When honey harvest comes around, there will be super frames that aren’t entirely capped. Beekeepers used to use the drip test, which was shaking a frame to see if nectar fell out. If it didn’t they would extract the frame.

The danger of extracting uncapped or partially capped frames is that you will end up with accidentally fermented honey. Typically this means a leaking honey jar with separating, rancid, inedible honey.

A safe moisture level is below 19%. I prefer to jar below 18%. This means testing with a refractometer. They are cheap, easy to use, and can save you a lot of heartache. If you’re harvesting any uncapped honey, it’s worth the peace of mind you get with testing your batch of honey.

Be sure to calibrate your refractometer. I use olive oil, which should measure 71.5 on the Brix scale.

I do not extract totally uncapped frames. I try to batch all of my uncapped frames together. Then if i need to bring the moisture level down i will mix it with honey with a lower moisture content.

Some beekeepers will dry out partially capped frames by letting them sit under a fan for a week. Others use dehumidifiers. If you spin out one frame and get a reading over 18.5% it may be worth it to try one of these methods.

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