3:2 syrup

[Monsieur Abeille]

Daydreaming while making syrup yesterday and I'm pretty sure I've mixed one lot of 2:1 with a similar amount of 1:1, giving a 3:2 mixture. Thymol mixture added after.

My options as I see it:

1. Feed it anyway

2. Make up a really thick solution to add to it (drawback of this is that I think its a struggle to get sugar to dissolve in a solution much thicker than 2:1 anyway)

3. Add sugar to the existing mixture (drawback is that its got thymol added to it so will, I am guessing, stink the house out while heating causing marital grief)

Does the team think that the 3:2 will be OK for a winter feed? Reluctant to start again (4 gallons made)

 

[Hebeegeebee]

They'll use it.
It will take more effort to reduce the water content of course. I am not too worried about the concentration myself.

 

[drstitson]

OH and I love the smell of thymol so would happily warm it indoors to dissolve extra added sugar.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

They'll use it.
It will take more effort to reduce the water content of course. I am not too worried about the concentration myself.

Thanks - will give it to them

 

[Finman]

Does the team think that the 3:2 will be OK for a winter feed? Reluctant to start again (4 gallons made)

Why don't you add sugar or water if iut ius bad?

so you should have 4:2 is it so difficult to add a missing sugar amount?

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Why don't you add sugar or water if iut ius bad?

so you should have 4:2 is it so difficult to add a missing sugar amount?

Thanks, but see first post for why I'd rather not

 

[itma]

If you wanted to up the sugar concentration, you could.

You could warm the sugar for an hour or two in a low oven. Say 80C, and use a shallow tray (or trays).
Then stir, mix and/or shake the hot sugar with your syrup.
Leave it be for a while after you get fed up with mixing.
Then decant into another container. Towards the end, you could put it through a tea strainer. Anyway, any residual undissolved sugar can go straight into the next syrup batch.

As long as the weather stays mild, I doubt you need to bother.
The bees won't complain, they'll just have to work harder to process it before its ready for capping. While the weather is mild, they should be able to do the processing... so no great worry.

 

[YorkshireBees]

As the others said, it should be fine.

Spoke to a new member of the local BKA and he was explaining how he had so far fed 45kg of sugar to each of his 2 colonies. I was already astounded that they managed to pack this into single BS national brood boxes and then he said that he was using 1:1 syrup!!!



I was very gently pointing out that it should be 2:1 for autumn feeding until he mentioned that he had a mentor in the BKA. He asked how I managed to get 2:1 to dissolve to which I replied I add the sugar to one of my jerrycans, add the hot water from the tap and shake vigorously.

 

[Walrus]

Interestingly there is some research which showed that an invert sugar syrup solution made by adding a form of yeast (pchelit) to 1:1 sugar solution gave the best overwintering results. Lower consumption of syrup & highest number of brood in spring.
http://www.jas.org.pl/jas_50_1_2006_1.pdf

Don't know if anyone has tired that?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I believe ITLD on here is not fussed with 2:1 and uses 1:1 even for winter feeding

 

[For want of a better word]

OH and I love the smell of thymol so would happily warm it indoors to dissolve extra added sugar.

​

Astonished that you can smell anything.... 6 months of Histology with the horrible pong of formaldehyde did it for me!​

And back on TOPIC.......

What is the concentration of (Sugars) in inverted syrup as wot is fed by some to their terribly spoilt bees?

​

 

[smithhive]

​

Astonished that you can smell anything.... 6 months of Histology with the horrible pong of formaldehyde did it for me!​

And back on TOPIC.......

What is the concentration of (Sugars) in inverted syrup as wot is fed by some to their terribly spoilt bees?

​

About 74% sugars