Plastic bottling tank and digital scales

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Peter Marsh

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I'm trying to identify the plastic tank with stainless steel gate, and the digital scales, as used by John Laidler, aks Rooftops, in his YouTube video. Unfortunately John is apparently travelling the world in a camper van and I have no means of contacting him. Does any member know the source of supply of either the bottling tank or the digital scales he used? Thanks in anticipation.
 
Almost certainly this video http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/video.php?do=viewdetails&videoid=64


The scale - such scales (and even lower profile) can now be found in the kitchen departments of most supermarkets for under £10.
You need one that records in 1 gram increments (not 2 or 5, which you might still come across), is easily cleaned and uses standard batteries (I'd rather AA or AAA than watch cells). All will have a 're-zero' or "tare" facility.
Last New Year, I picked up a black glass Salter with red LED display for a fiver in Sainsbury's sale. Previously I'd used a Lidl one, but the Salter seems a better (as well as better-looking) scale.

The stainless honey gate. Its probably the Thornes one. Costs £45 nowadays. Stainless is expensive!

No idea on that bucket. But similar, equally good ones can be obtained from most of the major suppliers. I've just fitted a couple of (plastic) honey gates to some rather nice (very very stiff top rim) 5 US gallon white HDPE buckets I got from Mann Lake for just over a fiver each. Ideal settling tank/bottling buckets I hope!


/// Modern Beekeeping would (of course - Rooftops!) also be worth checking re the bucket & honeygate, but their website doesn't seem to be responding this afternoon …
 
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Sorry alldigging, but I was prevented in adding the link - don't qualify to do that as yet, it seems. The link is shown in itma's thread.
 
Cant see whats so important about having a tank and set of scales the same as he uses in the video..

There's hundreds of both on ebay..
 
That bucket and honeygate aren't currently on the modern beekeeping website.

But Mann Lake do have a chrome-plated brass honeygate (for those craving metal rather than plastic) at £25.

I fitted one of my buckets with a known-good Thorne £11 honeygate, and the other with one of the cheapo eBay direct from China ones (which looked fine btw) …

And "5 US Gallons" (the Mann Lake £5.50 bucket's quoted capacity) calculates out as 58 lbs of honey. They are nice tallish, steep-sided, big buckets.
 
Hi Dishmop,
The plastic gate on my bottling bucket leaks small drips of honey after bottling a few jars, and the supplier admits to that being a problem. Having increased the number of colonies I manage back to the 20 or so I ran as a younger man I need an efficient gate that does not leak drips when in prolonged use. Having met John Laidler, and visited him at his former home, I know he would have bought an efficient gate. as seen in the video. And as to the scales, my old digital Salter scales no longer zeros on first press of the button, so needs replacing. Hence my query.
 
Sainsbury have got my LED Salter back in their current Sale - but at £10.

It works fine, but does get through a set of rechargable batteries in a decently long bottling session! (LEDs, eh!) But that doesn't bother me overly, I've got plenty rechargeable low self-discharge AAA batteries …

I'm quite happy with the Thorne £11 plastic honeygate. The fact that it has wingnut-type nuts at both sides of the gate makes it more straightforward to balance the pressure, to get a good seal. With my runny honey, I get a consistent pair of drips after shutoff. Which simply becomes part of the rhythm …
 
The fact that it has wingnut-type nuts at both sides of the gate makes it more straightforward to balance the pressure, to get a good seal. With my runny honey, I get a consistent pair of drips after shutoff. Which simply becomes part of the rhythm …

I agree. I changed the hex nut on the hinge side for a wing nut, as it's such a potch trying to re-position the hex after cleaning the gate, (and no, I never thought to - or remember to - mark its position before dismantling...).
 
I'm trying to identify the ... digital scales, as used by John Laidler, aks Rooftops, in his YouTube video.

A set of scales that looks exactly the same as these were for sale in my local Lidl yesterday.
 
… I need an efficient gate that does not leak drips when in prolonged use. Having met John Laidler, and visited him at his former home, I know he would have bought an efficient gate. as seen in the video. …

I wonder if that might be a Nisala honey gate attached to a plastic bucket … ?


Posted March 2012 on the Nisala thread --
I have one of the {Nisala} tanks, excellent quality and the honey gate is second to none, no drips or leaks, and a proper seal around the lid, so good that you have to release it when bottling or it vacuums. Not that big but the handles are very strong
There are picture of the same unit on modern beekeepings site but they are out of stock

ADDED Remembering -


/// Modern Beekeeping would (of course - Rooftops!) also be worth checking re the bucket & honeygate, but their website doesn't seem to be responding this afternoon …
 
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A set of scales that looks exactly the same as these were for sale in my local Lidl yesterday.

I got a great set from Lidl, increments of 1 gram, and take 4 AAA batteries that have lasted me all year, and I use it a lot. They are not Salter though.
 
Digi scales in my Sainsburys £8 and they are Salter. Picked them up last week and SWMBO told me to put them back. Not this week .......... I will be strong!!
 
I saw Dusty use them while he was jarring me up a jar of honey last weekend. He put the jar on them, zero'd it, and then weighed the amount going into the jar :)
 

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