Home-Built Honey Extractor

Home-Built Honey Extractor FARM HOME Food I recently started beekeeping and needed a honey extractor but I didn t want to spend the money for a commercial model So I built one that fits inside a 31-gal trash can says Richard Groth Naperville Ill The honey extractor is designed to remove the honey from wooden honeycomb frames It consists of a cage that goes inside the trash can The can mounts on a 3-legged wooden stand A 1/2-in variable speed reversible drill is used to rotate the cage The centrifugal force moves the honey out There s about 1/2 in clearance all the way around between the cage and the sides of the can The honey drips down through a plastic drain at the bottom of the can and into a 5-gal bucket The cage consists of an 18-in dia metal strap at the top and a circular metal plate at the bottom which are connected by lengths of 1/2-in dia conduit The plate rests on a wooden block about 5 in above the bottom of the can and contains the bearing for the center rod Pairs of threaded 1/4-in dia rods run across the top of the cage and are spaced 2 in apart Four honeycomb frames fit inside the paired rods and snap into 4 small rectangular slots in the plate The cage rotates on a 1/2-in dia pipe at the center The pipe extends up through a wooden bar that s bolted at both ends onto the trash can s sides and contains the upper bearing It works great and removes every last bit of the honey says Groth I had fun making it After I locate a pair of bevel gears I plan to hand crank it which will make it easier to regulate the speed of the cage I spent only about $30 to build it whereas commercial honey extractors sell for about $200 I cut an 18-in dia circle out of a discarded clothes dryer to form the bottom The wooden bar on top is a piece of hardwood flooring All I bought new was the trash can a bearing a plastic fitting for the drain hole and the strap iron around the top Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Richard L Groth 32W 164 83rd St Naperville Ill 60564 ph 630 898-5362

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