I used the spike roller this year. No capping wax in the decapping tray and extremely little in the strainer. Put the wets back on the hives Friday and the comb was dry and fixed Tuesday, four days later. Next to try is the Simple Harmony slit uncapper.
Yeah I know lots of people like to use the roller. I think the slot uncapped will be great and will probably try to get one within the next year or two. It looks like a good product. Gotta sell some of this honey so I can afford one!
@@brucesbees A quick update. Just extracted 240 lbs out of a couple hives and used the new tool pretty much the entire time. Took about 2-3 frames to get the hang of it, but once I had it down I LOVED it! Much quicker than normal and no need for the hot knife which I always had issues regulating the temp on. The one tip to anyone that is going to use it is to keep the "teeth" clean on it by scraping it against something on a regular basis. I just use the edge of the uncapping bucket. I noticed this needed to be done much more often on dark old comb. If it is was nice yellow/white wax the tool works so well and does not need cleaning very often at all. I will never go back to any of my old tools. Thanks again for the recommendation and keep the videos coming!
I use the spiked roller. Not as much cappings to melt but it's less destructive on the cell. A friend gave me one these scraper types, I used it full deep frames and it left very few capped cells. Working horizontal is the key. I like both styles but using the scraper means I have to drain the cappings too. The roller I just roll the frame then roll it over a pan covered with 1/4 mesh to clean the roller. Not near as much honey in the mix.
Yeah a lot of people just use the roller. I kind of like to go ahead and decap. I kind of like the wax that is created from fresh cappings though I rarely do anything with it. I need ideas on how to get rid of the wax. I have also known people to use a heat gun and melt the cappings. Lots of different ways to accomplish the goal.
@@brucesbees cappings wax is a great after product in big demand! Just put all your rubbish wax and offcuts in stocking and simmer in water (very slow simmer - not boil). All the crap gets filtered by the stockings which you remove from the pot and the clean wax will float on top of the water. Remove wax once it solidifies. You might have to repeat the process depending.... You will end up with nice rounds of wax which you can melt down into whatever you want including new frame foundations.
Yes I can imagine. I am always scraping extra wax and propolis off and throwing it on the ground. I need to do better. I should just keep a bucket with me. There is always extra, especially in the spring.
thanks for the review and video. Nice harvest. I just tried mine yesterday and after about 20-30 frames I came to the same conclusions you did. go across the frame; clean the tool when it gets gummed up; newer caps work much better than old last year's hardened caps. still resorted to the knife for solid capped frames that were very uniform and even with the frames. This little tool has a place in the drawer.
@@brucesbees I'm now looking at the Simple Harmony Farms decapper now. always some new best thing. This looks pretty good though and I have a friend who has one. I just have to swallow pretty hard to pop $400 for a decapper at my current scale. You might look at them with the volume you did manually.
I think that will be my next uncapper. It looks like quite the device. Like you said though, $400 is a big chunk of money. Maybe by next year I will be able to give it a try. Really trying to grow right now and sinking money back into the bees.
Thanks for showing the comparison Bruce. A video is worth more than a thousand words. I think I will stick with the serrated uncapping knife. Thanks for making these videos.
This is where I got it from. It took awhile. I think it came from China. It takes a little practice but we really liked them once we kind of got it figured out. oglovo.com/products/uncapping-scraper
I am not sure. I have about 80 hive but all are not production hives. I probably got that honey from 25 or 30 hive but really not sure. Some had a lot and some only a little. I didn’t really keep track.
Yeah I like them. Actually when you get used to them I think it ends up being a thinner layer of wax. The key is to keep the prongs clean. If they get gummed up they will grab more wax and will not work as well.
Actually purchased a Simple Harmony Farms uncapper last year and love it but this tool or a serrated bread knife also work well. If doing it on a small scale would probably just use a serrated knife and get a pin roller for the low areas on the frames.
That is another way to do it. We have used a serrated knife and roller in the past. Never necessarily used the scratcher. There are so many ways to do it. I guess each person has to find what works best for them. We may try some different things in the future. Always trying to figure out easier and better ways to do things.
@@426superbee4 The reason that honey supers have one less frame than brood chambers is to allow the bees to build thicker comb to help with this issue, and a scratcher generally helps with areas of lower comb.
@@sentimentalbloke7586 That very true! need room for the fat comb, but i also found that once you cut the capping to the frame. They want make fat comb out of that frame again
i don't really like it > i much rather cut it off, with a 18 inch bread knife. Use frame edge, as a guide > The hot knife will seal the honey comb up! Its if you like it or not?
I have notice this, once you decapped your honey comb and spin it out, put it back to use, the bees will never make fat comb out of it again > WEIRD BUT TRUE
Hmmm. Mine seem to do ok with it. I usually put ten frames in a box for them to draw it out and then after we harvest the first time decrease to 9 frames.
