How to Size Your Honey Uncapping and Extracting Equipment

Betterbee has generally recommended uncapping and extracting equipment for beekeepers based on the number of hives in their apiaries. Our extractor comparison chart displays the different capacities, powers, materials, and more, of our wide variety of extractors, as well as a hive number recommendation. Sizing equipment based solely on your total number of hives is a very basic method. This article will dig into what else you might consider when shopping around.

To start their honey processing journey, a majority of beginner beekeepers will use a 4 frame stainless steel tangential Lyson extractor and hand uncapping tools (perhaps even springing for the extracting kit that includes both!).

As the number of hives in your apiary grows, this smaller setup can get frustrating as you run into problems that slow down the process. Now it's time to consider upgrading, but where do you go from here?

Using an equation to estimate sizing for honey processing equipment

Setting up a honey processing operation depends on a variety of factors that are individual to each beekeeper:

• The number of hives in your apiary is important, but how many frames of honey do you plan to remove and extract per extraction?
• Do you care how much time it takes per extraction?
• Do you (or will you in the future) have help with uncapping and extracting?
• How much physical space do you have to uncap and extract? Do you pull your equipment out of storage and do it in your kitchen or do you (or will you in the future) have a dedicated honey extraction area where your equipment is always set up?

If you call Betterbee asking for help sizing equipment to fit your needs, we would ask you the questions above and then walk through your answers and offer suggestions based on the equations below.

Please note: The Total Extracting Time equation assumes that you have frames uncapped and ready for extraction at all times and that you have ample storage (such as totes, tanks, or clean hive bodies) to hold extracted frames until you can give them back to the bees to be cleaned. This is the timing in a perfect world, but other bottlenecks can play a role and slow things down (we talk more about that later in the article). This is an estimate of the quickest extraction time without any holdups.

Click here to use this cool tool we developed to help you easily try the equations below with your own information!

Using the equations to estimate what you will need

Say Elizabeth has 4 hives in 10 frame equipment in her apiary. On each of her 4 hives, she plans to have 3 medium honey supers. Thus, the total number of frames she plans to extract is 120 medium frames (4 hives × 3 supers per hive × 10 frames per super).

From here, Elizabeth can determine how long it would take her to extract all of her frames using extractors with different capacities. If she uses a 4 Frame Tangential Manual Extractor, it would take her 10 hours total (120 frames to extract ÷ 4 medium frame capacity ÷ 3 batches per hour) to extract her 120 medium frames, assuming all other conditions are perfect.

Elizabeth doesn't want to spend this much time extracting, so she considers upgrading to a 12 Frame Motorized Extractor, which would take her 3.33 hours total to extract (120 frames to extract ÷ 12 medium frame capacity ÷ 3 batches).

Try this out with your own numbers and consider this handful of extractors in a variety of capacities when you're building out your equation and weighing your options:

• 4 Frame Tangential Manual: Holds up to 4 shallow/4 medium/2 deep frames
• 12 Frame Radial Manual and 12 Frame Radial Motorized: Holds up to 12 shallow/12 medium frames; optional Deep Adapter can tangentially extract 2 deep frames
• 20 Frame Radial Motorized: Holds up to 20 shallow/20 medium/8 deep frames
• 3-in-1 Uncapper/20 Frame Radial Motorized: Holds up to 20 shallow/20 medium/8 deep frames
• 30 Frame Radial Motorized: Holds up to 30 shallow/30 medium/24 deep frames
• 88 Frame Radial Motorized: Holds up to 88 shallow/88 medium/88 deep frames
• Complete Mini Extracting Line: Holds up to 40 shallow/40 medium/40 deep frames
• And many more! Shop all extractors here.

Issues with uncapping could slow down the extracting process

The Total Extracting Time equation above assumes that you have your uncapping and storage systems down pat, but bottlenecks can quickly form, especially during the uncapping process. 

Beginners generally start off using hand uncapping tools, such as a fork or cold knife, dropping cappings into a 5- or 6-gallon bucket. In the example above, if Elizabeth with her 120 frames to extract tried to use this system by herself, she might not be able to uncap enough frames to keep her extracting running most efficiently. She would also have to jump between uncapping and extracting if she is using a manual extractor. If she invests in a motorized extractor and larger uncapping tank, she can uncap into the tank and also store uncapped frames here that are awaiting extraction, all while the extractor automatically runs 12 frames.

Here is the natural progression of uncapping tank capacities (from smallest to largest):

• Uncapping Tank: Holds 15 gallons of cappings and can comfortably store up to 10 medium frames when not being used for uncapping
• Lyson Hobby Uncapping Tank: Can hold 16 frames ready for extraction
• 1,000mm Uncapping Tank & Cover: Can hold 18 frames while using the included support or up to 28 frames without the support
• 1,500mm Uncapping Tank & Cover: Can hold 30 frames while using the included support or up to 28 frames without the support

Without a helper or two through the process, hand uncapping can slow down your extraction. If you cannot recruit a friend to help, you may consider upgrading to a powered and heated uncapper. The table-top steam uncapper fits on both the 1,000mm and 1,500mm tanks. Or, you could invest in a manual uncapper or automatic uncapper plus tank combination for the best bang for your buck.

Final thoughts on the size of your honey processing equipment

Ultimately, the sizing and type of uncapping and extracting equipment you choose is your personal preference.

Here are a few other points to consider. Tangential extractors extract honey more quickly than radial due to the optimal orientation of the cells relative to the rotation of the extractor. However, the frames each need to be flipped by hand, so they are slightly more tedious to operate. An experienced user can process more than 3 batches per hour; adjust the equation above accordingly if that is your experience. To combine the speed of a tangential extractor with the ease of a radial, look into cassette extractors, which are essentially tangential extractors that automatically flip the frames. 

Another important consideration for speed and extracting location is temperature. Honey extracts much more quickly when warm. Ideally, your honey supers will be 90 to 95°F before extracting. This can be accomplished by storing the supers in a heated room for a day before extracting, or with a honey warmer. With 95°F honey, extraction time is reduced and the frames will also be drier (more completely extracted). Be sure to include heat in your honey house design!

Many Betterbee customers start small, then grow from there after a season or two of learning what worked and what didn't through the process. Some sell their smaller equipment and buy larger, while others might add an extractor or uncapper to the equipment they already have, and run it all simultaneously. It really depends on the time you are willing to spend on extracting, the physical space you have to hold the equipment (for uncapping, extracting, storage for both full and empty supers, etc.), and whether you have help throughout the process.

We are happy to help you hash out how to size your equipment, but hope that this information helps you wrap your head around it all! As always, you can give us a toll-free call at 800-632-3379, or shoot us a message at support@betterbee.com, with any further questions you may have.