Cappings and feeding

[DomB]

Hi,

We have quite a mass of honey and wax which is mushed & mixed togethor. I'm hoping to separate it all out so I can use the honey as feed through the winter.

The mush is inches thick so although I have put a tray of it in the hives the bees can only really clean off the surface of the mush.

I was going to boil it all in a bit of water with the thought of then using the resulting water / honey mix as a winter feed (thinking the wax would melt and float to the top).

My questions are basically would this work & if so would the honey / water mix be OK as feed (do I need to get the proportions correct in any way etc)?

Thanks for any advice

 

[oliver90owner]

Forget the idea.

Separate with heat enough to melt the wax (but no extra water) and use the honey for cooking. Feed the bees with fondant if/as necessary

Or save the stuff until tbe bees can sort it out in spring.

RAB

 

[luckydunny]

Agree with RAB.

Best left to next year now. The bees will be more than capable of sorting things out, (but not when in a winter cluster.)

Feed fondant - as RAB says and if they want it they will take it.

Then cross fingers and plan next year!!!

 

[Poly Hive]

I too agree, far too cold for this sort of caper.

The bees need warmth at this time to work that kind of mess, and frankly you are not doing your bees any favours giving them that sort of mess to work on at any time.

As above this is a job for.... guess who... mirror mirror on the wall....you.

PH

 

[kighill]

I fed my bees the same 'mush' earlier this year. I place the entire mess into an Ashford feeder and removed the glass cover.
When the bees had taken the sticky mess covering the top of the cappings I simply used my hive tool and turned it over.
After several turnings the wax was clean and dry.
You could try it when spring feeding.

Ps a few bees will be lost in the process. (they can get stuck in the honey if it is to wet)

 

[DomB]

Thanks All.

I boiled the mush and ran it through a muslin. Have now got a disk of wax my wife will be happy to have and a kinda of syrupy mixture. Will it be OK to feed that syrup to the bees instead of the fondant?

 

[oliver90owner]

65 Celsius was just about enough to melt the wax. Wax floats on honey, solidifies as it cooled, wax removed to leave usoable honey (for cooking or home consumption.

Boiling will potentially have done all sorts of nasties to the honey. I would forget the idea of feeding that back to the bees. Read posts #2, 3 and 4. Read up on HMF.

RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

NO.

I seriously suggest some reading as you seem keen to kill your charges.

PH

 

[Baggyone]

look up some honey roast ham recipes.

Baggy

 

[Appinpiper]

Just a thought but would it be possible to separate the honey from the mush by using a salad spinner to do the work. That way the honey is not subjected to heat and could be then filtered and bottled in the normal manner

 

[The Cumbrian]

Not having any experience of this problem I have been wondering why nobody has suggested pressing the "mush" to squeeze honey out.

 

[Poly Hive]

It assumes a press and as noted in another thread they are not cheap.

PH

 

[The Cumbrian]

It assumes a press and as noted in another thread they are not cheap.

PH

I was thinking more of something home made. Unfortunately the article I saw seems to have been removed.

Basically it was a 3" x 2" wooden frame standing up on feet. A pipe was fixed between the uprights and a sliding metal plate (Stainless steel) hung on it. Behind the metal plate was a car jack. Opposite the moveable plate was a fixed plate of the same size. The "mush" was hung in a cloth bag between the two plates and pressure applied. The honey was collected below in a bowl.

Not too expensive and within the capability of most DIYers - even me! (Not that I have tried).

 

[Skyhook]

look up some honey roast ham recipes.

Baggy

Or mead Just don't feed it to your bees!

 

[Arfermo]

Just a thought but would it be possible to separate the honey from the mush by using a salad spinner to do the work. That way the honey is not subjected to heat and could be then filtered and bottled in the normal manner

Are you tryinmg to be funny by any chance? If so you have failed!!!!

 

[Poly Hive]

The most effective way of separating the two is warmth combined with centrifugal force hence warming cabinets and cappings baskets for certain extractors.

As posted a few times on here I used a spin drier which worked like a dream.

PH

 

[Vergilius]

Honey is more expensive per pound than fondant. Eat/sell your honey, give the bees the cheaper stuff. As in my tag-line, honey is too good to waste... Having said that, after reading what you've done to it, don't sell it... But don't give it to your bees at this time of year!!!

Ben P

 

[BeeJayBee]

I was thinking more of something home made. Unfortunately the article I saw seems to have been removed.

Basically it was a 3" x 2" wooden frame standing up on feet. A pipe was fixed between the uprights and a sliding metal plate (Stainless steel) hung on it. Behind the metal plate was a car jack. Opposite the moveable plate was a fixed plate of the same size. The "mush" was hung in a cloth bag between the two plates and pressure applied. The honey was collected below in a bowl.

Not too expensive and within the capability of most DIYers - even me! (Not that I have tried).

Do you mean this one by David Heaf on the Warre site? http://www.dheaf.plus.com/warrebeekeeping/pressing_honey.htm

I've also seen pictures of honey presses that look remarkably similar to those used for making cider.

 

[The Cumbrian]

Do you mean this one by David Heaf on the Warre site? http://www.dheaf.plus.com/warrebeekeeping/pressing_honey.htm

I've also seen pictures of honey presses that look remarkably similar to those used for making cider.

That is virtually identical in structure but the one I saw was made in a darker/stained wood, but yes that kind of thing.

It may have been the one he mentions in the top line where there is a link that no longer works.

 

[Appinpiper]

Are you tryinmg to be funny by any chance? If so you have failed!!!!

Have a look at this
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYuEmhnvHrA[/ame]