@@brucesbees he hee my fat comb weight in a 25 lbs per frame. once i decapped it went to normal size. about 12 lbs per frame, can use 10 frames again> its weird most of the time its the new frame that capped with fat comb he hee i put all the fat comb into one super with 7 frames of it. until i can get it pulled out>> really i like fat comb, wish they make it all the time
Cheaper from china, if you put a taut strand of stainless steel wire across the bucket from handle eye to handle eye when the forks get full just scrape over the wire in reverse to take the cappings out of the forks. As you have 2 keep one in hot water and alternate between them as they get cold.
Interesting. These seem to be well built and I think there are a lot of variations of these available. These were around $20 apiece. Will see how it goes. I am looking to possibly try out the Harmony Farms Uncapper in the future but for now these devices worked well for us. Thanks for the input!
I used the spike roller this year. No capping wax in the decapping tray and extremely little in the strainer. Put the wets back on the hives Friday and the comb was dry and fixed Tuesday, four days later. Next to try is the Simple Harmony slit uncapper.
Yeah I know lots of people like to use the roller. I think the slot uncapped will be great and will probably try to get one within the next year or two. It looks like a good product. Gotta sell some of this honey so I can afford one!
Just bought one on Amazon. Thanks for the review!
We really ended up liking it but it took a little practice.
@@brucesbees A quick update. Just extracted 240 lbs out of a couple hives and used the new tool pretty much the entire time. Took about 2-3 frames to get the hang of it, but once I had it down I LOVED it! Much quicker than normal and no need for the hot knife which I always had issues regulating the temp on.
The one tip to anyone that is going to use it is to keep the "teeth" clean on it by scraping it against something on a regular basis. I just use the edge of the uncapping bucket. I noticed this needed to be done much more often on dark old comb. If it is was nice yellow/white wax the tool works so well and does not need cleaning very often at all. I will never go back to any of my old tools.
Thanks again for the recommendation and keep the videos coming!
This is great news! Your review sounds a lot like mine. I’m glad it worked out for you!
i only use the roller decapper if its below the frame line across the frame, that my bread knife don't cut
I use the spiked roller. Not as much cappings to melt but it's less destructive on the cell. A friend gave me one these scraper types, I used it full deep frames and it left very few capped cells. Working horizontal is the key. I like both styles but using the scraper means I have to drain the cappings too. The roller I just roll the frame then roll it over a pan covered with 1/4 mesh to clean the roller. Not near as much honey in the mix.
Yeah a lot of people just use the roller. I kind of like to go ahead and decap. I kind of like the wax that is created from fresh cappings though I rarely do anything with it. I need ideas on how to get rid of the wax.
I have also known people to use a heat gun and melt the cappings. Lots of different ways to accomplish the goal.
@@brucesbees cappings wax is a great after product in big demand! Just put all your rubbish wax and offcuts in stocking and simmer in water (very slow simmer - not boil). All the crap gets filtered by the stockings which you remove from the pot and the clean wax will float on top of the water. Remove wax once it solidifies. You might have to repeat the process depending....
You will end up with nice rounds of wax which you can melt down into whatever you want including new frame foundations.
Thanks for the suggestion. I usually process my wax cappings but need to do better saving other wax, propolis etc when I go through the hives.
@@brucesbees I just put in a sealed bucket and process it at the end of the season. You'd be surprised how much is accumulated.
Yes I can imagine. I am always scraping extra wax and propolis off and throwing it on the ground. I need to do better. I should just keep a bucket with me. There is always extra, especially in the spring.
thanks for the review and video. Nice harvest. I just tried mine yesterday and after about 20-30 frames I came to the same conclusions you did. go across the frame; clean the tool when it gets gummed up; newer caps work much better than old last year's hardened caps. still resorted to the knife for solid capped frames that were very uniform and even with the frames. This little tool has a place in the drawer.
Thanks for checking in and for your review. We ended up liking ours but have all the other tools available so we can use each as needed.
@@brucesbees I'm now looking at the Simple Harmony Farms decapper now. always some new best thing. This looks pretty good though and I have a friend who has one. I just have to swallow pretty hard to pop $400 for a decapper at my current scale. You might look at them with the volume you did manually.
I think that will be my next uncapper. It looks like quite the device. Like you said though, $400 is a big chunk of money. Maybe by next year I will be able to give it a try. Really trying to grow right now and sinking money back into the bees.
Awesome
Thanks for watching.
My friend told me he used a hand held pasta roller, he loved it. I ordered one from amazon for about 7 bucks. I am looking forward to trying it.
Hmm. Maybe that will work. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for showing the comparison Bruce. A video is worth more than a thousand words. I think I will stick with the serrated uncapping knife. Thanks for making these videos.
