Honey drum blanket heater

The controller regulates from 0 to 99 °C, and the blanket also has its own safety thermostat that keeps it below 100 °C. It is not suitable for work at 150 to 180 °C, such as bending plastic. For honey, the ceiling is 40 °C: the display shows the temperature of the heating wire, not of the honey, so with the switch-off temperature set at 40 °C the honey stays below it.

No. It is a general-purpose electrical appliance, not certified for explosive atmospheres, and it is designed for honey. Do not use it with flammable liquids or near combustible materials; plug it into an earthed socket, without folds and with nothing covering it.

With two values: the switch-on temperature (“Open”) and the switch-off temperature (“Stop”). The blanket switches on when the wire drops to the switch-on temperature and switches off when it reaches the switch-off temperature, so the display goes up and down between the two. The switch-on value must always be below the switch-off value, with the “Heat Up” light on; if “Cool” lights up, the values are reversed and the blanket may keep heating non-stop. For honey, for example, switch-on at 38 °C and switch-off at 40 °C, and check the honey with a thermometer. The manual on the product page explains every button.

For a crystallised drum, the blanket: it heats the drum from the outside, evenly and slowly, without touching the honey, and with the switch-off temperature at 40 °C the honey stays below it. An immersion heater heats what it touches: it has to go into the honey, which must already be somewhat fluid, and without stirring it can push the honey around it above 40 °C while the rest is still cold.

It is made for 200-litre drums: it measures 1900 × 860 mm and is fastened with straps. For 50, 100 and 200 kg honey tanks we have made-to-measure blankets, which wrap the tank, close with straps and are 10 cm shorter than the tank to leave the tap free. The drum blanket, 86 cm high, would cover the outlet of a 200 kg tank. For tanks over 200 kg we have no specific blanket.

Yes. The display shows the temperature of the heating wire, not of the honey, and honey conducts heat very poorly: the honey against the drum wall warms first and the centre last. With the switch-off at 40 °C the honey stays below that, but a full drum takes a while to liquefy. To speed it up, put a probe thermometer in the honey next to the wall, without touching the metal, where it gets hottest, and raise the switch-off 5 °C at a time while that honey stays below 40 °C; if it gets close, lower it again. Don’t raise the switch-off without measuring: the honey by the wall would go above 40 °C long before the centre melts.