Hi Roger/all
 
In response to you question yesterday about the laundry basket
suspended in the black barrel.
 
You asked whether the tubular filtering activity was created only
along the sides and what happens to all the honey left at the base
afterwards.
 
I geuss first I must explain our laundry baskets. They stan about hip
high and about half that wide at the top, tapering to a bit less than
that at the bottom. All around the basket (which is smooth white
plastic) are large egg sized oval holes. I placed normal sheeting as
a filter on the inside and attached it by means of small plastic
bolts (like the ones for number plates) and rubber washers.
 
As the honey filters it does clogg the cloth, but because gunk rises,
most of it blocks near the top, not the bottom. This is not a real
tubul;ar filter as a result as there is no real downward flow, but it
does beat the normal system as one has a far greater surface are
through which filtering occures, you use the sun, and you get the
gunk rising to the surface.
 
I forgot to mention that the barrels I use are old food grade alcohol
barrels - these have a small coating on the inside which stops rust
etc. I am trying to get some of Cokes mystery formula barrels as
their formula is very acidic and hence the barrels are stainless and
the exact right size.
 
When I make a place to insert the laundry basket I trimmed out the
bottom of the barrel with a jigsaw (high speed steel light metal
blades) and hence am able to use the unscrew cap on the other side as
a draining point - one then jut places a bucket below the bin every
few hours and drains out the honey so that there is an incentive for
the honey to move out of the basket (if honey backs up agains the
filter no filtering occurs naturally).
 
 
As for the gooey mess at the bottom - I leave the whole setup in a
cool spot, scrape it out with a spatchelor and put it in a tub, cover
it with polystyrene chips and place it in one of my hives at home.
They clean it up quite well.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
Eastern Cape Prov.
South Africa
 
Time = Honey
 
After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P
the I. may not stand for important.
(rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)