Wobbly electric extractor

[Maryly Snow]

Bee buddy Charlie Carlson and I bought an electric honey extractor.

Even when I try my best to balance the frames in it, it wobbles SO

much! Meaning its vibrations are so strong that I hang on it for 

dear life, hoping my weight will alleviate the wobbles. 

Charlie mounted it on a plywood board, and put some rubber shock

absorbers to put under the 4 corners, but I still hang on for dear life. 

He, being taller and heavier, does not complain about it wobbling/shaking. 

He’s thinking of buying larger shock absorbers, mostly at my request.

Will that solve the vibrating/wobbling? 

What do other people do with an upright 10 frame electric spinning and

vibrating extractor?

Maryly

[J mcinnes]

I have had really good success with putting wheels on it. It seems to absorb the shock and vibration and it doesn't move around at all. My extractor has three legs and so I put wheels on each of the legs and it just seems to wiggle in place and not move around. Just a thought but it's really worked well for me. 

Janet 

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[Jim Rand]

Hi Maryly,

I’ve had amazing luck with The Hillco Spring Feet:  

https://www.hillco.buzz/products/spring-foot-assembly

They have different size kits depending on the size of the extractor. 

Last year my extractor went from needing to me to bear hug it, to now at worst it’s a spring dampened shimmy, and it does not try to walk away anymore!

They attach with a bolt and a nut so should fit most any extractor foot  

Good luck!

Jim

[Paula Breen]

Oh my god this is one of those things that I need but didn't know existed. I just bought a set! Thank you so much for sharing the tip!

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[Danny Williamson]

I would have to say with my 12 frame radial Dadant extractor I don't use anything to secure it so it doesn't wobble. Smaller extractors will wobble though since there smaller and lighter. But the main thing I do first before extracting honey in any size extractor is check first to see which honey frames are heavy or thicker of honey and which ones are lighter. I would make sure there are not to many heavy frames of honey on one side of the basket in the extractor especially if it's crystallized it can be a nightmare making the extractor wobble and dance all over the place! But even then I manage to balance it until the uncrystallized honey is slung out. So when you feel that the load is somewhat balanced and even if you secure your extractor to the floor so it doesn't wobble ALWAYS start the speed slow and watch to see if the honey starts to come out as you gradually pick up speed. Once you see it starting to come out then leave it at that slower speed for 3-5 or more minutes then increase it at a higher speed until you see it pretty much slung out. Mind you that this is my instructions for a radial extractor not a tangential extractor where you have to extract alittle on each side of the frame so the frame doesn't bust out on you if your using 100% beeswax foundation. I hope this helps! 

[Joan Houston]

I have a Hillco extractor that would chatter its way across my garage floor. It took two of us to (unsuccessfully) hold the thing down. When the motor crapped out my

son-in-law contacted the company and got a replacement sent. Ended up there was a small black bushing that hadn’t been in the first motor. Once he figured that out and got the new motor in it worked like a charm. 

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[Gerald Przybylski]

Then, the whole extractor does a hula dance?   follows a circular path around one spot in the floor? 

[Christine Hyung-Oak Lee]

I wish I’d known about this! I ended up buying an extractor with bottom storage (no legs) so I could bypass the whole wobbling issue. 

https://millerbeesupply.com/products/4-frame-deluxe-extractor-with-tank?variant=45220066722038&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOopc_AVi3Bv8QJk91FMnH2xpeaBx9K165q5XPhqkwGKSjTvp2_1rTb8

(That said I do like it because now the whole system is “closed”).

----

Christine Hyung-Oak Lee

http://www.christinehlee.com/

Substack: Cuddle Fish

Instagram

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[J mcinnes]

Sort of but it does not move around on the floor. It just wiggles in place. 😂

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[Joan Houston]

More like a breakdance. Didn’t matter how balanced the frames were in there. We held onto it and it shook like one of those old fat jiggling machines. Good ab workout I guess. 

Amazing how one little missing piece of plastic can affect the whole contraption. 

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[Phil Stob]

I bolted my extractor to thick piece of plywood, and attached 4 rotating casters to it.  So, it moves around a bit, but never goes too far. I made the platform big enough for a 5 gallon bucket under the spigot so it all travels together.   A small pallet will also work. 

start on a slow speed while some of the honey is coming out, then you can increase the speed once most of the frames are at similar weight. 

