Cleaning crush and strain super frames for storage

[winginit]

Great post! Especially as it provides just the excuse I need to buy that canner I want. 

[alfred]

Couple of things I left out...

Before I scrape the pf120's or foundationless I remove the frames to an empty super one at a time and brush or shake all bees into the hive as I go. I did'nt want to leave the impression that I simply open the hive and begin scraping frames, although I have done that when it was just one or two that I am taking from the super. I don't use queen excluder so there are always a few frames in each that have some brood. Those go back in the hive untouched. I go through each super and collect all of the frames that I am going to harvest and then I take them to a table off to the side of my bee yard and scrape then I take the super of empty frames back and put them on top of the hive. Or some times leave in a separate stack a little away from the hives for them to clean.

[Brian D. Bray]

My current method of honey extraction is using my cider press.  Cut the combs into the basket, turn the press, and filter output through a double screen into your choice of container. You can package anything from single jars to 5 gal bucket.  When your done you have a lump of pure wax in the bottom of the basket that can easily be placed in your solar melter.  As for clean up, just hose it down.

It is so much less fuss and mess than using an extractor that I can't begin to tell you the difference.  Since my cider press is a double hopper (basket) I can be loading one hamper while compressing another.  One hamper holds about half of a medium super full of capped combs, or 4 to 5 medium combs. Takes about 10 minutes per super for extraction.

 Place the supers back on the hive for clean or as an addition super.  Since I use foundationless frames for the most part, except in the brood chambers, I find that if I take off 3 supers from a hive and put them all back on the hive that they clean up 2 and begin to re-draw the combs in in one which can then be used as extra winter feed for other hives to fill in for undrawn combs or just to leave a little extra for insurance.

[hoxbar]

That looks pretty cool. I bet it's messy though.

[Brian D. Bray]

That looks pretty cool. I bet it's messy though.

A  lot less than using uncapping knife, capping collection container, and extractor.  A a lot less clean up afterward, just hose it all down.