Dehumidifier Kaskade® for drying wet honey

01 · WHEN YOU NEED IT

Above 18% it starts to matter

The general legal limit is 20% water, but fermentation becomes a risk before that: above 18% and with the room above 20 °C, especially with early-spring and damp-autumn harvests. This kit corrects a batch that comes in slightly high; it is no substitute for harvesting capped frames.

02 · HOW IT WORKS

Six falls, and air that never leaves the loop

On top, the Honey-Therma melting and straining unit makes the honey fluid and strains it. In the middle sits the stainless steel cascade, with six stages down which the honey runs slowly while the dry air sweeps over it. Below, a 35 kg honey tank with a sloping base collects it and drains completely through the gate without tilting.

The air runs in a closed loop: it leaves the dehumidifier dry, passes through the cascade and returns to shed the water it has taken from the honey. That way the honey is not exposed to the damp air of the honey house. The honey falls on its own, by gravity, and the manufacturer gives around 15 kg every 30 minutes as the ideal rate: the slower it falls, the longer it spends in front of the dry air.

03 · THE HEAT

Heat in passing, which is what keeps HMF down

The melting unit's 500 W coil has a thermostat running from 30 to 85 °C, but that scale belongs to the appliance: the manufacturer advises not going above 65 °C on the dial and reckons the honey touching the coil leaves it at about 38 °C, because it does not stay there. In the cascade, an adjustable 50 W lamp holds the temperature so the honey keeps running.

If the honey runs too fast, pause or turn the heat down, never the other way round: runnier honey falls sooner and dries less, and above a sustained 40 °C the HMF rises, which is a legal parameter.

04 · HOW MUCH IT DRIES

The points it takes off are measured, not promised

The manufacturer does not publish how many points each pass takes off: it depends on how wet the honey comes in, the rate and the temperature. The arithmetic gives a guide: taking one point off 15 kg of honey means removing about 180 g of water, and the dehumidifier extracts at most 16 litres a day (measured at 30 °C and 80% relative humidity), about 330 g per half hour.

That is why the refractometer has the last word: one reading before loading and another at the end of each batch tell you whether that honey is done or needs another pass, and every pass is another trip past the heat.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It arrives complete: the cascade with its lamp, hoses, adapters and rails; the dehumidifier; the Honey-Therma melting and straining unit; the stainless steel 35 kg honey tank with its stand; and sealing tapes. If you already own a dehumidifier or a melting and straining unit, bear in mind that the kit brings its own; the cascade is also sold on its own.

⚠ PRECAUTIONS

The melting unit's coil must never run dry: while it is plugged in, it has to be covered with honey. The dehumidifier works with the honey house between 5 and 32 °C and switches itself off when its 2.1-litre water tank is full: empty it between batches. Clean the coil unplugged, without wetting the thermostat box.