Experienced beekeepers....how'd you....

[ohiodreamer]

For those of you that have a few seasons of experience under your belt, how did you start out??  Specifically how did you harvest honey back when you first started??  I know some bit the bullet and bought an extractor from the beginning.....but that's not our road.  I'm looking for some BTDT advice.  An extractor is in our future, I'm guessing, but not in the next year or so.  We only have 8 small frames to harvest this year, so it's not going to be an overwhelming job.

[hobbitlady]

I have only top bar and now foundationless too. I do as Redfish but strain through a cut-from-sheet mesh I bought for that purpose from a bee company,supported by a big stainless strainer over a big pyrex bowl and I strain in the house bug free.I never needed a bucket but I have done 3 small batches instead of one big one.From the hive I walk the comb far away(with my bee suit on) to get all the fliers to leave and need to spoon or brush a few off as well,usually,but I am able to get them all off...unless a couple drown in the honey. I just clear the decks in the kitchen,so to speak,as I have to do for a big canning job, to crush all my comb and set up straining. It takes an hour for all the honey to strain if the house is cool and sometimes I heat and turn off the oven and put the strainer and bowl (or 8 cup measure cup I also strain into) in there to finish but I make sure it's warm and Not hot in there.Don't want to melt wax or ruin raw honey with high temps. My first time it took me nearly all day but now it's a max of 2 hours. It's something you'll figure out how to streamline the Second time and beyond.

[barefootfarmer]

I use plastic foundations and the crush and strain method. I bring the frames inside, set them in a big lug so that the frame is on its side. Then I use a scraper and scrape the wax comb off the frame, crushing it as I go. From there, I dump it all into one of those buckets with a strainer and a valve at the bottom. I cover it with a lintless "flour sack" cloth. If I set the bucket in front of a window, or over a heat vent depending on when I'm filtering, it makes the honey move a little quicker. I bought my filter and bucket with the valve off amazon. Someday I'd like an extractor, but not any day soon. I can't justify the expense, just yet. I do re-use the frames. If I set them back out by the hives while still sticky the bees clean it all up.

[Deleted]

I still crush and strain and on any given year I have up to 15 hives.