I have seen the legs break off of the spinner, but that usually happens when folks bolt them to the floor. 

Cheers, Phil 

[real...@aol.com]

I made my stand out of recycled wood and stainless steel all bound for the landfill , spend good amount of time polishing everything to a mirror ginish , the casters ate retractable in order

To move it around , the stainless steel hinges habitat for humanity so were the casters , all the minor stainless steel hardware from friendly
True Value Harwsre store . The extraxtor is mounted on springs to ansorb the primary movement . 

The bigeest mistake a lot of beekeepers 
Make is to fill the the extraxtor and turn in on full speed , Wro g start at slow speed , wait until the weight equalize then increase the speed accordingly , 

you will be done in basically same time but you will not have to replace extractor every few years ,

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[real...@aol.com]

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On Sunday, May 24, 2026, 19:14, Phil Stob <phil...@gmail.com> wrote:

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[Maryly Snow]

Of course we balance the frames and we start super slowly. Wheels seem counter intuitive to

me. I like Jin Rand’s suggestion.

Maryly

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[Sung Han Lee]

I have 9 frame Maxant extractor. I purchased 9 years ago.  It is bolted on 2' x 2' 3/4" plywood. All these years wobbling was an issue. For 9 medium frames may take about hour and a half from prep to finish. This one is 3 frames facing outside and  3 section with 2 frames triangular. 

Past year i have discovered running 3 frames at a time not only saves time but also eliminated wobbling. It cuts 30 to 40 % of time starting to finish. 

1. First 3 frames- remove propolis on four egdes and remove all wax and burr combs on wooden frames. This way by the time finished extract these frames are nice and clean and ready to GO. Uncap. I use uncapping fork.

2. Insert 3 frames. Here i have 2 choices. If they look different weight then spin slow to mid speed about 1 minutes to 2 minutes. And stop. Turn the frames the other way. And spin slowly up to mid speed until stablized. Once you see running smooth then crank it up to full speed. Run 5 minutes. Then stop.

Again turn the frames the other way spin 3 to 5 minutes. Done.

Second choice is obviously spin slow to start ( only takes 10 to 20 seconds) as soon as i see running smooth then speed up to maximum. Run 5 minutes then turn the other side 5 minutes. 

Now while first side spinning then i start to prepare for next 3 frames by removing propolis and burr combs and wax. Not uncapping yet.

As second 5 minutes approach i start uncapping first of second set of frames. 

Stop the machine. Remove finished frames. 

Insert one you just uncapped frame. And uncap second and third frame. And SPIN.

Anain while second set it running i will prep for third set.

In 40 minutes i will finish 9 frames. No more wobbling. 

This way i can finish at least 18 frames in an hour and half.

Only thing i have watch is the honey bucket. I use 400 micron filter that honey drains too fast from extractor that it could overflow. So i scrap the filter with big wooden spoon time to time to clear wax build up on filter. Or you can have secondary bucket to switch back and forth.

So far i extracted over 1300 lbs this year. 3 frame spinning method is saving lots of time and wobbling headache.

Sung Lee The Bee Charmer 

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[Danny Williamson]

I use to have a 9 frame Maxant extractor and liked it especially with the cone bottom compared to my 12 frame Dadant extractor where I have to lean it to get the rest of the honey out since it don't have a cone bottom. But I still prefer my Dadant extractor over the Maxant extractor for a few reasons. Not only does it extract honey in the frames fast I don't need to bolt it to plywood because it hardly wobbles at all as it stays in place since the design of it enables it to do that once you balance it right. But down the road I'm thinking of using a wood pallet and vertical toggle clamps as seen in attached  pic to lock it down since the wood pallet will raise the extractor up high enough so when you put a 5 gallon bucket under the spout you can lean the extractor over getting the rest of the honey out much better but not forgetting a clip on chain for safety attached to the extractor and the interior wall of my shed so the extractor doesn't happen to fall over somehow when draining it. And when it comes to cleaning you just undo the toggle clamps so you can move and clean the extractor since it's still light enough to move almost yourself but I always ask for someone to give me a hand anyways. The main thing I like the most is what's called heat tape I use wraps around the extractor perfectly so once you plug in the tape the tape heats up the tank of the honey extractor and the honey drains much faster and also speeds up the process of straining the warm honey especially if you have alot of honey supers or thick honey to extract. Dan The Bee Whisperer

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[Catherine Edwards]

