Drying up Honey

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Batcher

New Bee
Joined
May 9, 2014
Messages
80
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Location
Old Radnor
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
7
Hi
I have extracted some honey. 80% odd capped. A little uncapped but passed the shake test... But its still showing 19.5% water... I know I should have tested before extracting but I did not have access to a refractometer.
Is there a way of drying it up?
Thanks
Craig.
 
Hi
I have extracted some honey. 80% odd capped. A little uncapped but passed the shake test... But its still showing 19.5% water... I know I should have tested before extracting but I did not have access to a refractometer.
Is there a way of drying it up?
Thanks
Craig.

19.5% is fine, I have had that % with all of the frames capped
 
Is there a way of drying it up?

You could buy a honey dryer similar to the one in the link below, or for small quantities run it slowly from a bucket with a tap over a warm (not too hot) uncapping tray, and out through the outlet into another bucket, have a fan blowing over the uncapping tray to speed the process, trying to reduce moisture while in a bucket using things like dehumidifiers is too slow, but drying it while still in the combs is easy....but easier still is to let the bees finish the job properly by leaving on the hive a little longer.

http://www.legaitaly.com/en/cart/pa...r-miele-a-dischi-riduce-1-umidita-3ore-detail
 
19.5% is fine, but if you are storing it for up to a year then it may ferment. If you have a honey warming cabinet you could set up a few PC fans towards the bottom of the cabinet to drive the warm moist air out through the lid if you keep it slightly ajar. I have the thermostat set at 35 C and it reduces the water content fairly quickly.
 
we have successfully dried 23% down to 18.5% using alumina desiccant in a tray above a tray filled with honey. Would have done it faster with a small fan.
 
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