GOODLAND BEE SUPPLY Hardin Professional 2 Frame Manual Honey Extractor, Metallic

I was on the fence about this purchase. I really wasn't sure if it was necessary because I only have one hive with 10 frames to extract this year. With that said I am so glad I made this investment. It is very easy to use and is incredibly effective. The basket would better fit deep hive frames but we had zero complications fitting 6 1/2" honey super frames. Easy to use, easy to clean, a great investment and a huuuuge time saver extracting frames with minimal waste. I look forward to having this for many years to come as I continue my journey in beekeeping.As for other customer's complaints about loose nuts and gear oil these are easy things to address. Anyone with minimal mechanical skill shouldn't have a problem tightening things up as they should. I even took mine apart so that I was more familiar with how it all went together and how it worked. The drum and components do come lightly coated in gear oil (I'm assuming from the manufacturing site) but the unit cleans up real easy without any fuss whatsoever. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for an affordable unit for these purposes.

fairly standard extractor for medium size apiaries (I have 15 hives and produce about 50G a year near the Bay Area). I liked the design of how the legs mount on stays fixated through the wall of the tank. my previous extractor which was similar use standoffs that were point welded to the exterior side instead and eventually with the vibrations of unbalanced loads, they sheared off. So far it performs as expected. The bad part is that there was a dent right near the bottom port and this seems to have occurred at the factory, since there is a red paint mark on it that belongs to a leg. speaking of paint, the red paint on the legs has many blemishes and is even spotty on 2 legs. I wonder why the factory does not do a more thorough final QC it would have earned 5 stars for the price and functionality.

No assembly instructions included, but only took about ten seconds from first ring to speaking with a person who walked me through assembly. Tested on four frames today and worked well. Handle is hard plastic, wish they would make those soft foam or something more comfortable, but it was wide enough that my hand didn't cramp. Squeaked first few revolutions but squeaking went away before finishing first set of frames. Baskets where large enough to fit large frame, shaped odd so may fit small/medium frames more securly, but did not test. Did not install legs- they look a little short to fit a five gallon bucket under honeygate but seem heavy duty so later may install and measure height. Overall it is a solid extractor would reccomend for extracting one or two hives, any more and your arm will fall off.

It works pretty well for a very cheap honey extractor but still, for nearly $200 I at least expect all the hardware to be there. In this kit, I'm missing 7 bolts and 4 nuts. The hardware that was delivered was just loosely tossed into the box. The lid is not hinged as advertised. It works once you go out and buy the rest of the parts needed for assembly, but I cannot in good conscience give more than a two star review to an incomplete product.

Alcohol powered....Thought I would share my experience. Having tried the "economy", all plastic/nylon model which died within 3 seasons I bought this one. It arrived within a week of ordering. It came double boxed and was in fairly good shape on arrival. Upon opening I, like others found that all the mounting hardware was loose in the box but with extensive searching was able to locate all of the pieces. The "instructions" dont quality as such but with a bit of common sense, one can overcome this obstacle. One of the 3 legs came undrilled but I have a good shop and was able to drill out the mounting holes ok. Cleaning obviously needs to be done. Partially filled with hot water and dish soap and then turn the handle gently to agitate. Wipe out and the sterilized with boiling water. Now, on to spinning. Balance your frames and it is best to screw this down to the surface you are working on. The extraction process is quick and easy and the unit worked flawlessly. It is easy to turn, spins smoothly (as long as your frames are balanced). I can recommend this product but do heed the downsides in this and other reviews. Know that it may take a little "homestead ingenuity" to get it put together. And one last thing. I'd recommend buying lock washers for all the leg bolts (9) as the vibration tended to loosen them up. For small scale, private use, this seems to be a great product.