Transparent manual extractor, 3 frames

01 · USE

Show the spin, do not describe it

The difference from a steel extractor is purely pedagogical, and it is enormous: whoever is watching sees the honey break away from the opened cappings and travel down the wall to the base. Explaining why you start slowly, why a comb of new wax breaks, or what stays inside when a cycle is cut short takes five minutes with this in front of you and half an hour without it. On a farm visit, it is the point where people suddenly grasp what harvesting honey actually is.

02 · DRIVE

Helical gears, handle release and brake

The drive uses helical gears, which is what makes it quiet — no small thing when you are explaining something while you crank. It has a handle release system, so it does not keep spinning under its own momentum with a hand nearby, and a brake to stop the cage when you want your audience to look inside at rest. Built by LEGA, one of the classic Italian honey-house makers.

03 · COMPATIBILITY

Three Dadant or Langstroth frames, or six supers

The cage takes 3 Dadant or Langstroth frames, or 6 supers. That is small-extractor capacity, in keeping with its purpose: it is not meant to empty an apiary but to work a short batch with an audience in front. If you also harvest with it now and then from a small apiary it will do the job, but capacity per hour is not the buying criterion here.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Bear in mind what acrylic implies: it scratches more readily than steel and forgives neither knocks nor abrasive pads, so clean it with warm water and a soft cloth. If at some point you need to replace part of the cover, get in touch with the unit's reference and we will check availability. And if what you want is to produce rather than to teach, any three-frame steel tangential will serve you better for the same money.