Best way to transfer honey from a 5 gal bucket?

CornyKegs 728
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jaxn

jaxn

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A buddy ordered some bulk honey in 5 gallon buckets and offered to sell me some. I went over there to get 15 lbs, and we had the toughest time pouring the honey into jars. The pour always started really wide before it started to thin up to fit nicely in the jars. We made a huge mess.

Is there a good way to do this? Is seems like a spigot would be great for this, but the buckets don't ship with that, so it doesn't seem like much of an option.

I know we've got some engineers around here who are good at figuring this stuff out. :D
 
put the bucket in 4 inches of water in your boil kettle (with the honey lid loose) and heat it up so that it pours easier.
 
Pour it into another bucket with a spigot (e.g., a bottling bucket). Then just put a lid on the new bucket and leave it in there. Each time you buy a new 5gal of honey, transfer it into the bottling bucket for easier pouring.
 
Dip it out with a measuring cup? Maybe get him to start pouring slowly as you switch containers under the pour so you only make a mes when starting the pour.
 
brrman said:
put the bucket in 4 inches of water in your boil kettle (with the honey lid loose) and heat it up so that it pours easier.
Click to expand...

That would probably help, but I'm trying to avoid pouring entirely. I'm turned off to the whole method at this point. :mad:

GilaMinumBeer said:
slowly.........
Click to expand...

:D
khiddy said:
Pour it into another bucket with a spigot (e.g., a bottling bucket). Then just put a lid on the new bucket and leave it in there. Each time you buy a new 5gal of honey, transfer it into the bottling bucket for easier pouring.
Click to expand...

This is probably what I'll do.
 
conpewter said:
Dip it out with a measuring cup? Maybe get him to start pouring slowly as you switch containers under the pour so you only make a mes when starting the pour.
Click to expand...

That's essentially what we did. But it didn't stop me from making a mess the whole time. :D
 
I don't cut my 5g bucket into other containers, but I have a super wide mixing bowl that I use that's exactly 1g so I pour into that to "measure" before putting it into the fermenter.

That said, I still make a mess.

I don't think there's any way to pour honey out of a bucket without it.
 
You'd have to use a pretty thick pipe, and I would imagine that it would still be a mess, and probably would take a lot of trips between the bucket and jug to split out 5 gallons into 5x1g containers.
 
I think setting it in a bath tub full off hot water for a while would thin it out and the you can alway use a funnel. Some paint stores that cater to professional painters sell snap-on pour spouts. One of those may work. If not maybe you could find an extra top some where then cut a small hole in it for pouring.
 
This is going to be hard to explain.

Take a pipe or tube or something long enough to reach out of your container. Rest it against the lip of the honey bucket and let the honey run down the pipe. We used this principle in Chemistry to transfer viscous liquids. The cohesion of the honey will stick to the pipe and run down into the container you want to transfer it into.
 
jaxn said:
A buddy ordered some bulk honey in 5 gallon buckets and offered to sell me some. I went over there to get 15 lbs, and we had the toughest time pouring the honey into jars. The pour always started really wide before it started to thin up to fit nicely in the jars. We made a huge mess.

Is there a good way to do this? Is seems like a spigot would be great for this, but the buckets don't ship with that, so it doesn't seem like much of an option.

I know we've got some engineers around here who are good at figuring this stuff out. :D
Click to expand...

I use a big ladle-like dipper to scoop the honey & a plate to catch drips, it's handy to lay the dipper on too. Regards, GF.
 
1Brotherbill said:
This is going to be hard to explain.

Take a pipe or tube or something long enough to reach out of your container. Rest it against the lip of the honey bucket and let the honey run down the pipe. We used this principle in Chemistry to transfer viscous liquids. The cohesion of the honey will stick to the pipe and run down into the container you want to transfer it into.
Click to expand...

Ah I've heard of doing that to put oil in your car, running it down the dipstick.
 
Put your fermentor on top of your bathroom scale. Scoop the honey out with a big measuring cup, ideally one with a pour spout. Simple enough...:mug:
 

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