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Post by drew on Sept 20, 2004 19:56:54 GMT -7
I have friends that work in the vineyards around here. My question how is the water % in honey figured out by the brix scale. Please help thank you  |
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Post by NormCounterman on Sept 20, 2004 20:22:33 GMT -7
You betcha! I once hit the bricks really hard to get to where I am today; what does that have to do with moisture in honey?
Keep it simple!
For around a hundred bucks you can get an inexpensive refractometer that reads in % of moisture.
We have them lying all over the shop.
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Post by drew on Sept 21, 2004 20:12:03 GMT -7
$100 is kind of a waste of money for something that would be used about twice a year, and just for honey that is entered in contests etc..
Hey you want to sell one of those things for $50, a working one with directions ;D
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Post by Thom on Sept 22, 2004 8:07:56 GMT -7
It isn't really a waste if you want to be sure that your product isn't going to ferment in the jar or that your buyers aren't going to get sick eating unfinished honey.
It probably doesn't matter if you are selling your honey in bulk.
You can find refractometers on ebay for under $70.
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Post by HarryVanderpool on Sept 22, 2004 22:53:18 GMT -7
Thom hit the issue right on the nose.  Several years ago I delivered a few buckets of honey to a local packer and was asked about moisture content. I gave them an honest answer that I didn't check for that. Boy was that the wrong answer!!  I drove straight from their facility,(with the honey sill in my rig) to the local bee supply and plunked down $140.00 for the thing. Legend has it that one of the northwest's best beekeepers had some jars explode in the cabinet at the state fair from fermentation, and that there was honey EVERYWHERE!!  Don't let this happen to you.  |
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Post by rbees on Sept 24, 2004 1:06:27 GMT -7
And just who would that "Urban Legend" be, Hmmm?
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Post by HarryVanderpool on Sept 24, 2004 10:06:19 GMT -7
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Post by rbees on Sept 24, 2004 13:30:07 GMT -7
lemme guess...
His SSN is "3"XX-XX-XXXX? ;D ;D
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Post by Thom on Sept 24, 2004 14:01:59 GMT -7
Rbees must have resumed his boxing lessons and is looking for a fight.  |
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Post by HarryVanderpool on Sept 24, 2004 18:34:55 GMT -7
Sleep easy Thom.
Rbees may be stylish, he may be flamboyant, he may be a lot of other good things; one thing he is not, is stupid.
I can't imagine someone as bright as him, miscalculating to that great of magnitude.
Naw, there is physical boxing, and then ther is intelectual boxing. I'm still not shure who rules in the latter.
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Post by NormCounterman on Sept 25, 2004 23:27:40 GMT -7
Am I the only thing you have to talk about?  NOTICE TO ALL BLABBERMOUTHS: Get a hobby! Suggestion: Beekeeping. If I can help ypu from there, plese let me know. Otherwise |
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Post by Todd Balsiger on Sept 28, 2004 21:50:51 GMT -7
I agree that the cost of a refractometer is prohobitive, especially considering basic knowledge can keep your honey below 18% water content. Oh yes, it would be nice to have a refractometer.
Honey late in the season (late summer) has the lowest water content. Need not fear any moisture problem when the honey is pulled late. Early season honey is a different matter (maybe not in Eastern Oregon).
I'm not a expert, but I've been given tips to avoid moisture problems. If a frame is uncapped with full cells of obstensibly good honey, first give it a rap (strike sharply) with cells down. If honey juice flies out, don't extract.
I've heard that some large beekeeping operations try to pull their honey before the majority of cells are capped. I don't know if this is common or true, but the idea is to avoid having the bees expend the energy/resources to cap the cells, and extracting is easier. I'm sure these operations have the means to lower the moisture content of uncapped honey before extraction too.
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Post by HarryVanderpool on Sept 29, 2004 7:58:55 GMT -7
I agree.
The only honey that I have ever tested that was too high in moisture, was when I was messing around with the refractometer and knew that the uncapped frame was not yet ripe.
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Post by Todd Balsiger on Sept 29, 2004 23:31:08 GMT -7
That's good to get that feedback Harry. Another one for the message board. I was a little bit worried this year with a "maple" honey. My aunt was manning the uncapper, and she puts everything through. I sold the honey -- no problems.
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