Vintage honey extractor

I've inherited a rather nice motorised honey extractor, in really excellent condition, very clean and shiny inside, but unfortunately made of galvanised steel. Can anybody tell me what is the problem with using this ?

Griffo said:

I've inherited a rather nice motorised honey extractor, in really excellent condition, very clean and shiny inside, but unfortunately made of galvanised steel. Can anybody tell me what is the problem with using this ?

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Its not considered foodsafe.
What do you fancy eating out of a galvanised bucket?

However there is a good chance that you may be able to transplant the motor drive to a modern foodsafe extractor.

There is no problem at all if you are using it for your own consumption. I used one for years, the problem is that as the galvanisation decays the remaining metal reacts with the honey and leaves black streaks! However.......if you give or sell any honey then don't take the risk, I don't think it will necessarily easily convert to a modern spinner as the cage is probably steel too, then you have to watch the size of the central bar. If you are handy at DIY you may be able to convert it but.......
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The standard motor unit includes the crossbar and top bearing - you need to be able to connect that lot to the top of your new extractor's cage. That's the way that a modern motor conversion of an extractor is done - you buy the whole crossbar unit complete with the mounted motor unit. A local engineering firm (or someone like Thornes or Park) should be able to help with getting any necessary shaft adaptors made up.

As an extractor doesnt have to be round......One option I saw on google images is to build a wooden box....and fit your gear into it...

That's the way that a modern motor-conversion-of an extractor is done - you buy the whole crossbar unit complete with the mounted motor unit.-

Really?

Most manual extractors already have a top bar with a central hole. Bolting the electrificated drive to the existing top bar would seem to be a far less costly proposal.

oliver90owner said:

Really?

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Not saying all, but http://www.parkbeekeeping.com/products/detail/motor-conversions

This one has got the motor underneath driving the drum with a v belt onto a big wooden pulley. Not much scope for an adaptation really. I'll pressure wash it all and scrub it like billy-oh and give it a try. With only one hive (so far) I was not expecting to get heavily into honey sales, but also don't want to poison any friends and neighbours.

Have a look at the bearings too. My guess is they will be rusted up by now unless they are well sealed.

Dishmop said:

As an extractor doesnt have to be round......One option I saw on google images is to build a wooden box....and fit your gear into it...

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You'd have to use stainless steel nails though - not galvanised!

jenkinsbrynmair said:

You'd have to use stainless steel nails though - not galvanised!

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Not a great user of nails.

Never seem to find the right hammer to fit..

Griffo said:

This one has got the motor underneath driving the drum with a v belt onto a big wooden pulley. Not much scope for an adaptation really. I'll pressure wash it all and scrub it like billy-oh and give it a try. With only one hive (so far) I was not expecting to get heavily into honey sales, but also don't want to poison any friends and neighbours.

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As someone already said galvanised is no problem for your own consumption. We had galvanised buckets on pig killing days when I was a boy and I'm still about sixty plus years later.
Feeding horses in galvanised buckets is recommended as a way to combat zinc deficiency.

Well you know I'm still no wiser as to what is considered to be non food safe about clean galvanised steel. I would certainly eat my dinner out of a galvanised bucket (if I could get my snout into it) or trough, so long as it didn't have bits flaking off. Perhaps there is some marginal risk of zinc contamination.

Gilberdyke John said:

We had galvanised buckets on pig killing days when I was a boy and I'm still about sixty plus years later.
Feeding horses in galvanised buckets is recommended as a way to combat zinc deficiency.

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I dont remember that using a galvanised bucket was a recognised method of killing pigs..

Griffo said:

Well you know I'm still no wiser as to what is considered to be non food safe about clean galvanised steel. I would certainly eat my dinner out of a galvanised bucket (if I could get my snout into it) or trough, so long as it didn't have bits flaking off. Perhaps there is some marginal risk of zinc contamination.

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Sadly the EU Food Safety 'H&S' boffins have declared the low level dissolvability of soft metals like zinc and lead as a healthhazard ... I can understand lead but zinc is a very much less toxic metal and that much harder to dissolve under normal circumstances.

They will be banning aluminium pans next !

There's a huge raft of EU legislation covering 'food safe' materials that came into force in 2004 :

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2004R1935:20090807:EN:PDF

Page 18 Annex I - covers the list of generic materials that 'may' have specific legislation.

You have to dig much deeper if you want to find where they actually say you should not use zinc covered utensils or vessels as the EU only tell you that countries should decide themselves what is and is not acceptable in food safety terms. But you'll find it here if you have not already drifted off to sleep !!

http://www.coe.int/t/e/social_cohes...act/TECH DOC GUIDELINES METALS AND ALLOYS.pdf

I'll save you some time .... Zinc is on Page 55 - Good luck !!

If you want to sell or give your honey away you could, unfortunately, fall foul of the Environmental Health people if you got inspected and were using materials classed as 'non food safe'. If it's just for your personal consumption ... well, I certainly wouldn't worry about it, honey ain't gonna dissolve enough zinc to kill you ... well, not in your lifetime anyway !!

Dishmop said:

I dont remember that using a galvanised bucket was a recognised method of killing pigs..

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Well ... it's never going to be death by zinc poisoning but you could clout it over the head with the bucket if you were desperate to commit piglicide !

Dishmop said:

I dont remember that using a galvanised bucket was a recognised method of killing pigs..

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We transferred the reddish "interesting bits"from the inside of the pig to the inside of the galvanised buckets for transport from shed to kitchen prior to the assembled group of highly skilled local ladies transforming them into brawn, black pudding, proper sausage with intestine skin and other delicacies.
Supermarkets hadn't been invented