1909 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



23 



General 

 Correspondence 



CAPPING-MELTERS. 



The Plan Advisable if the Honey is Not 

 Injured by the Heat; a Glass Indicator 

 on the Separator Pail; Experience with 

 the Beuhne Gapping-melter 



BY E. D. TOWN SEND. 



tin expUnition we will say that we made some dirferent 

 foims of capping-mellers.and sent them to several large producers 

 to try. The one sent to our correspondent was made after the 

 Beuhne pattern, as this report shows. Our experience was much 

 the same, viz., that the capacity of the Beuhne melter is far too 

 limited, and that it is a more expensive and complicated appa- 

 ratus than a device of the kind need be. — Ed.] 



A successful capping-melting device seems to 

 be an assured thing; for when such practical men 

 as Mr. Fowls and Mr. Lathrop say that it is 

 a success it has great weight. There has never 

 been any question in my mind but that a device 

 could be made that would melt the cappings all 

 right; but the question was, " Could the cappings 

 be melted into wax without destroying the flavor 

 of the honey? " This was a grave question; for, 

 since 20 per cent of our honey goes through the 

 uncapping-box I could not afi^ord to have so large 

 a portion of our surplus hurt by overheating. 

 And now Mr. Fowls and Mr. Lathrop, in the 

 Nov. 15th Gleanings, say that, with the latest 

 device for melting the capping, the flavor of the 

 honey is not hurt in the least during the process 

 of melting the wax. 



Mr. E. E. Coveyou, of Petoskey, Mich., ad- 

 vocates the heating of honey to 120 or 130° at 

 extractingtime, and putting it into 60-lb. cans 

 at this temperature. This process of heating 

 throws out the air-bubbles; and honey thus treat- 

 ed is slow to candy, so it ought to reach the bot- 

 tler in the liciuid state. The bottler, receiving 

 the honey not candied, would not have to heat 

 his honey so long nor to so high a degree of tem- 

 perature as would be necessary were the honey 

 candied solid, as is usually the case. This is cer- 

 tainly better; since two heatings at a low temper- 

 ature are less harmful to the flavor of the honey 

 than one heating to a perhaps higher temperature 

 when the honey is candied solid. 



The bearing this has on the subject is, if a 

 whole crop of honey can be profitably handled in 

 the above-mentioned way, surely the 10 or 20 

 per cent of the crop going through the capping- 

 melter, and probably not heated much if any 

 more than Mr. Coveyou heats his, it would not 

 have a noticeable effect on the whole crop. 



I think, Mr. Editor, you are on the right track 

 when you advocate a capping-melter with the 

 idea of mel/im; the cappings only. The cappings 

 and honey should leave the hot meliing-device as 

 soon as melted, and the separating of the honey 

 and wax be done in a separate utensil. In this 

 way the honey and wax are heated as little as pos- 

 sible, and, as both may be harmed by too much 

 heat, the plan is to be recommended. 



In Fig. 6, page l.'^79, Nov. 15, under the gate 

 of the capping-melter is shown what seems to be 

 a 16 quart galvanized pail, with a gate at the 



bottom. This gate is for the purpose of draw- 

 ing off the honey from the bottom, leaving the 

 wax in the pail until the end of the day, or until 

 there is so much accumulation of wax that it is 

 advisable to empty the whole contents, consist- 

 ing of honey and wax, into an ordinary pail, for 

 the wax to cool before separating. 



The writer has had some experience in drawing 

 honey from under wax, and has often wished for 

 a glass indicator in the separator — a piece of glass 

 half an inch wide and three or four inches long, 

 extending up from the gate, the tin being cut 

 away and the glass put in its stead, so that one 

 might see when to stop drawing honey before any 

 wax begins to go through the gate. With such 

 an arrangement the honey could be drawn out 

 nearly to the wax. This glass indicator would 

 probably become coated over with wax to some 

 extent; but if this should happen, a stick could 

 be worked up and down on the glass from the in- 

 side, and the hot honey ought to melt off any ac- 

 cumulation of wax that might adhere. 



Less heat would be required to melt the cap- 

 pings were the space at the top, between the two 

 cans of the capping-melter, covered, except a 

 small opening at some convenient place, this 

 opening to be built wider for convenience in fill- 

 ing and emptying, also for heating uncapping- 

 knives when one thinks it pays to heat. 



THE BEUHNE CAPPING-MELTER. 



After using the Beuhne capping melter during 

 the extracting of our fall honey (about 3000 lbs.) 

 it would seem as if the machine should have about 

 four times the capacity to do the work in an or- 

 dinary honey-extracting when the combs are 

 nearly all capped over. With nearly all sealed 

 combs of honey spaced wide, then uncapped deep, 

 as we do, a capping-melter would be needed of 

 quite large capacity. 



To operate the machine, a two-burner low- 

 down gasoline stove was procured. Although 

 the instructions that came with the machine call- 

 ed for a one-burner stove, the local hardware man 

 had none of that size, so I took a two-burner. 

 The instructions also advised filling the tank of 

 the melter with hot water; but as all of our bees 

 are in outyards, with no provisions made for 

 heating water, the tank of the melter was filled 

 with co/J water. I was glad that our stove had 

 the extra burner, for both were ignited, and 

 the capping-melter set on the stove cornerwise. 

 The two burners did not take long to heat the 

 water in the tank, so the melter was ready by the 

 time we were ready to do uncapping. When 

 hot, one burner did the work. 



Before beginning to uncap in the melter, two 

 sticks, "s inch square, and the proper length, 

 were crowded in under the pan that catches the 

 honey and wax, which raised the pan as high as 

 it would go, and kept it from getting too hot. 

 This pan is simply to keep the wax and honey 

 hot until they separate, and there is no need of a 

 great heat. This extra heat might have done no 

 harm had the honey and wax been allowed to run 

 out as fast as melted; but in the Beuhne machine, 

 the separator arrangement being in this pan, the 

 honey and wax are held for some time, and the 

 heat should be no greater than is necessary. 



The lower outlet of the heated separating-pan, 

 the one that the honey runs through, has an el- 

 bow arranged so that it may be turned around; 



