Finman
Queen Bee
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2008
- Messages
- 27,887
- Reaction score
- 2,023
- Location
- Finland, Helsinki
- Hive Type
- Langstroth
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If you have cooked at home own berry jelly, you know the basics. Jelly must have 50% sugar. When you open the jar, sugar content hinders the fermenting and moulding. That is why supermarket jelly has 50% sugar too.
Apple jelly of Lidl has 20% sugar. You must be quick to eate it, because it gets mould in few days.
Pollen patty may have 20% living baker yeast, but when it has 50% sugar, it does not ferment. If it makes bubbles, add sugar.
So, why 66% syrup ferments in rapid feeder box and makes even mold?
- Moist warm air rises to the feeding box. It condensates onto the cover. Then it rains to the syrup surface. It dilutes the surface. Fermenting generates more water and so it starts. The longer the box is over the hive, the more rain is in the box.
Pure syrup is difficult to start fermenting. Microbia needs some more nutrition, than mere sugar. Dead wasp is enoug in syrup. Soon it is surrouded by mold.
All kind of dirty in the box adds fermenting. So get a feeder which is easy to clean. Poly feedes are not good in this. The cover gets easily black mould because it has that condensation and old dirt.
If you have cooked at home own berry jelly, you know the basics. Jelly must have 50% sugar. When you open the jar, sugar content hinders the fermenting and moulding. That is why supermarket jelly has 50% sugar too.
Apple jelly of Lidl has 20% sugar. You must be quick to eate it, because it gets mould in few days.
Pollen patty may have 20% living baker yeast, but when it has 50% sugar, it does not ferment. If it makes bubbles, add sugar.
So, why 66% syrup ferments in rapid feeder box and makes even mold?
- Moist warm air rises to the feeding box. It condensates onto the cover. Then it rains to the syrup surface. It dilutes the surface. Fermenting generates more water and so it starts. The longer the box is over the hive, the more rain is in the box.
Pure syrup is difficult to start fermenting. Microbia needs some more nutrition, than mere sugar. Dead wasp is enoug in syrup. Soon it is surrouded by mold.
All kind of dirty in the box adds fermenting. So get a feeder which is easy to clean. Poly feedes are not good in this. The cover gets easily black mould because it has that condensation and old dirt.
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