How to use a Refractometer to check moisture content
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ค. 2023
- After extracting raw honey last week, this week it seemed important to highlight the use of a refractometer. As beekeepers, it's our responsibility to make sure the moisture content in the honey is low or the product may ferment.
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Great, straightforward video
Glad you liked it!
Something obvious i want to pass on thoe not often mentioned is If you rob early in the day before the bees have filled uncapped cells with wet necter you can get away with having more open cells, but this makes having a refractometre vital so you can sleep at night with peace of mind.
Great vid buddy!!
Just because the honey is capped doesn't mean it is below 18%. In humid periods it can be up to 21% or higher so always check the moisture level before you extract. I put a box fan over a stack of supers in a room with a dehumidifier and make sure it is 17% or lower. Commercial beeks don't worry about cappings, they just put the honey in a drying room with fans and then extract.
Yes, it's a whole lot easier to dry in comb in boxes, I have a fan on some in bucket under ac in house two days now and only drop .5%. I usually dry in boxes but acedentally extracted one to soon
I had still only partially capped honeycombs with 16,5% moisture content. There is a trick to test at the hive stand if your honey comb is ready for harvesting although it is still uncapped: Hold it horizontally over your hive and shake it from up to down, if drops of honey fall leave it to the bees. If not, harvest. Mine were so dry, that they started bending because of the weight of the honey.
Drying honey artificially after the honey harvest is forbidden and against the honey-regulatories here. Honey has to be harvested only when under 20% of water content if you're not in the German Beekeepers Association, and under 18% if you're a member. To dry honey is reason for punishment fees and such here. Honey that turns out to have been artificially dried down after the harvest is prohibited from being sold.
But, we would be allowed to use a air dehumidifier in our storages, since the honey would be stored sealed airtight.
Love the videos been sharing with our grandkids.
Awesome! I love hearing that. 😊
Good morning Jason.🌻🐝 I'm a better beekeeper thank to your videos. Congratulations on your book. I can't wait to read it. I harvest a bit of honey this year. We slipped out 4 deep frames that had beautiful capped honey. I got 16pints. Thank you for sharing your videos.
Thanks for all you do. Have a great week.
Same to you
My two honey harvests had 13% as a minimum and 16,5% maximum watercontent. In Germany, we have two regulations for the Water content, one allows 20% max. and the one of the German Beekeepers Association ("Deutscher Imkerbund") restricts the maximum content of water to 18%. This way, the highest honey quality is guaranteed to the customer. Good luck with beekeeping.
Thank you for emphasizing moisture. I now have 3 refractometers because I didn't pay attention to the type. I.e. moisture. This all happened 4 years ago. I remember that the first one was for sugar content. Don't remember what the second one was, it might have been salt content. Sugar content kind of made sense. It is honey.
So looking forward to reading your book, knowledge is priceless! I’m just North of you in the Danville/Mohican area.
Wow, your really close to me! I am just on the other side of Martinsburg.
I pulled some supers yesterday and moisture was a touch over 18% average. I have the dehumidifier running and following your tip, I will get it down to 17%. Thanks Jason.
Great job!
Can you help me understand how moisture will “come out” of honey that is 19% moisture on a refractometer in a room that has an air humidity of 25-35%? My dehumidifier has never gotten my air humidity below 30%. I would think that the honey would only absorb humidity from the air in the situation I described. Thanks for your help!
@@scottmartin6744 I don’t know how it happens from a science basis. I suspect that as moisture decreases in the air, the air will seek to pull moisture into it to raise its humidity. In a small honey house, the air will pull moisture from the honey as it seeks to increase or equalize moisture in the air. This is the only easy source of moisture. Much the same way heat goes to cold in the winter. Honey will give up moisture in the hive as the bees pass air across it before they cap it. In my location the humidity in the air is high yet, the bees reduce the moisture in the honey to around 18% before they cap it. Moisture will move with the help of air moving in the hive and the temperature inside the hive being high. In the same way, if you extract honey and leave it exposed to air, it will start absorbing moisture from the air. So, I run my dehumidifier and fans to move air and get the moisture level lower. By the way, the average temperature in the room is around 90 degrees.
Now if someone could make a pollen moisture checker that's cheaper than $2K. To dry pollen safely the moisture content should be around 4%, so I've read on multiple sites.
Jason I have never used one. Although I do make certain to never harvest uncapped honey cells.
I know people who have had honey ferment but I generally only produce about 30 gallons or less.
But actually I had never given much thought to moisture content I have never had a problem.
I'd be curious where the moisture level is but if you've never had a problem, I understand why you haven't checked it.
Also it says calibrate with extra virgin olive oil and brix should read 71.5, ive yet to see any honey below 17.5% on moisture side. Maybe mine is inaccurate
Ive had some this year around 17.5% and others down near 16.5%. The refractometer is a very handy tool. Ok, ok. Once you read the book, it'll be 2026. . Lol
It's amazing the differences in moisture percentage from one bee hive to another. At the same time though, it makes me wonder how well we all are actually calibrating our refractometers. There seems to be some fluctuation in the oil reading www.dave-cushman.net/bee/refractometercalibration.html
Yes, probably 2026! lol
No, actually I am buzzing right through it. :)
I have same Refractometer, according to instructions you have to recalibrate everytime temp changes 5°, im constantly having to recalibrate it. Weird thing, i checked a frame of capped at 18.5% and same box had uncapped at 17.5%. I was told 19.5% or higher would ferment. I just checked some in a jar from 2022 and was 23%. Taste fine and looks fine. Id like to get a good digital one but they are $350. Whats your thoughts on my findings? Thank you for doing these videos
Hi Jason: If I have uncapped honey in a frame I test it with my refactor meter. But my honey always comes out around fourteen. When I test before bottling it is the same. Is this a bad thing? I always make sure sure I calibrated the refractamete using olive oil.
Nice top info get the bull yet.
Thanks. The bull is staying on his side and yes our bull has arrived. He's a beast, I'll share a video of him soon.
@@JCsBees cheers got a few rippers over this side as well lol wearing any thing red could be dangerous.
How did you calibrate your refractometer?
They have videos on how to calibrate. You use Olive Oil do do it.
Promo sm ❣️