Extracting 12x14 frames

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ENZO

House Bee
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
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Location
Jersey C.I.
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
16
Hi There,
How do you Guys extract honey from 12 x 14 frames? I have just started using them last year and now find my first problem with them, I have a Thornes 9 frame extractor and a little 4 frame hand crank for when I have to extract from brood frames (honey not brood) but the large 12x14 frame does not seem to fit either. Does anyone know if my 9 frame with screens would do the job?

Many Thanks, Enzo
 
The 14x12's are brood frames and the bees' own stores... tradionally honey should be coming from super frames
 
The thing is that the brood chamber is full of stores, the hive weighs a ton but on yesterdays inspection I saw brood in every possible spare cell and also a lot of liquid nectar where the brood should be hence I was going to free up a couple of frames for the queen to lay in, the comb was only drawn last year so I didn't want to keep it "just for stores" I didn't really think about what I was going to do with the honey though.

Still, I would be nice to know how beekeepers extract from 12x14 frames?

Many Thanks, Enzo
 
I'm sure someone more experienced than I am will correct this if I'm wrong. If you have a super on the hive you should be able to bruise the cappings (just by scraping through with the hive tool) on the current stores and the bees will move it up, freeing space for brood.

I'd not like to see an out-of-balance extractor with 12x14 frames in it ...
 
Enzo its time for a super if you havent already the bees will move the honey from the BB frames as they need more room.
 
I think you will find that if you bruise the cappings whether there is a super or not they will consume the honey and make room.

Some do this as a matter of course and call it "working the brood box".

Others shudder and say all manner of ills will come from it.

I have been happily doing it for over 20 years and not seen an issue yet apart from rapidly expanding brood nests.

When I talk about +1, as in 5+1 there were five frames of brood, I did some bruising and added a frame. Next inspection I expect to find 6 or more frames of brood and so on.

PH
 
"I think you will find that if you bruise the cappings"

Poly Hive could you explain what you mean by bruising the cappings? Newbie Question...
 
Sure.

Take the flat end of your hive tool and with gentle force pull it over the stores cappings so that the "seal" of wax is broken and the honey exposed. the bees will take the hint and consume it, polish up the cells and a week or so later it will all be laid up.

PH
 
Still, I would be nice to know how beekeepers extract from 12x14 frames?

If you want extractable brood frames, you need to downsize to National deep or something else. Meaning ... beekeepers do not have expectations of extracting from 14x12 frames.

However, a horizontal extractor, like the 2 farme world extractor from Swienty, will extract big frames, like MD brood, Jumbo or 14x12.

If you really want stores removed from deep frames, remove frames from hive and place in apiary.
 
I think you will find that if you bruise the cappings whether there is a super or not they will consume the honey and make room.


PH

I know you give top advice PH but is this not a bit optimistic we dont know how many bees we assume a lot given the description also given that its a 14x12 BB it may well be a lot of honey dripping down through the hive perhaps through the omf.
Would it not be better to have super above and the bees and they move the stores in good time then later perhaps bruise the frames when the brood area is really pushing for space.
 
Have you not got to be careful that the stores they take up to the super aren`t sugar syrup from their winter stores? I removed a couple of frames of stores from the hives that were overburdened and replaced with foundation. They can have the stores back later if the weather turns bad.

Darren.
 
Going back to your original question, the Thornes website says the universal extractors with screens fitted can extract all brood sizes, except 14X12
 
Thank you guys, well I guess that extracting from a 14x12 is not as easy as it seems, I didn't feed syrup to this colony so I might just as well bruise the cappings on the two frames either side of the brood and pop a super on, one way or the other that should free off some laying space.

Thank You, Enzo.
 

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