Universal vertical uncapping machine CARL FRITZ

01 · 200 FRAMES AN HOUR, BOTH SIDES

And it takes any frame format

Capacity is around 200 frames per hour, the pace of a mid-sized operation working without haste. The advantage is not only the figure: cutting both faces at once means the frame is handled once and never has to be turned over.

It accepts any type of frame — brood Langstroth, Dadant, half-supers — with nothing to change. Drive comes from two 180 W motors at 230 V.

02 · 22 TO 45 MM OF DEPTH

The setting that decides how much wax you take

Uncapping depth adjusts freely between 22 and 45 mm, and that is the control actually used day to day: deeper leaves the comb cleaner and collects more cappings wax; shallower removes less wax and leaves the bees less rebuilding to do.

There is no universal right position: it depends on the actual comb thickness, which varies with how the bees drew it. Start from the factory setting, look at the first frame and correct.

03 · A LIMIT SWITCH CLOSES THE CYCLE

Worth knowing before you call service

There are two independent controls and confusing them is the usual reason for a call. The two chain motors start on the main switch; the push button only launches the carriage, and the cycle closes by itself when a safety switch detects the frame back at its starting position.

So: if the chains turn but the carriage will not descend, the problem is the button or the carriage. If the carriage descends and will not restart, the suspect is the limit switch. That is a diagnosis you make on the spot.

04 · WHAT IT GUARDS AND WHAT IT DOES NOT

Splash cover with the machine running

It has a splash cover, which reduces the risk of working with the machine in motion, and every part is corrosion-protected stainless steel — obligatory in an environment of honey and hot-water cleaning.

As on any chain machine, the cover reduces the risk but does not replace stopping before reaching in. The maker gives two years' warranty from the date of purchase. Weight is around 70 kg.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

A floor machine for an extraction line.