Electric honey extractor MINIMA 4 frames

01 · TANGENTIAL

Three runs, not two, and why

In a tangential extractor the comb sits edge-on against the drum wall, so each run empties one face only. That is what makes the routine that separates a whole comb from a broken one: extract the first face halfway, turn the frame, empty the second face fully, and turn it back to finish the first.

Emptying one face completely while the other is still full is what breaks combs: the weight of the honey still inside pushes the wax against the mesh. Hence three runs, always starting slowly and winding the speed up as the frame lightens.

This model is not reversible: frames are turned by hand.

02 · WHAT FITS

Four frames, one per basket

The cage is universal: it takes Dadant Blatt and Dadant US brood frames, Langstroth brood and shallow frames, and Layens too, though those go in tight and have to sit with their top bars slightly overlapped.

The number does not change with the format: four frames, one per basket. Shallow frames do not go two to a basket — that needs larger baskets than this line has.

03 · THE LID AND THE MOTOR

What to know before you reach in

The clear polycarbonate lid is there so you can look inside without opening, and it is worth using it that way, because there is no safety interlock: lifting it does not stop the motor, and the drum keeps spinning for a good while after you switch off. Stop the control, wait until the drum is genuinely still, and then open.

The motor runs on 230 V with a simple MDD-01 dial controller, no timer and no programs — you take the speed up and down by hand, which is exactly what a tangential wants. It will not run off a battery.

The legs carry soft PVC feet that soak up the vibration when frames are unevenly weighted, and the whole thing comes apart for washing with plenty of water at the end of the season.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is an entry-level extractor, and that means specific things: