12F Carl Fritz Self-turning Honey extractor

01 · 12 DEEP OR 24 SHALLOW

And that is why they call it universal

Cages of 36 × 46 cm take Langstroth, Dadant and Layens deep frames, and hold two shallows each. Twelve big frames or twenty-four small ones is the same machine, with nothing to change.

If you run a special format, measure the frame against those 36 × 46 before ordering. The top bar rests on the cage and overhangs, but the usable opening is what it is.

02 · 38 CM TO THE TAP

And that is the figure that decides the installation

From the floor to the outlet there are 38 centimetres. A bucket fits under there, and not much else: a maturer will not go. The machine discharges by gravity, so either you raise it on a platform, or you fit a pump, or you resign yourself to bucketing.

Worth solving before it arrives, because it is 230 kg and does not get lifted by hand. Plan the whole space: the machine, what goes underneath and where the hose runs.

03 · DN50 OUTLET, NOT DN40

A 2-inch screw-on honey tap

The outlet is DN50, that is two inches, and that is the calibre of the big-machine line: pumps, maturers and fillers of that diameter connect straight on.

The other house line, inch and a half, is the usual one in small installations and does not fit without a reducer. Tell us which calibre you have installed and we will tell you which fitting you need.

04 · THERE ARE TWELVES FOR HALF

And it is worth knowing before deciding

Our range has universal 12/24-frame reversibles for less than half what this one costs, and even a twenty-frame for less. We would rather say so ourselves than have you find out next door.

What you pay for here is German Carl Fritz build, a Ø 125 cm drum, a 1,500 W motor and 230 kg of stainless steel. If your criterion is price per frame, this is not the machine; if it is lasting thirty seasons, let us talk.

05 · LOADING HEIGHT: 117 CM

Twelve full frames at chest height

The mouth sits at 117 cm and the overall height is 131. A full deep frame weighs close to three kilos and you lift twelve, so the uncapping bench is better set at that same height and no lower.

The 1,500 W motor sits underneath, on single-phase 230 V: no three-phase needed. And the lids lock, which with twelve frames spinning at that mass is not a minor detail.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Solve the space underneath before anything else.