Tangential grill for Quarti radial extractors

01 · THREE, AND QUARTI ONLY

The sum and the limit

A Quarti extractor — the S06B, for instance — needs three cages to be converted. They are sold singly, so replacement or full kitting goes in threes.

And the limit that saves a return: it is built for the geometry of the Quarti basket. In another make of extractor, even a radial one for nine frames, it neither fits nor holds.

02 · TANGENTIAL OR RADIAL

Two ways of getting the honey out

Radially, frames sit like the spokes of a wheel and the force pushes the honey along the cell: both faces empty at once and there is no turning. It is fast, and it is what a radial extractor does well with super frames.

Tangentially, the frame lies flat against the wall and the force acts across the comb: it empties one face at a time, but with far more push on the honey. That is why it is the position that solves brood-chamber frames, Dadant or Langstroth — which do not fit radially in a basket sized for supers — and thick honeys that stay inside on a radial spin.

03 · HOW YOU SPIN WITH IT

The first face, gently

You spin one face, take the frame out, turn it and spin the other. That double handling is what you pay for the extra push.

The order matters and it is what saves the comb: the first face at low speed and not fully emptied. The honey on the inner face weighs on a comb that no longer has it supported from within, and at full speed it blows out. Turn, spin the second side right out, turn back and finish the first.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is one cage: