate.

New hobby equipment is a real investment, but used equipment is often available, and many bee clubs lend or rent an extractor to members.

Where to work

• A clean, bee-tight room with screened windows and washable surfaces. Any bee that finds the honey will bring friends.
• Keep it warm (warm honey flows faster), and have hot water and plenty of paper towels.
• Cleanliness matters: honey is food. Wash hands and equipment; keep pets out. If you plan to sell honey, your state may have rules for the room you extract in (lesson 77).

Step by step

1. Bring in the supers you took off (lesson 71). Extract soon; beetles and moisture are the enemy.
2. Uncap each frame: hold it on end over the uncapping tank and slice the cappings off with the heated knife, working from the bottom up, just under the cappings. Use the fork on low spots.
3. Load the extractor, placing frames of similar weight opposite each other so it's balanced.
4. Spin slowly at first, then faster. Spinning too fast too soon can break the comb, especially new comb. In a tangential extractor, spin one side partly, flip, spin the other side fully, then flip back to finish the first side.
5. Drain the extractor through the strainer into your settling tank or bucket.
6. Let the honey settle for a few days (about 72 hours or more). Air bubbles and tiny bits of wax rise to the top, where you can skim them off. Then bottle from the gate at the bottom for clear, clean honey (lesson 73).
7. Drain the cappings well; that's more honey, and then beeswax (lesson 75).

Cleanup

• Let the bees help. Put the wet extracted supers back on the hives (above an inner cover works well) for a day or two and the bees will clean out the last honey, or put them back on for the bees to refill if there's still a flow. Don't set wet equipment out in the open near your hives; it causes robbing and can spread disease.
• Wash equipment with hot water (honey dissolves; very hot water melts wax, so be careful with drains).
• Store drawn combs safely (lesson 65).

No extractor? Crush and strain

The oldest method, and a good one for a few frames or foundationless comb: 1. Cut the comb out of the frame into a food-grade bucket. 2. Crush it thoroughly (a potato masher works). 3. Pour it into a strainer (a fine mesh bag or paint strainer over a bucket) and let the honey drain for a day or so, somewhere warm. 4. What's left is wax to render (lesson 75).

You harvest both honey and wax, but the bees have to build new comb, which costs them honey (and costs you next season's crop).

What to remember

• Uncap → spin → strain → settle → bottle.
• Balance the extractor and start slow to avoid breaking comb.
• Settle 72+ hours and bottle from the bottom for clear honey.
• Work clean and bee-tight; honey is food.
• Return wet supers to the bees to clean; don't leave them in the open.
• No extractor? Crush and strain (you'll lose the comb).

Quick check

1. What's the difference between a tangential and a radial extractor?
2. Why start the extractor slowly?
3. Why let honey settle before bottling?

Adapted from: Delaplane, Honey Bees and Beekeeping (UGA Bulletin 1045, rev. 2017); UGA Bee Program, Getting Started: Processing Honey; University of Arkansas, Complete Beekeeping Short Course, Part 9 Harvesting Your Honey (Zawislak); Purdue Extension, Advanced Beekeeping (4-H-1059).

Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.