Does foundation go off?

[4degreesWest]

I have some two-year-old foundation-it seems a bit more brittle than the fresher stuff but looks useable. Will the bees be ok with it?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have some two-year-old foundation-it seems a bit more brittle than the fresher stuff but looks useable. Will the bees be ok with it?

yes they will, I have stuff even older than that this year and they're fine with it.

 

[enrico]

Warm it very slightly with a hair drier and it will loose the brittle feel while you make the frames up.

 

[4degreesWest]

Thanks both

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Warm it very slightly with a hair drier and it will loose the brittle feel while you make the frames up.

just sticking it in a hive will have the same effect

 

[enrico]

just sticking it in a hive will have the same effect

A bit difficult to stick it in the hive without the frame! I was suggesting he warned it slightly so that it wasn't brittle when making frames up!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

consider doing it in a warmer room then

 

[Erichalfbee]

consider doing it in a warmer room then

Or a hair dryer?

 

[JamezF]

Or a hair dryer?

That will warm the room up, but it will probably take a while.

James

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or a hair dryer?

what is this obsession with hairdryers and foundation?
If it's that brittle it's obviously just too cold to be mucking around with foundation - wafting a hairdryer over it is pretty ridiculous IMHO, I've inserted 'brittle' foundation plenty of times without needing to drag a hairdryer out; I actually inherited a few packs of foundation this year which has sat in an outbuilding for probably over fifteen years and it went straight into the frame without any magic tricks.

 

[Finman]

Warm uo the room to 25C and brittle foundation will become soft. It lays down along wires nicely.

2 years old foundation is very new.

I have never used hair dryer to foundations, but I always warm up the room to 25C.

 

[Ian123]

it went straight into the frame without any magic tricks.

Is Wales really that remote that hairdryers are considered magic

 

[JamezF]

For some reason I've just been reminded of a youtube video I watched ages ago, possibly from an Irish beekeeper, who made his own sheets of flat foundation (which he claimed worked just as well as embossed, as far as I recall). I'm sure he said that once cooled the wax sheet was brittle, but rolling it with a rolling pin restored its flexibility.

Has anyone else heard of this or did I just have too much cheese before bedtime that night?

James

 

[Finman]

Is Wales really that remote that hairdryers are considered magic

Something extra to do to beekeepers, if they do not invent what.

 

[user 20297]

For some reason I've just been reminded of a youtube video I watched ages ago, possibly from an Irish beekeeper, who made his own sheets of flat foundation (which he claimed worked just as well as embossed, as far as I recall). I'm sure he said that once cooled the wax sheet was brittle, but rolling it with a rolling pin restored its flexibility.

Has anyone else heard of this or did I just have too much cheese before bedtime that night?

James

Tim Rowe....

 

[mdotb]

For some reason I've just been reminded of a youtube video I watched ages ago, possibly from an Irish beekeeper, who made his own sheets of flat foundation (which he claimed worked just as well as embossed, as far as I recall). I'm sure he said that once cooled the wax sheet was brittle, but rolling it with a rolling pin restored its flexibility.

Has anyone else heard of this or did I just have too much cheese before bedtime that night?

Most commercially produced foundation is rolled through embossed mills. Most home-produced foundation is cast in moulds - or in the case of flat without the cell impressions, sometimes dipped which is similar in struct to cast, but can contain discrete layers if dipped multiple times with slight cooling in between to obtain the desired thickness.

The differences in crystalline properties in the wax between the two forming methods are essentially the same as the difference between casting and forging steel (for the same reasons) resulting in the milling method producing wax sheets that are less brittle and more malleable.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is Wales really that remote that hairdryers are considered magic

it is when people obsess about using them for beekeeping

 

[blackcloud]

Hairdrying is essential in preparing old foundation for your eight- weekly shookswarming.

 

[JamezF]

The differences in crystalline properties in the wax between the two forming methods are essentially the same as the difference between casting and forging steel (for the same reasons) resulting in the milling method producing wax sheets that are less brittle and more malleable.

Every day's a school day

James

 

[enrico]

it is when people obsess about using them for beekeeping

It's just a darn sight cheaper using a quick blast of a hair dryer than warming a whole room. I am not obsessing, just offering help and ideas!