GOODLAND BEE SUPPLYHardin Professional 3 Frame Manual Honey Extractor

This specific one is sturdier feeling than others we've tried. I'm opting it lasts forever.

This is a great little manual honey extractor. Did not come with assembly instructions but was not hard to put together. There were 3 left over pieces, the "L" shaped one is a replacement for 1 of the 2 bolts that hold the gear box mechanism to the body of the extractor. By removing the 2 dome nuts connected to the "L" shaped bolt on the top of the extractor everything comes out for easy cleaning. I actually put it in my shower & used hot water & dish soap to clean it, before & after extraction. Once you put 3 frames in their dedicated spots, put the cover on & start cranking. Next year I will build a stand for it just out of 2x4s so it doesn't vibrate on the floor; when you reach top speed, it will vibrate a lot & helps to have 2 people hold it. Once extraction was complete, I took the frame holder out & used a silicone icing spatula to scrape down the sides & push remaining honey through honey gate. Cleanup was a breeze - the easiest part of the whole process - just put it in the shower(I did not put gear box in water) & run hot water on it & a little soap.

Missing parts. Lid broke first time used Had 200 pounds of honey to spin so had to use it. Not something we use everyday so only knew about missing parts after it was too late to return.

The packaging looked sturdy and the main pieces were intact. however I was missing about half of the hardware, so I had to purchase nuts and bolts to assemble it. the good news with that is I was able to purchase stainless steel hardware because some of what I did receive was not stainless. After getting it together, without real instructions. One item I would have liked to know is if the gasket on the honey gate is supposed to be on the inside of the drum or the outside. I put it on the outside. Even though I was short parts, I did find an extra ell shaped bolt which appears to be what would be used to hold the crank bracket to the drum. Mine had both so I did not need it. The high point is that the gear mechanism seems much smoother than what I would have expected. I would say that the design seems good, and the major parts are good, but the packaging and getting the hardware is very poor. this is the first product I recall purchasing where all the nuts and bolts were just loose in the box, not in a bag.

Fantastic extractor for the money, metal gears, stainless steel drum, very sturdy. But, just like other reviewers it came missing a few bolts and cap nuts. The legs have to be assembled. It appears the packers put the bolts in the holes that they belong to help the end user assemble but they must have worked their way out and fell out of the bottom of the box which only has one strip of tape leaving gaps. Three Hex Bolts and two Cap Nuts from the hardware store and we were in business.