I have a 3 frame electric extractor from Mann Lake which I bought after my shoulders said "no more" to my 2 frame hand crank. It sits on an old wooden chair I found on the street, kept aboard with a bungee cord. The chair sits on two layers of rubber gym matting. The extractor works pretty fast, about a minute or two on a side. Because it is relatively small, it is easier to balance and I crank it up to full throttle immediately unless I am down to my last 3 frames and they won't balance. If necessary, I can hold onto it easily enough to prevent too much wobble or walking away because it is small, though I wish it had handles for that and for carrying it outside for cleaning. (One of these days I will get around to installing some.) Also, because it is small and fairly light weight and I never installed the stand legs which would have just made it awkward and difficult to handle, carrying it outside and back is fairly easy.

I never wanted a bigger extractor. Removing the cappings from frames takes longer than the spinning so I didn't see an advantage to trying to speed up spinning time. Sometimes I uncap all the frames and leave them in bins until later or the next day. The spinning itself takes very little time.  Like Sung, I have harvested over 1300 lbs. of honey this year so far.

Catherine Edwards

(510)421-7206

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[real...@aol.com]

Thank you.

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[Danny Williamson]

There is a difference between a hobbyist, sideliner or commercial beekeeper on what extractor they use. I have nothing against small extractors there great and wish I didn't sell my Maxant 9 frame extractor but but when you had alot of hives I kept using the bigger extractor since I had it accessible and ready to go .And like Catherine says uncapping takes longer than spinning the honey which is true. But for me rather using a scratcher to uncap I use a hot knife and being a sideliner beekeeper for years it worked the best since I had to learn as a teenage boy how to use a hot knife and not a scratcher and that's how it was for me learning from my mentor and his friend which was a commercial beekeeper. My mentor was strict in a kind way and tought me well and I was the teenage boy that listened. And I can say im pretty fast with the whole honey extraction process now not to brag. Especially when you had over 200 hives to take care of and extract honey from. 

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[Danny Williamson]

I think Maryly has got enough answers to her wobbly electric extractor question now lol! 

[Robin Chatham]

I've enjoyed every every sticky drop of this conversation 

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[Danny Williamson]

Me too Robin 

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[real...@aol.com]

Marylyn 
hllco is the solution s you honey extractors have a flat surface you can fit their rubber and spring feets , if you need help fiiting them in i will guide you or mount them for you , I am in Alameda , my new one has spring shock absorbers i thought it was a gimmick but I recalled a comerical one made in France with massive spring , so i bought it with spring it ‘s fun watching the extractor dancing while tne base is not moving

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[real...@aol.com]

Sung I wish i had a van to load my extractor and have you try it , it will change the way you extractimg honey on the first batch or bring over 12 frames picked up at random and try it . 

Serious ! Joel .  

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[Maryly Snow]

Charles, see below… Heat tape! Etc.

Maryly

On May 25, 2026, at 8:19 AM, Sung Han Lee <hesperia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have 9 frame Maxant extractor. I purchased 9 years ago.  It is bolted on 2' x 2' 3/4" plywood. All these years wobbling was an issue. For 9 medium frames may take about hour and a half from prep to finish. This one is 3 frames facing outside and  3 section with 2 frames triangular. 

Past year i have discovered running 3 frames at a time not only saves time but also eliminated wobbling. It cuts 30 to 40 % of time starting to finish. 

1. First 3 frames- remove propolis on four egdes and remove all wax and burr combs on wooden frames. This way by the time finished extract these frames are nice and clean and ready to GO. Uncap. I use uncapping fork.

2. Insert 3 frames. Here i have 2 choices. If they look different weight then spin slow to mid speed about 1 minutes to 2 minutes. And stop. Turn the frames the other way. And spin slowly up to mid speed until stablized. Once you see running smooth then crank it up to full speed. Run 5 minutes. Then stop.

Again turn the frames the other way spin 3 to 5 minutes. Done.

Second choice is obviously spin slow to start ( only takes 10 to 20 seconds) as soon as i see running smooth then speed up to maximum. Run 5 minutes then turn the other side 5 minutes. 

Now while first side spinning then i start to prepare for next 3 frames by removing propolis and burr combs and wax. Not uncapping yet.

As second 5 minutes approach i start uncapping first of second set of frames. 

Stop the machine. Remove finished frames. 

Insert one you just uncapped frame. And uncap second and third frame. And SPIN.

