We routinely have honey that’s starting to crystallize, and people generally prefer to buy honey that is a clear golden liquid instead of an opaque pale yellow glob…myself included. So, we need to have a good way to decrystallize honey in large quantities on occasion.
Honey that’s crystallized doesn’t mean it’s gone bad or spoiled – it’s just a natural process, and it can be reversed without losing the benefits of raw honey if done properly. Crystallized honey happens due to four different factors:
– higher glucose, and lower fructose content
– storing in cooler temperature
– high nucleation, e.g. pollen content
– lower water content promotes sugar crystals
Previously, we’ve used a sous vide to decrstallize honey and it works, but it has some big negatives. First, it takes up a lot of room because we do it in our kitchen in an igloo style cooler. Second, if the jars of honey are already labeled, then the water will destroy the labels. And third, setting up differently sized bottles so that the water level is at the correct height is cumbersome. We have heard that some beekeepers use convenience store food warmers to decrstallize honey, but the ones I’ve seen use 400 watts or more and are glass display cases which by design waste a lot of energy. So, I looked on YouTube and watched a few videos to see what other beekeepers are doing, and drew up some rough plans.
Energy efficiency is an important consideration because our honey warmer will run off of solar power in an off grid cabin. I hoped a single ceramic heater bulb typically used for heating reptile/amphibian enclosures would do the trick.
What I built was a rolling 3/4 inch plywood cabinet that has 2 inches of rigid foam inside. I mounted a 75 watt ceramic heat lamp at the bottom of the cabinet controlled by a programmable thermostat. A low speed fan at the top of the cabinet keeps air circulating all the time. Here is a parts list and some pictures with rough dimensions and details.
Main Parts-
Inkbird ITC-1000 temperature controller (120V AC)
AC Infinity Axial 1225 muffin fan, 120mm x 120mm (120V AC)
75 watt ceramic heat lamp (120V AC)
Leviton one-piece porcelain lamp receptacle
Set of 4 – 1 5/8 inch solid rubber swivel casters
3/4 inch plywood 4 x 8 ft sheet.
I wasn’t sure if 75 watts of heat would be enough, but it works perfectly even when run in an unheated workshop below freezing. When it’s empty it will go from 65 degrees to 110 degrees in about 15 minutes. When it’s full of cold honey it obviously takes longer. I’m happy with that and look forward to years of service.
Genius!