EXTRACTING HONEY
Once the supers arrive at the honey house they are stored in a warm room so the liquid honey in the wax cells doesn't get too thick to remove. The wax cappings on the comb are white and the frame at left (fig 1) can be seen to be entirely capped. The liquid honey can be seen in the small area at the center of the frame that was scratched with the hive tool.

The first step in removing the honey from the comb is to remove the wax cappings, or uncap the cells.

UNCAPPING FRAMES .
One of the simplest way to uncap frames is with the use of an electricaly heated knife to cut the comb just under the caps. This method works well for a few frames, but is too labor intensive for a larger operation.

The uncapper is a mechanized version of the heated knife. Frames are fed into the top of the as seen in the first picture at right (fig 2). The frames then ride down between horizontal bars which can be seen in the second photo (fig 3). As they continue down, they pass between two hot knifes one of which can be seen in fig 3 and the other not visible behind the frame. A motor drive vibrates the knives which are set to shave the comb just below the cappings.

Instead of electric heat, the uncapping knives are steam heated. Steam heat is more uniform and having the steam for other uses is a great help. The two red hoses on either end of the knife bring the steam into and out of the hollow knife blade. Between the mechanical vibration and the heat, most of the capping wax is quickly remove.

The frame on top in fig 3 is fully capped and above the knives on its travel through the uncapper. The frame in the middle has just been engaged by the knives and the wax and some honey just removed is covering the knife. The third frame (bottom) having been through the knives is uncapped and is about to be conveyed by the moving bars onto the gathering table for the next operation.

FINISHING THE JOB OF UNCAPPING
The uncapping machine removes most of the cappings, but because of the variations in the depth of the wax comb some areas of the frame are missed. Generally, the deeper the comb, the more complete job the machine does; but some hand work is almost always necessary.

Some spots missed by the uncapper can be seen in the photo at left (fig 4) and are finished with a manual operation using the scratcher. The scratcher is similar to a wide fork but the tines are more like a comb with needle sharp points that scratch through the wax cappings.

Also barly visible in fig 4 (background left) is the back side of the uncapper with the gathering table below the frame. The tank visible in the background is the collection tank for the extracted honey.

THE EXTRACTOR
There are many types of commercially available extractor setups on the market. This system is by Cowen Manufacturing Company located in Utah and has the advantage of loading and unloading in one operation. The extractor holds 38 frames, 19 on each of two sides. Once the frames are collected on the gathering table a hand crank is used to push 19 full frames into the extractor while simultaneously pushing 19 empty (extracted) frames out. This is a great labor savings because once the frames are collected they do not have to be individually handled in and out of the extractor.

In the first photo at right (fig 5) frames are being loaded with the turning of the hand crank while the empty frames are ejected to the right in the photo. The uncapper can be seen at the distant end. The extractor with the top open is in the center. The gathering table which is about 5' in length is between the uncapper and the extractor and finally the rails closest in the photo provide a holding place for the empty frames.

Once loaded the extractor is given a push to get it turning and the lid is closed which is what's going on in the second photo (fig 6). Once started, the extractor runs for about 15 minutes while the next load is prepared.

The two sides of the extractor each with 19 frames are visible in the lower picture. As the extractor rotates, centrifugal force pulls the honey out of the uncapped cells outward to be captured by the closed cabinet of the extractor. Removal of the honey with this system would not be possible if it weren't for the fact that the bees build their comb on a 15° up incline. This permits the centrifugal force of the extractor to pull the honey out of the cells carrying it between the frames and top bars, slinging it out depositing it on the inside of the extractor where it draines to the bottom and into the baffle tank.