Anain while second set it running i will prep for third set.

In 40 minutes i will finish 9 frames. No more wobbling. 

This way i can finish at least 18 frames in an hour and half.

Only thing i have watch is the honey bucket. I use 400 micron filter that honey drains too fast from extractor that it could overflow. So i scrap the filter with big wooden spoon time to time to clear wax build up on filter. Or you can have secondary bucket to switch back and forth.

So far i extracted over 1300 lbs this year. 3 frame spinning method is saving lots of time and wobbling headache.

Sung Lee The Bee Charmer 

<1000019851.jpg>

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-alameda-county-beekeepers-association/CAGwtHcgR9Pd%2B7rz3dVzBSNqLEwk%3DLeoG_Tt9pVwZqK%3DWMz9sOA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Maryly Snow]

WOW! Thank you Catherine!

Maryly

On May 25, 2026, at 1:06 PM, Catherine Edwards <catherine...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have a 3 frame electric extractor from Mann Lake which I bought after my shoulders said "no more" to my 2 frame hand crank. It sits on an old wooden chair I found on the street, kept aboard with a bungee cord. The chair sits on two layers of rubber gym matting. The extractor works pretty fast, about a minute or two on a side. Because it is relatively small, it is easier to balance and I crank it up to full throttle immediately unless I am down to my last 3 frames and they won't balance. If necessary, I can hold onto it easily enough to prevent too much wobble or walking away because it is small, though I wish it had handles for that and for carrying it outside for cleaning. (One of these days I will get around to installing some.) Also, because it is small and fairly light weight and I never installed the stand legs which would have just made it awkward and difficult to handle, carrying it outside and back is fairly easy.

I never wanted a bigger extractor. Removing the cappings from frames takes longer than the spinning so I didn't see an advantage to trying to speed up spinning time. Sometimes I uncap all the frames and leave them in bins until later or the next day. The spinning itself takes very little time.  Like Sung, I have harvested over 1300 lbs. of honey this year so far.

Catherine Edwards

(510)421-7206

On Mon, May 25, 2026 at 8:20 AM Sung Han Lee <hesperia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I have 9 frame Maxant extractor. I purchased 9 years ago.  It is bolted on 2' x 2' 3/4" plywood. All these years wobbling was an issue. For 9 medium frames may take about hour and a half from prep to finish. This one is 3 frames facing outside and  3 section with 2 frames triangular. 

Past year i have discovered running 3 frames at a time not only saves time but also eliminated wobbling. It cuts 30 to 40 % of time starting to finish. 

1. First 3 frames- remove propolis on four egdes and remove all wax and burr combs on wooden frames. This way by the time finished extract these frames are nice and clean and ready to GO. Uncap. I use uncapping fork.

2. Insert 3 frames. Here i have 2 choices. If they look different weight then spin slow to mid speed about 1 minutes to 2 minutes. And stop. Turn the frames the other way. And spin slowly up to mid speed until stablized. Once you see running smooth then crank it up to full speed. Run 5 minutes. Then stop.

Again turn the frames the other way spin 3 to 5 minutes. Done.

Second choice is obviously spin slow to start ( only takes 10 to 20 seconds) as soon as i see running smooth then speed up to maximum. Run 5 minutes then turn the other side 5 minutes. 

Now while first side spinning then i start to prepare for next 3 frames by removing propolis and burr combs and wax. Not uncapping yet.

As second 5 minutes approach i start uncapping first of second set of frames. 

Stop the machine. Remove finished frames. 

Insert one you just uncapped frame. And uncap second and third frame. And SPIN.

Anain while second set it running i will prep for third set.

In 40 minutes i will finish 9 frames. No more wobbling. 

This way i can finish at least 18 frames in an hour and half.

Only thing i have watch is the honey bucket. I use 400 micron filter that honey drains too fast from extractor that it could overflow. So i scrap the filter with big wooden spoon time to time to clear wax build up on filter. Or you can have secondary bucket to switch back and forth.

So far i extracted over 1300 lbs this year. 3 frame spinning method is saving lots of time and wobbling headache.

Sung Lee The Bee Charmer 

<1000019851.jpg>

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/the-alameda-county-beekeepers-association/CANSV-Ep0Jc6v76S3PBzjA%2BBr%2Bq%3D8SYAHCeRBmp0spbsPFyESVQ%40mail.gmail.com.