Stan Sandler wrote:
>
> I would appreciate some comments on the various types of automatic uncappers that available (Gunness, Cowan, Maxant...)Especially valuable would be comments from those who have experience with more than one type.Has anyone tried to build their own?  My old Hive and Honeybee mentions a fixed vibrating knife that is heated that you run the frame against.  I could imagine that might be an improvement over my steam plane.
 
Hi Stan,
When selecting a power uncapper a major consideration is the number of
frames you have to uncap. High capacity Cowan or Guiness machines would
be inappropriate for just a few colonies but a a great benefit if you
have hundreds or thousands of supers to uncap. Personaly I lean toward
the Cowan system. The Cowan puts the frames on a conveyor so you don't
have to handle the frames much. The vibrating knife you mention is known
around here as a jiggle knife. I have'nt used one but a friend running
about 700 colonies used a pair of them for years. I've seent the Maxant
in use. It does a nice job but for the money is slow.