Storing honey in buckets and/or jars

[BeeJayBee]

I can't find any threads discussing this, so ...

Where do you store your extracted honey once it's in either plastic buckets or in jars?

 

[Foxylad]

30lb buckets, making up batches into jars. 30,60,90lb at a time.

I try only to jar when it is needed.

Going to try 60lb buckets this year on some of the heavier flows.

Maybe 45gal drums next year!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

30lb buckets on top of large dresser in kitchen.

 

[jd101k2000]

Be careful - bought a 40 litre beer bucket. It may be that I am a weakling... but after I had filled it up to 15 litres it was very heavy to shift around the kitchen! If you need to move your honey storage, ensure you can lift it. (15 litres weighs 15 litres weighs about 20kg or 44lb.)

 

[BeeJayBee]

Thanks, so far.

Everybody round here seems to have their favourite place to store buckets or jars - shed, garage, under the stairs etc. I just wondered what is the preferred storage place for people in other parts of the country.

30lb buckets on top of large dresser in kitchen.

Does it get quite warm up there?

 

[Tom Bick]

A friends house

 

[itma]

Yes, it is better to store it somewhere cool.
Fridge cold is probably ideal, but shouldn't usually be necessary to prevent fermentation.

 

[VEG]

In the honey room in the garage

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks, so far.

Everybody round here seems to have their favourite place to store buckets or jars - shed, garage, under the stairs etc. I just wondered what is the preferred storage place for people in other parts of the country.



Does it get quite warm up there?

Never there for long.

Cool temperatures [below 50 °F (10 °C)] are ideal for preventing crystallization. Moderate temperatures [50–70 °F (10–21 °C)] generally encourage crystallization. Warm temperatures [70– 81 °F (21–27 °C)] discourage crystallization but degrade the honey. Very warm temperatures [over 81 °F (27 °C)] prevent crystallization but encourage spoilage by fermentation as well as degrading the honey.

Take your pick

 

[milkermel]

storage is in the 3rd bedroom aka the store room. also where OH keeps his guns, flo had a problem when she was wanting to reference the name of the room where it cabinet was - as she knew it was a bedroom but definitely looked like a larder

 

[BeeJayBee]

Outbuilding with a concrete floor or a rarely used (cool) room looks the favoured option.

 

[Tdod]

after the honey has settled nicely in the buckets how do you jar it with out disturbing it again????

 

[VEG]

after the honey has settled nicely in the buckets how do you jar it with out disturbing it again????

The buckets are used to store the bulk honey not to jar from. You will have to transfer it to a settling tank of some sort.

 

[Tdod]

thanks, that is what I thought just checking I was not missing something..

 

[Oscarmonster]

Mines in the cellar. 8degrees C all year.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Lucky you for having a cellar, I wish we had one.

 

[Headnavigator]

The buckets are used to store the bulk honey not to jar from. You will have to transfer it to a settling tank of some sort.

Honey can be stored from the settling tank into a suitably strong food-grade poly bag in a bucket, the bag top being sealed to exclude air. The bag can be lifted out later and used to fill jars from a cut bottom corner, either directly or with the corner protruding from a clean settling tank. Obviously the whole bag needs to be emptied but can be squeezed down by hand with minimal waste.
Works well up to about 15kg batches.

 

[VEG]

Headnavigator how do you stop the flow of honey without it dripping, when filling from a bag?

 

[Headnavigator]

Two pairs of hands, for a start! Either use one of the 4 or 5 inch long freezer bag closures and clamp it across the corner to stop the flow, or (single-handed) stick the open corner through a tank outlet and adjust the screws so that you can use the tap closure to stop the flow.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Honey can be stored from the settling tank into a suitably strong food-grade poly bag in a bucket, the bag top being sealed to exclude air. The bag can be lifted out later and used to fill jars from a cut bottom corner, either directly or with the corner protruding from a clean settling tank. Obviously the whole bag needs to be emptied but can be squeezed down by hand with minimal waste.
Works well up to about 15kg batches.

That is a very good idea!