How do you harvest honey from a top bar hive?
Harvesting honey using a honey press
- One by one, slice the comb off each top bar using a serrated bread knife or an electric uncapping knife.
- When the hopper is filled, put the lid and screw mechanism in place.
- Remove the crushed wax, clean the filter, and repeat the process until all the combs have been processed.
How much honey does a top bar hive produce?
In 2016 established top bar colonies produced about the same, 62 lbs (28.1 kg), on average. However, if the top bar hive was empty enough (had plenty of storage room), some colonies gained 80 – 90 lbs (36.3 – 40.8 kgs), provided the colony was ready for honey production.
Are top bar hives better?
The bees inside a top bar beehive overwinter better than bees inside a Langstroth hive. In order to stay warm, bees need to exert energy, in order to do that they need to eat honey. Since heat rises it will go to the top of the vertical hive while the bees are more likely to be hanging out at the bottom.
How long does it take to extract honey with an extractor?
The 2 types of honey extractors are tangential and radial. To use a honey extractor, place the frames into the drum and spin it by turning it on or using the hand crank. In general you should spin a honey extractor for 5 – 10 minutes, but that can vary.
How deep is a top bar hive?
The depth of the bar and the length of the bar can be whatever the beekeeper wants, but usually between 17″ and 20″. The depth of the top bar hive should be 12″ or less. If deeper, the weight of the comb filled with honey tends to cause it to fall off the bar into the bottom of the hive.
How do you manage a top bar hive?
In a horizontal top bar hive, the bees will expand from the side out rather than vertically into stacking boxes. As the colony grows, slide the divider board, like a moving wall, down the hive cavity and add empty bars. In the height of beekeeping season, we recommend staying 3 bars ahead of their built out comb.
Can you harvest honey with mold on the frames?
The bees are very thorough. After they are done, the combs can be used for brood or honey production. It’s amazing, but no taste or smell of mold will remain on the combs. If you have more than one colony, you can divide the moldy frames between them, or you can give a few at a time.
How many times can you harvest honey in a year?
In a healthy, productive hive, it is normal to be able to harvest honey two to three times each season. Most beekeepers will harvest honey between June and September, but how often you harvest and how much honey you get will depend on a number of factors.
What are the advantages of a top bar beehive?
Because the top bar hive is horizontal, it holds heat much better than the Langstroth hive, and this makes it easier for the bees to overwinter. During cold weather, bees have to actively work to keep the hive warm. To provide the energy to do so, they consume honey. The Langstroth hive acts almost like a chimney.
Do manual honey extractors work?
Compared to electric, honey extractors that are manual work better for extracting honey from wax combs because you can easily control the speed that it’s spinning. They’re also better because you’re less likely to damage a delicate honeycomb.
How do you encourage bees to cap honey?
If you want to help the bees with drying and capping, make sure you have both a lower hive opening and an upper one. This allows a circular airflow where drier, cooler air comes in the bottom, and warmer, wetter air leaves through the top.
When you harvest the honey from a top bar hive, it’s very simple. All you have to do is cut the honey comb off of the starter strip with a kitchen knife, mash it to open up the honey cells and use cheesecloth as a strainer to separate the wax from the honey.
What is a top bar hive?
Top bar hives have a protective roof. Under that roof, along the top of the hive, are 24 removable wooden bars. (That’s what gives the hive its name.) On each bar hangs a small starter strip, and it’s from there that the bees build their combs.
Where to put honey combs in the hive?
This way there will be fewer bees in the hive to notice their honey being plundered. The honey combs will be at the end of the hive farthest away from the brood nest where the colony was started.
What type of Hive is best for beekeeping?
Although Langstroths are the most widely used hive among commercial and hobbyist beekeepers, there’s another type of hive which offers a number of important advantages, particularly to the homesteader or small-scale beekeeper. This is the top bar hive.