414 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



.TULY, 1921. 



ALLi reversi- 

 ble honey- 

 extractors 

 on the market 

 make use of one 

 of two princi- 

 ples for chang- 

 ing the sides of 

 the combs. The 

 first one has 



been used for the last 20 years, and it has 

 given very good satisfaction; but it has its 

 limitation's. The other one, perhaps, just as 

 old, but newer in its application, is attract- 

 ing a large amount of favorable comment. 

 In the older type the baskets or pockets are 

 hinged on the sides, after the principle of 



POWER EXTRACTORS 



cA Glance into the Inside Mechan- 

 ism, Sho-wing How Reversing is 

 oAccomplished 



By E. R. Root 



Fig. 1. — This shows the priniiplc of reversing of 

 the old automatic extractor The pockets ut the 

 top and bottom are hinged on one side. The lever 

 here shown connects each pocket with the 

 reversing-dnim, which when temporarily slowed 

 down, and then stopped, causes the lever to shift 

 from one i)Osition to the other. An internal sector 

 gear is connected with each pocket on one end of 

 the lever, and a slot and pinion on the other end. 

 Fig. 2 shows the pockets in the act of reversing, 

 when the pockets will be revolved clear around t/i 

 the other position, subjecting the other side of the 

 comb to the action of the centrifugal force. 



a common door. The reversing is accom- 

 plished by swinging the pockets on their 

 hinges from one side clear over to the other. 

 This principle necessitates the stopping of 

 the machine, or nearly stopping it, before 

 the reversing can be accomplished. Even at 

 slow speed the centrifugal force tends to 

 throw the baskets over to the reverse side 

 with a bang unless care is used. With new 

 or tender combs, or combs not wired, there 

 is more or less breakage, especially when 

 hired help does the work. 



The hinged-door principle of reversing re- 

 quires the slowing down and stopping and 

 reversing of the direction of the reel in or- 

 der that the combs may be reversed. In 

 modern practice it is the almost universal 

 custom to start throwing out most of the 

 honey on one side at a comparatively slow 

 speed to reduce the weight of thb comb. It 

 is then reversed, when the other side is ex- 

 tracted clean. The first side is then re- 



turned to its 

 first position and 

 extracted again. 

 This makes two 

 reversings, a n d 

 each time the 

 machine must be 

 slowed down, 

 and stopped and 

 started up again, 

 all of which consumes valuable time right 

 in the midst of the honey season when time 

 is precious and help that is not afraid of 

 bees is often hard to find. In hand-driven 

 machines it also wastes energy. 



The other principle, altlio it is as old as 

 the first, but newer so far as the general use 

 is concerned, is rapidly coming to the front. 

 The baskets, instead of being hinged on the 

 side and swinging like a door, are pivoted 

 in the center. If the reader will imagine a 

 shaft passing thru the center of the comb 

 pockets or baskets and thru the center of 

 the comb lengthwise, and if he can see in 

 his mind 's eye this comb or basket revolv- 

 ing on this shaft like a top, he will under- 

 stand the principle. Of course it is impos- 

 sible to have a shaft go thru the comb; but 

 it is possible to have the basket pivoted at 

 the top and bottom; or, more exactly, it is 

 impossible to have the basket revolve on an 

 sliaft running thru its center, because there 

 can be no shaft going thru the center of the 

 pocket without interfering with the inser- 

 tion of the combs. Machines are now built 



Fig. 2. — To understand this it is necessary to refer 

 to the legend under Fig. 1. The pockets are in 

 the act of reversing in the manner explained. The 

 usual plan is to start the extractor up and throw 

 out most of the honey on one side of the comb at a 

 relatively slow speed. A pressure on the brake 

 lever retards and stops the reversing-drum while the 

 reel itself is run slightly faster. The result is, the 

 lever here shown throws the pockets the other 

 side to. When this side has been cleaned the 

 brake lever is applied, the reel is stopped, and, 

 while the pressure is being applied to the brake, the 

 direction of the reel is reversed. This movement 

 brings the pockets back to their first position, when 

 the first side of the comb is cleaned at full speed. 

 To accomplish reversing the next time op the next 

 set of combs, the reel is turned in the opposite 

 direction, when the work is peirforaJ6<i as alrea4y 

 explained. 



