Recent content by ics19

Well at least it wasn't a pack of 2 raw gloves 😱

Didn't some Chernobyl fallout reach that far 😬

This what I use for buckets (chuck away the spatula part!): https://www.lakeland.co.uk/16004/thermospatula-silicone-spatula-and-thermometer

Are you checking the actual temperature of the honey with say a long probe thermometer (you can get good digital ones often used for jam making) rather than just relying on the ambient setting? I've found it can be 6-8 degrees less in the bucket even with a couple of stirs once it starts to go...

You can also use them to pasteurise apple juice (v. useful this time of year) and also test car thermostats (but maybe that's going a little too far) :)

The cheapo Double Strainer Nylon works well as a one-shot solution straight into the bucket - it's a bit coarser than the fine sieve of the stainless pair, so marginally better at passing the more liquid challenged honeys like OSR. They're not too expensive to get multiple ones either, so you...

The Certan B401 instructions said once diluted use straight away and don't store it - I'm guessing the same would apply to a Dipel mix? Oddly though, Certan is already a solution (so not a powder like Dipel) and they say you can keep an opened bottle in the fridge, but then again it does have...

I'd assume that whatever correct mix ratio you ended up with, then the Certan B401 application of 200ml per super (that's both sides of 10 frames) is what you want. I found this to be a back and forth horizontal pass, then a few vertical passes to finish on each side. If you spray at a slight...

This year we used the last of a bulk buy of Certan B401 from a couple of years back (still just in date), but although it's the same Bacillus thuringiensis in a concentrated solution, the given mix rate was 10ml Certan to 200ml of water (1:20 or 5%) - the Dipel mixes seem more dilute, is that...

Looks like a great event :cool: Could the Conwy honey fair be the Ofgem of honey pricing: https://www.conwybeekeepers.org.uk/fairs-festivals/selling-honey-at-conwy-honey-fair/

The finer the seed, the smoother the end result - if your seed jar of choice has got a noticeably grainy texture, then best to dust off the mortar and pestle and smooth it out a bit :eek: You'd only need to do it once, as next time you'll be using a few jars from the previous batch...

Ahh, series 2 episode 1 from 1980 with Timothy West and Susan George :) The beekeeping advisor was Peter Beckley who was still doing talks a few years back...

Yeah, as above, not enough seed, it's 10% minimum here and when stirring over a couple of days you should be cooling as well, not just when you jar it up, else you're not breaking up the crystallization - at least that's my take 🙃 On the honey churner, that's what we've got and works well in a...

Ahh, the great quandary 🤔 I eventually got one of these: https://subcold.com/collections/wine-coolers/products/28-bottle-wine-cooler but it seems to have gone up a bit (ok, quite a bit) since a couple of years back. When I clicked on the page just now, it did offer a 5% off code though. It may...

Possibly more like 35C :cool: The Sheffield Beekeepers temperatures are often quoted as a reference: https://sheffieldbeekeepers.org.uk/important-temperatures-beekeeping/ We've got a temperature probe in one hive and an external one in the same area - the figures today (well yesterday now!)...