Pollen dryer 6 trays

01 · THE LIMIT IS 40-45 °C

Above that, pollen darkens and loses

Fresh pollen comes out of the trap at 20 to 30 % moisture and has to come down to where it is stable in store. What you cannot do is hurry it with heat: above 40-45 °C pollen loses part of its vitamins, darkens and changes flavour.

Hence the moderate ventilation and gentle temperature of this unit: its 550 W of maximum power are not there to heat hard, but to move air for hours. A well-chosen pollen dryer is one that dries slowly.

02 · THE AIR RUNS HORIZONTAL

All the trays at once, and without mixing

The air enters horizontally and reaches all six trays at the same time. In vertical-flow dryers the bottom tray dries first and you have to keep rotating them; here you do not.

And there is a second consequence you appreciate if you separate pollen by colour: because the flow is gentle and directed, the pellets do not jump between trays. What you put on each one is what you take off it.

03 · 2.5 TO 3.5 KG PER BATCH

It is a beekeeper's dryer, not an industrial one

The six 23.5 × 35 cm trays give an indicative capacity of 2.5 to 3.5 kg per batch. That is the daily harvest of a mid-sized apiary with traps on, not a whole season's.

Worth being clear about before buying: the catalogue has dryers of 15-20 kg per batch at a similar price. This one is chosen for how it dries — gently, evenly and without mixing — not for how much.

04 · WHEN IT IS REALLY DRY

Pollen does not wait, and the eye is not enough

Fresh pollen does not last the day: in the trap it takes up moisture and moulds within hours, so it leaves the apiary and goes straight to the dryer or the freezer. There is no middle ground.

And the end point cannot be seen. A pellet dry on the outside may still be damp within, and pollen packed too soon cakes or spoils. To know it as a number there is the pollen moisture meter, sold separately.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Count the pollen you harvest in a day. If it goes over 3 kg, the batch falls short and you should look at a larger model.