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How do you get the honey out of the bucket?

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schlapppy

schlapppy

NewBee
Registered Member
Feb 28, 2010
287
2
0
Cranberry Twp., PA
Out of curiosity.. have you found an effeciant way of getting the honey out of the bulkets? I always end up making a sticky albiet delicious mess.

I've tried
  1. ladeling (takes to long)
  2. using a small pot to ladel
  3. Pouring the honey out of the bucket..
 
When I've had honey in a bucket, I've opted for ladelling, but I have a stainless steel ladel that fills a soup bowl with one scoop so it didn't take that much time for me, plus I tend to work in 1-3 gal batches :)

When I get a large bucket of honey next honey run, my plan is to decant most of it into my usual jars for ease of use later, 1 kg jars and mostly-full 2 kg jars which I've pre-marked for how much honey I need for a batch fo JAO so I'll be using the smaller ladel because the jar mouths are too small and I don't think the mouth of my jelly funnel is much bigger. Either that or my hubby and I will come up with some form of tipping mechanism so I can pour it.
 
A painter showed me how to pour paint from a 5 gallon bucket with a bung, and the same (sorta) applies to large buckets of honey. Pour with the spout at the top of the bucket once tilted, not at the bottom. Totally counter-intuitive, totally works 10x better. You'll still get some honey on the top of the bucket, but not as much as previously ran down the side onto everything.

The ladle sounds like it might be a good idea too...
 
icedmetal said:
A painter showed me how to pour paint from a 5 gallon bucket with a bung, and the same (sorta) applies to large buckets of honey. Pour with the spout at the top of the bucket once tilted, not at the bottom. Totally counter-intuitive, totally works 10x better. You'll still get some honey on the top of the bucket, but not as much as previously ran down the side onto everything.

The ladle sounds like it might be a good idea too...
Click to expand...

I've never gotten a bucket with a built in spout. Is this common?
 
Buy a 5 gallon fermenter or a honey bucket with a spout at the bottom. Then just transfer the honey to the spouted bucket. Now you can fill jars or just let it pour into your fermenter and measure S. G.

Like this one.
 
Last edited:
schlapppy said:
I've never gotten a bucket with a built in spout. Is this common?
Click to expand...

Hmm sorry, I said spout, but I meant bung. Just a removable plastic bung that leaves a ~1.5" diameter hole in the lid of the bucket.

I also wish those big ole buckets came with a spout!

Pouring the honey into a container with a spigot is a great idea. You'll have to wait forever, but in many cases it's probably worth the wait to save the mess. Now if you've got a bucket with a built-in honey gate... :)
 
mmclean said:
Buy a 5 gallon fermenter or a honey bucket with a spout at the bottom. Then just transfer the honey to the spouted bucket. Now you can fill jars or just let it pour into your fermenter and measure S. G.

Like this one.
Click to expand...

I was happy to see this type when I checked the link, the spigot that came on the fermenter I have would've taken hours and hours to get honey out if the similar spigot at my usual bulk food place is any indication.

The valve in the link is exactly what my apiary uses for their bulk tank and it pours very quickly, only problem is it might not be leak-proof, they always have a cup sitting under theirs.
 
There should only be a small amount of draining after closing the gate. Honey doesn't stop all at once, as we all know. Still better than all down the side. :p
 
Try taping a cat to the outside of the bucket. Any honey that runs down the side will get trapped in the cat's fur. The little beasts are self cleaning, so this will save time and energy on your part. ;D
 
My LHBS has those installed on their drums of malt extract and bulk honey containers. Very handy.
 
I found a quart size measuring cup which works for the big sized honey buckets. I'm not overly concerned with precise measurements of honey added to water to hit a target gravity because of the variability in honey.

I'll make some rough ball park calculations, dip and pour until I'm close to the target gravity, take a gravity reading and then make adjustments.

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