A honey extractor is a mechanical device used in the extraction of honey from honeycombs. A honey extractor extracts the honey from the honey comb without destroying the comb. Extractors work by centrifugal force. A drum or container holds a frame basket which spins, flinging the honey out. With this method the wax comb stays intact within the frame and can be reused by the bees.

Bees cover the filled in cells with wax cap that must be removed (cut by knife, etc.) before centrifugation.

Types of Extractors

Extractors can be one of two kinds depending on how the frames are oriented in the basket:

• tangential: one side of the comb facing outward
• radial: the top bar of the frame facing outward