You’re welcome and thanks for watching!!!
Well b. I personaly like the rooler or my cowyn uncapper , if every one must do there way . Rob.
Great video brother!! I like this thingamabob ok. Think Ill stick with my 12" serrated bread knife for now.
Thanks man. I really enjoy your videos as well.
Pretty cool device.
I like it. Wasn’t so sure at first. Thanks again for checking out my video Marcus. We need to get you in some bees!!!!!🐝🐝🐝
Hopefully one day soon.
Congrats on your honey production!
Thanks you. It has been a good year!
Bruce !! mate !! hurry up and take it easy.
Thanks for checking in!
Nice harvest Bruce!
Yes it was. Thanks for watching. More to come!
Hi bruce, good device, what's its name and how can I get one?
This is where I got it from. It took awhile. I think it came from China. It takes a little practice but we really liked them once we kind of got it figured out.
oglovo.com/products/uncapping-scraper
From how many hives were to harvest the 21 buckets?
I am not sure. I have about 80 hive but all are not production hives. I probably got that honey from 25 or 30 hive but really not sure. Some had a lot and some only a little. I didn’t really keep track.
What is the shelf thing on the bucket?
It’s called a combcapper and works well.
www.combcapper.com/
It looks like it takes off a lit of extra wax. Thanks for sharing. I was gonna order one myself.
Yeah I like them. Actually when you get used to them I think it ends up being a thinner layer of wax. The key is to keep the prongs clean. If they get gummed up they will grab more wax and will not work as well.
Are you still using this type scraper?
Actually purchased a Simple Harmony Farms uncapper last year and love it but this tool or a serrated bread knife also work well. If doing it on a small scale would probably just use a serrated knife and get a pin roller for the low areas on the frames.
It seems to me that it was easier and faster to just use the fileting knife and a scratcher
That is another way to do it. We have used a serrated knife and roller in the past. Never necessarily used the scratcher. There are so many ways to do it. I guess each person has to find what works best for them. We may try some different things in the future. Always trying to figure out easier and better ways to do things.
i only use the roller decapper if its below the frame line across the frame, that my bread knife don't cut
Yes that’s what we use the roller for as well. To get areas that otherwise are not uncapped.
@@426superbee4 The reason that honey supers have one less frame than brood chambers is to allow the bees to build thicker comb to help with this issue, and a scratcher generally helps with areas of lower comb.
@@sentimentalbloke7586 That very true! need room for the fat comb, but i also found that once you cut the capping to the frame. They want make fat comb out of that frame again
I ordered one too,...I ended up using the comb type,...a LOT less hastle
Not sure what you mean by the comb type. Do you mean the basic fork?
@@brucesbees yes,... that worked faster in my opinion
Glad it worked out for you.
i don't really like it > i much rather cut it off, with a 18 inch bread knife. Use frame edge, as a guide > The hot knife will seal the honey comb up! Its if you like it or not?
Yeah we have used the serrated knife or bread knife in the past. Works good as well.
I have notice this, once you decapped your honey comb and spin it out, put it back to use, the bees will never make fat comb out of it again > WEIRD BUT TRUE
Hmmm. Mine seem to do ok with it. I usually put ten frames in a box for them to draw it out and then after we harvest the first time decrease to 9 frames.
@@brucesbees he hee my fat comb weight in a 25 lbs per frame. once i decapped it went to normal size. about 12 lbs per frame, can use 10 frames again> its weird most of the time its the new frame that capped with fat comb he hee i put all the fat comb into one super with 7 frames of it. until i can get it pulled out>> really i like fat comb, wish they make it all the time
426 SUPER BEE wow. I would like to see what a 25 pound frame looks like!
Cheaper from china, if you put a taut strand of stainless steel wire across the bucket from handle eye to handle eye when the forks get full just scrape over the wire in reverse to take the cappings out of the forks. As you have 2 keep one in hot water and alternate between them as they get cold.
Good idea.
I liked the way it worked at first but both rivets came out about the end of my first super. My experience, good concept poor construction.
Interesting. These seem to be well built and I think there are a lot of variations of these available. These were around $20 apiece. Will see how it goes. I am looking to possibly try out the Harmony Farms Uncapper in the future but for now these devices worked well for us.
Thanks for the input!
i knew it was a con.
Golden Rule: If it's on instagram advertising - it's garbage.
Obviously you didn't watch the second half of the video. Now recommending it after using it differently.
Thanks for checking in. I now have a Simple Harmony Farms uncapper. game changer, but pricey
It is just China copy. ORIGINAL TURBO UNCAPPING FORK works 70% better. Regards from me.
Thanks for the info. Seems to work fine for me though. May have to like the one you mention up.
I'll bet they are identical apart from the "turbo" mode. ;)
Spam!
Stop talking too much
Thanks for checking in.