When I read "scrape and drain" I assumed you meant using a heated knife on just the caps and let it drain into a tray 😅 yea that is a weird term for scraping the whole thing (essentially what I did).

I did buy a shitty Chinese extractor that .. did not turn on and shocked me when I started to look under the control box because I forgot to unplug it. After some eBay fighting I got like .. half a refund and sold it to someone on Craigslist list because I really didn't feel like trying to fix it.

So yea, I know it's way better if you can leave the combs since the bees will build into them next season. This is just my second year though.

Next year I'll probably get a long container with a honey spout and a heated knife. I should be able to do what you said: just scrape off the caps and let the frame drain .. will probably take a while one frame at a time .. on both sides.

I just have the one hive right now and don't think I'll add any. If I ever get up to three+ hives, I'll probably get a quality extractor.