Does anyone have any experience with different methods of getting honey from the comb in top bar hives? I am interested in efficient hygienic techniques that can be adopted by subsistence level beekeepers to produce a clean, raw product. I have seen hand wringing, melting with fire and solar melters, and the uncap-and-let drip method, but am searching for better solutions that keep the honey clean and HMF low. This will be a large scale operation spread out over a large territory. 50 tons of honey has been collected so far.
I have thought about macerating the combs and spinning them in hand operated cappings separators but these may be too high-tech.
any thoughts appreciated.
Bill Lord
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