Mike Palmer gave some excellent advice for those with many frames to
extract, and pointed out most of the chain uncapper advantages.  An
advantage he did not dwell on is the chain uncapper's ability to handle 'low
spots', saving the effort of hand scraping them with a fork or hive tool.



That said, there are some disadvantages to keep in mind:



1.     They tend to beat tiny pieces of wax right into the cells that then
get into the honey.

2.     They cause some air to be beaten into the honey.



To a large producer, these two disadvantages are nothing compared to the
advantages.  A good spinner will remove most or all of the wax before the
honey is strained or filtered and time in a sump will let the air come to
the surface as foam where it can be skimmed off.  However, relatively small
producers may not want to add a spinner, sump or settling tank, and a pump.



When I got to 300 medium supers, I looked around for something to replace my
hand knife.  I was thinking of a used Silver Queen.  New ones run around
$4,000.  Used are hard to find, and are snapped up quickly.  With my hand
knife, I could only uncap around 15 frames in the time my 20-frame extractor
took to run the frames dry.  Thus, my uncapper was causing a bottleneck.
(Unlike some, I never had hand or wrist pain from using the hand knife.)



In 2001, the makers of the Silver Queen, Cowan Manufacturing, came out with
a new product, the Handyman Uncapper.  I had never seen it, but when I heard
Dave Cowan talk about it, I asked him whether I should buy a Silver Queen or
this for my 300 supers.  Without hesitation, he said buy the Handyman.  I
did.



I told him I wanted it to mount over a Maxant uncapping tank I all ready
had, and gave him the dimensions.  I also ordered an attached mechanism to
heat the knives with steam (electric is also available, but I highly
recommend the steam instead).  The total bill was less than 50% of the
Silver Queen price and, most impressive, it worked 'out of the box'!



 One must hand load frames into the Handyman and turn a hand crank to run
the frames through the vibrating knives.  I don't think it is possible to
run the frames though faster than the knives can uncap.at least I can't.
They uncap very nicely, although on newly drawn frames I sometimes have to
scrape low spots.  I now have plenty of time to uncap 20 frames before my
extractor completes a cycle, so I also get to use the mop, rearrange supers,
etc. and I have not had to invest in a spinner, settling tank, and honey
pump.



All that said, if a beekeeper's intention is to get to 500-1,000 or more
supers it is likely that she will need at least a spinner and probably a
settling tank and honey pump in any case.  If so, I would go with a chain
uncapper right from the start.  Otherwise, my advice is to go with a
Handyman Uncapper.  Available from Cowan directly (435-477-8902), from
Kelley (800-233-2899), and perhaps some other dealers.



Hope this is helpful,

Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacturers of Ross Rounds Comb
Honey Equipment, Sundance Pollen Traps
and Custom Printer of Sundance Labels.

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