Keep spare cassettes ready for your next harvest.
HiveKeepers cassettes hold the comb and honey within your HiveKeepers frames. Each cassette holds approximately 165 g of honey and is designed to be opened with the Cassette Tool, emptied in the Micro Honey Harvester and returned to the hive for reuse.
Having spares on hand lets you replace honey-filled cassettes during a hive inspection, then take your harvest home for extraction.
Why keep spare cassettes?
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Swap full for empty. Replace harvested cassettes straight away, giving the bees space to build and store more honey. No need to leave the hive with an empty space in a frame.
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Harvest smaller batches. Remove individual cassettes as the honey becomes ready.
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Save time. No need to rush back to the apiary to fill in the gaps in a frame.
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One cassette size across the range. Fits both the four-cassette half-depth frame and the eight-cassette full-depth frame.
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No manual uncapping. Used with the Micro Honey Harvester, there is no need to cut away the wax cappings.
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Food-safe materials. Made for direct honey contact.
How to use it
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Prepare new cassettes. Before first use, heat up some beeswax till molten. Get a small new paint roller and light coat the cartridge surface with molten beeswax.
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Fit them into a HiveKeepers frame. Place the frame in a compatible honey super during a nectar flow.
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Harvest when ready. Remove honey-filled, capped cassettes and replace them with spares.
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Extract the honey. Open each cassette with the HiveKeepers Cassette Tool and load it into the Micro Honey Harvester as instructed.
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Return and reuse. Reassemble the emptied cassettes and return them to the hive for the bees to clean, repair and refill.
Specifications
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product | Spare HiveKeepers cassette |
| Dimensions | 100 × 100 × 24 mm |
| Empty weight | 92 g |
| Approximate honey capacity | 165 g, depending on conditions |
| Compatibility | All HiveKeepers cassette frames |
| Reusable | Yes |
| Harvesting equipment required | HiveKeepers Micro Honey Harvester and Cassette Tool |
Frequently asked questions
Will it fit both HiveKeepers frame sizes?
Yes. The same cassette fits the four-cassette half depth frame and the eight-cassette full-depth frame.
Can I put it in an ordinary honey frame?
No. It needs a HiveKeepers frame designed to hold the removable cassettes.
Do I need the Micro Honey Harvester?
Yes. The cassette holds the comb and honey; the Micro Honey Harvester extracts it. The Cassette Tool is used to open it before extraction.
What happens to the wax cappings?
They do not need to be removed manually. After harvesting, return the reassembled cassette to the hive for the bees to clean and repair the comb.
How much honey does one cassette hold?
Approximately 165 g when filled, although the amount varies with how the bees draw and fill the comb.
See the system in action
Watch the HiveKeepers honey-harvesting explainer
How to clean up your HiveKeepers cassettes
Tutin safety in New Zealand
HiveKeepers equipment does not detect or remove Tutin. If the honey is harvested between 1st Jan and 30th June in an area that could have the Tutu bush, make sure Tutin risk has been managed using an appropriate option in MPI’s guidance before eating or sharing.