HONEY MOISTURE REMOVER SYSTEM

Time is a scarce commodity for beekeepers, especially during the honey flow, and producing high-quality dry honey can be quite difficult when relying on traditional drying methods.

High moisture honey can be a huge concern in our industry, causing a slow down in honey extraction and loss of revenue on both the employer’s side as well as for the employees (due to work time lost in wages as a result of hired personnel being sent home because of high moisture levels in the honey). In an operation where success heavily relies on everything running smoothly and rapidly, high-moisture levels in the honey to be extracted is a huge issue. For some, the only solution is to stop the extraction line altogether and wait an extra day (or more) for other dehumidifier systems to bring the moisture down to more acceptable levels.

Some beekeepers are rethinking the way they extract honey, deciding against installing a new or better hot room system that is known from experience to not work well. But, rather, a new approach (or strategy) can be to run the extracting facility on a daily basis without taking into consideration the moisture levels in the honey. This plan returns empty super boxes to the bees more regularly and allows for the extracting of honey moisture at the end of the process.

It is well known in the business that honey moisture levels can be lowered in the hot room over a period of time using a dehumidifying system. Consider the opposite side of moisture removal from honey by examining a process to use AFTER the honey has been extracted from the supers. Every beekeeper knows that bees use a lot of time and energy to evaporate honey moisture from the cells; whereby utilizing a honey moisture removing system to redirect this energy to maximize the bees foraging time by visiting more flowers instead of spending time drying down honey, you should be able to increase your average honey production.

The Honey Moisture Remover System does two operations at the same time. First, it blows warm, dry air over the incoming honey that flows over a series of trays (see diagram). It then recycles the hot air through a condenser which collects the moisture from the air. In other words, water evaporates very slowly during the few minutes that honey flows on the tray, then the water is trapped inside the condenser and removed through a simple drainage system (this process is very similar to a dehumidifier). At the end of the day, if your honey is still too high in moisture, (which can easily be determined with a regular refractometer) it can then be re-circulated through the system to remove more moisture.

The Honey Moisture Remover System works continuously, that means an estimated 7,000 lbs. of honey can be pumped through the Honey Moisture Remover System several times until the drying down process is finished (it is recommended that you check moisture levels several times throughout the day with a refractometer to see if the drying process has met your moisture level requirements).

Customers have reported that with a full tank of honey (example: 11 drums) and 20% moisture, that process can be as long as 24 hours. If the honey holds 2% extra moisture, you would need to remove 45 quarts of water (sometimes more) to get a high quality honey (18% or less), which is up to 2 quarts per hour of water, an amount that can be easily reached within 24 hours. Experience will tell you roughly the percentage of honey moisture just by listening to the noise of the honey splashing inside our Spin Float Honey Wax Separator. Dry honey doesn’t make much noise, but wet honey splashes against the sides of the Spin Float Honey Wax Separator.

The Honey Moisture Remover System has the potential to assist in your bee farm and harvest schedule. You can now extract on a regular basis without taking high moisture honey into consideration. Empty supers are returned back to the fields after only 36 hours spent in the honey house, not more. The rounds for collecting and returning supers now take a very short period of time and bees can keep busy filling empty cells.

Reportedly, during a beekeeping season with the Honey Moisture Remover System, you could save approximately 14 days of waiting time, freeing up time for other tasks instead of waiting for honey to dry. Employees are occupied every day of the season and no time lost. Beekeepers are reporting bonuses on dry honey prices which pays for the investment made and its operating costs of the HMRS.

DISCLAIMER: Increase of production is very difficult to estimate as the honey flow is never the same year after year. However, this HMRS is very useful when the main honey flow season is short.

 

SPECIFICATIONS & INSTRUCTIONS

 Technical Data:

* 10′ long x 3′ wide x 2 1/2′ tall

* Requires 100 Amps, 220 Volt Single Phase

• It is essential that the unit be set level. It may be installed anywhere inside a building, preferably so that the honey can be pumped through the machine as it is extracted. It is possible to locate the HMRS above the honey storage tank thus eliminating one pump.

• The honey can be re-circulated through the system as many times as necessary to obtain the desired moisture content. We recommend a pumping rate of 100 gallons per hour for optimum results.

• Field wiring must be brought to the service entrance: 220 Volts, AC, single phase, 100 amps, 60 Hz. Please contract a licensed electrician. Instructions for wiring the Compressor are included on the wiring schematic. Compressor may be outside the building or in the hot room if preferred. It is recommended that a refrigeration or air conditioning serviceman be contracted to connect the necessary plumbing between the compressor and the evaporator.

• A “P” trap is to be installed in the lower outlet of the evaporator; this is where the water will drain.

• The toggle switch on the side of the machine will turn on all of the working parts. The blower, compressor and heater are protected by circuit breakers in the service entrance.

• The temperature control on the side of the machine is for temperature control of the
  AIR moving across the honey. It is recommended that this be set at approximately 120 degrees.