KentishBee · Kent, UK · Honey · Aug 5, 2026

Refractometer says 19.5% on mostly-capped frames — extract anyway or am I bottling future mead?

Pulled a test frame from my supers here in Kent yesterday. It's maybe 85-90% capped, and I sampled from several capped cells: readings between 19.2 and 19.8, call it 19.5% moisture. I always thought capped meant done? Everything I've read says 18% and under is safe, 18.6% is the legal-ish grading line, and high-water honey ferments in the jar. But it's been a muggy summer and I wonder if the bees just capped it wet. Third year, about 30 kg on the hives, and I don't want to bin the crop or turn it into accidental mead. Can I dry extracted honey down? Do I leave the supers on longer? Is 19.5 actually risky or only borderline? (Cheap eBay refractometer, if that matters.)

#honey#moisture-content#refractometer#extraction

▲ 9 votes 💬 4 replies ✅ Solved

4 replies

MieleMarco · Aug 5, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer

19.5% is genuinely risky for shelf storage — fermentation becomes likely above about 19% depending on yeast load, and capped-but-wet honey absolutely happens in humid summers. Good news: you can dry it. Stack the supers loosely (criss-cross, gaps between) in a small closed room with a dehumidifier and a fan for 2-4 days before extracting — checking daily, you can pull 1.5-2 points out. I do this most humid years in Tuscany. Extract when you're at 18 or under and it'll keep for years.

PerthshireBees · Aug 5, 2026

Before you run a dehumidifier for days — verify the instrument. A cheap refractometer that's never been calibrated can easily sit 1-2 points off, and 'if that matters' — it matters enormously at exactly your reading. Check it against the calibration block it came with, or a known reference. You might genuinely be at 18.2 and fine.

LavenderSophie · Aug 5, 2026

Both good answers. Small addition: capping is about the bees' judgment in their microclimate, and in a wet summer their 'done' can be 19%+. Also sample UNcapped cells separately — if the open cells read 21-22% consider extracting only the capped frames and leaving the rest on the hive.

KentishBee · Aug 6, 2026

Update for the archive: calibrated the refractometer (it read 0.7 high!), so real reading ~18.8. Still borderline, so supers are in the spare room with the dehumidifier per MieleMarco. Down to 18.3 after 36 hours. Extracting at the weekend. Thanks everyone.

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