Tangential Extractors

Tangential extractors from 2 to 4 frames, manual and electric: SAXO®, COOPER®, Quarti®, BASIC Ø400. From €119.95 to €1,225.

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Joshua Ivars
Joshua Ivars
With over 15 years of experience in beekeeping, Joshua collaborates with the national beekeeping congress as part of the scientific committee in the area of innovation and sustainability.

When to choose a tangential extractor

The tangential extractor is one of the safest options when you work with large frames, dense honeys or delicate comb. It isn't usually the fastest system if you have to turn the frames by hand, but it does allow a more direct, controlled extraction. That's why, if you use Layens, Dadant brood frames or honeys that are hard to spin out, I usually think it's a better buy than a radial. In these cases, what matters isn't just getting the honey out fast, but emptying the comb thoroughly without forcing it too much.

My advice is to choose the tangential model according to your real workload. For a few hives, a manual model can be enough if you want something simple, affordable and easy to clean. But if you already have a fair number of hives or run long seasons, I'd go for an electric model or straight to a reversible one. Before buying, I'd check three things: compatibility with your frames, progressive speed control and the sturdiness of the basket. A well-chosen tangential extractor gives you control, treats the comb more gently and avoids many of the typical problems when the honey is cold, dense or the frame comes in very full.

Tangential Honey Extractors - Manual & Motorized, best brands

Tangential Extractors

In a tangential extractor the frame sits with one face outwards. Centrifugal force empties that face, and for the other you have to stop and turn the frame round. That gesture defines the whole category.

The advantage of turning

It sounds like a drawback and partly is, but it brings a real benefit: extracting one face at a time means the comb survives better. New, soft wax, which breaks easily in a radial, comes through a tangential intact. That is why the tangential is the right choice for freshly built comb and for the beekeeper who renews wax every year.

When it is the correct choice

With up to twenty or thirty hives, a tangential gives you what you need for a fraction of a radial's price. It starts at €119.95 against the four figures of a forty-frame radial, and at that volume the time difference does not justify the outlay.

Manual or electric

The manual has an underrated advantage: you control the acceleration. You start slowly, speed up once the frame has lightened, and break nothing. That is what makes a manual better than a cheap electric with no variator.

The electric pays once your wrist is the bottleneck. If you buy one, make sure it has a speed variator: without it you return to the same problem with more force.

What to check before the price

That the drum is food-grade stainless, that the tap comes apart for cleaning, and that the frame count matches your format. A "universal" extractor saves grief if you run two sizes.

Radials are in reversible extractors; the whole range in honey extractors.