Uncapping machine The Uncapper

01 · IT OPENS THE CAPPING, IT KEEPS IT

The discs tear rather than slice

A knife or a fork takes the layer of wax away. The discs on this roller tear the capping and leave it attached to the cell, open just enough for the honey to come out in the extractor.

For the colony that means less work: the wax is still there and the bees repair the capping instead of rebuilding it. In back-to-back flows, the comb is back in service sooner.

02 · SO THERE ARE NO CAPPINGS TO PRESS

It changes the rest of your line

The practical consequence worth knowing before you buy: if you uncap with rollers, you barely generate capping wax. And with no cappings there is nothing to drain and nothing to press.

That is an advantage if what you want is speed and simplicity. It is a drawback if your figures counted on that wax — capping wax is the palest and cleanest in the apiary — or if you already have a press and a melter set up.

03 · WHERE THE ROLLER DOES NOT REACH

Bulging combs and sunken cappings

The roller works on a plane. On bulging combs, or where the capping sits well below the top bar, the discs do not reach the bottom of some cells and honey stays sealed in there.

The workshop fix is simple: a second pass with a little more pressure, and a touch of the fork on the deepest patches. Often it is not even needed — the bees finish opening those spots themselves once the comb goes back.

04 · WHERE IT SITS AND WHAT IT ASKS

On the tub, and little else

It rests straight onto an uncapping tub, or gets screwed down, strapped, or set on an empty box if you are working out in the field. It needs no socket and no heat source, so it works at the apiary as well as in the honey house.

Maintenance comes down to replacing the O-rings after long use, with no special tools, and the bearings are interchangeable.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Decide what you want to do with capping wax: with rollers you will hardly have any.