I too am a small time bee keeper with just 4 hives. I harvested about 250
pounds this year, and filtered directly from the extractor without any extra
heat source, as I want my finished product to be as raw and natural as
possiable. However, I do use a two step method. I filter through a double
seive directly from the extractor, then when I get about 50# in a bucket, I do
the final filter through mesh cloth into another bucket. Have to or three mesh
filters so when one starts to get "slow" you simply switch filters, wash out
the old one, and keep going. Same goes for the double seive. This may not work
for someone with 15 -20 hives, but has worked real well for me.
Dennis