Stainless bucket 15L

01 · THE SPOUT

One channel, two handles, nothing else

The spout is a wide V-shaped channel welded to the rim, with a long fall. With thick honey it matters more than it looks: a straight lip throttles the stream by itself, and that is where the thread escapes down the wall.

The two handles are wire and fold down against the body when they are not in use, so buckets stack and store without catching on each other. Lifted by two people, one on each handle, the weight is shared and the pour is far easier to control than with a single-handled pail.

02 · SIZE AND LOAD

What it holds and what it weighs

A mouth of about 28 cm across and 27.5 cm tall, with straight sides top to bottom. It fits under the gate of most extractors and goes through the opening of a standard settling tank without any balancing act.

Fifteen litres is around 21 kg of honey — honey weighs roughly 1.4 kg per litre — and that figure deserves a moment's thought before your first harvest: filled to the brim it is a two-person lift. Working alone, fill it two thirds and make one more trip.

The rim will take a strainer resting on top; if you want to filter as you fill, the adjustable conical honey strainer suits this mouth because its arms set the span.

03 · STEEL AND WAX

Why steel and not plastic, and the mistake that ruins a batch

Stainless steel takes on no smells, gives off no flavours and does not scratch like reused plastic, where the grooves hold residue and water between seasons. Wash it with hot water, dry it, and it is the same next year.

It also works for melting wax in a double boiler, and there the material matters: iron and copper react with the acids in wax and darken it, while stainless steel leaves the colour alone. What you must never do is put wax over direct heat. It scorches against the base, loses its aroma, and above its flash point it burns — a pan of blazing wax is not put out with water. Water below, wax above, gentle heat.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It is a simple vessel and ships exactly as it is. Worth knowing: