Method and apparatus for increasing honey harvest efficiency
OwnerStuart Suydaminventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a method and related apparatus for increasing the extraction efficiency of honey from honeycomb. Capped honeycomb is placed in a vessel and heated air is flowed past the honeycomb and in contact with the honeycomb. Heat is transferred from the flowing air to the honeycomb by forced convection. The honeycomb is removed from the vessel after the honeycomb reaches a desired end temperature. The heated honeycomb is then removed from the vessel, uncapped, and honey is extracted from the uncapped honeycomb. Heating the honeycomb by forced convection heats the capped honeycomb quickly to reduce the viscosity of the honey in the honeycomb for faster extraction, and enables recovery of honey from honeycombs having crystallized honey.
Claims25
A method for heating capped honeycomb capped by beeswax and containing honey in the honeycomb prior to uncapping the honeycomb and extracting the honey from the uncapped honeycomb, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) placing the honeycomb containing honey and beeswax capping the honeycomb in a vessel that does not contain bees while performing steps (a), (b), and (c);
- (b) flowing heated air having an air temperature less than the melting temperature of the beeswax through the vessel by forced convection, the heated air in contact with the honeycomb in the vessel;
- (c) transferring heat from the flowing heated air in contact with the honeycomb in the vessel and thereby increasing the temperature of the honeycomb without melting or otherwise removing the beeswax capping the honeycomb,
- (d) removing the capped honeycomb from the vessel after the honeycomb has reached a desired end temperature;
- and
- (e) uncapping the heated honeycomb while the temperature of the honeycomb is at an increased temperature from performing steps (a)-(d).
A method for heating capped honeycomb prior to extracting honey from the honeycomb, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) placing the honeycomb in a vessel, the honeycomb when in the vessel being disposed on a plurality of Langstroth-style frames disposed in a plurality of supers, the plurality of supers forming one or more stacks of vertically stacked supers;
- (b) flowing heated air through the vessel by forced convection, the heated air in contact with the honeycomb in the vessel;
- (c) transferring heat from the flowing heated air in contact with the honeycomb in the vessel and thereby increasing the temperature of the honeycomb;
- and
- (d) removing the honeycomb from the vessel after the honeycomb has reached a desired end temperature;
- wherein step (b) comprises the steps of:
- (e) operating a fan outside of the vessel, the fan generating the forced convection of the heated air, and
- (f) flowing the air past a heat exchanger and transferring heat from the heat exchanger into the air to heat the air prior to the heated air flowing into the vessel;
- and
- step (c) comprises the step of:
- (g) flowing the heated air vertically through the one or more stacks of supers and along opposite sides of the frames in the supers.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.