full supers, what to do?

[Tdod]

Hi I have 3 supers that i could not extract at the end of last year due to it being set in the frames... what can i do with these 3 supers?
many thanks..

 

[meetballuk]

cut comb?

 

[mbc]

Scrape them down to the midrib and melt the honey out, or uncap them, wet the surface and put them over your bees with partial access (from inside the hive) so that they take it down. The partial access is important to encourage the bees not to leave the honey in these supers, but to store it safely in their main hive.
Cut comb of solid old honey on thick wired foundation doesn't float my boat.

 

[Tdod]

wired foundation and I would like to re-use if poss but not sure how to go about it!!

 

[meetballuk]

thought so,
mbc: how do you melt out without damaging the honey? and can you define resticted access?

 

[mbc]

thought so,
mbc: how do you melt out without damaging the honey? and can you define resticted access?

I would put the scraped off honey and wax in a bucket in the warmer until the honey's liquid and then press it out, or melt it out on a heated uncapping tray or api melter type device.

Restricted access would be a hole in the crown board reduced to one or two beespaces, or a baffle arrangement provided by putting the supers over an ashforth feeder where the bees have access to the body of the feeder.

 

[Tom Bick]

You could warm the frames to liquefy the honey let them cool and then extract.

 

[Finman]

You could warm the frames to liquefy the honey let them cool and then extract.

That is not possible.

I have done this really much.

Best way is to give 3 frames at one time. Bees cleaning capasity has its limits.

Wait that colony has big enough and it has super where to move cleaned honey.
Uncap frames.
Spray water on crystals
Let bees start cleaning and spray again water that honey will be diluted.

If you give dry frames, bees handle sugar crystals as rubbish and they carry out the "sand" or drop it on floor.

 

[Finman]

.
One way is wash sugar out in warm water. But worst way is to crush valuable combs and melt them on pan.... As some will tell you...

 

[Tom Bick]

That is not possible.
.

The only problem I could see would be possible distortion of the combs as the wax is warmed. Obviously you would let the combs cool before extracting.

Although I have not done it on full frames and then extracted I have liquefied honey in cut comb with no issues. You can take the comb and honey up 45c a good bit short of 65c melting point of wax.

 

[Jimmys Mum]

.
One way is wash sugar out in warm water. But worst way is to crush valuable combs and melt them on pan.... As some will tell you...

I've just done this with a few of my supers after advice posted by Finman last year. It works a treat.

I uncapped the frames, lined them up in a large plastic storage box, carried them upstairs to the bathroom, used the shower attachment to gently wash them over with warm water, filled the plastic box up with water, put a heavy weight on the tops of the frames to keep them submerged.
Et la voila...... 24hrs later the crystallised honey had all dissolved out.
Just use a sieve to make sure any fragments of wax don't go down the plug hole whilst draining the water away.

They are drying off now, all ready for the amazing season that I just know we are all going to have

 

[Tdod]

so basically fill a tub with warm water and put the frames in and the honey runs out, sounds easy and I can re-use the supers this year...

 

[Jimmys Mum]

so basically fill a tub with warm water and put the frames in and the honey runs out, sounds easy and I can re-use the supers this year...

Well that's what I've done. I wouldn't say the honey 'runs out' though! More like 'dissolves slowly' in the warm water. Make sure you let the frames dry out thoroughly afterwards.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've just done this with a few of my supers after advice posted by Finman last year. It works a treat.

I uncapped the frames, lined them up in a large plastic storage box, carried them upstairs to the bathroom, used the shower attachment to gently wash them over with warm water, filled the plastic box up with water, put a heavy weight on the tops of the frames to keep them submerged.
Et la voila...... 24hrs later the crystallised honey had all dissolved out.
Just use a sieve to make sure any fragments of wax don't go down the plug hole whilst draining the water away.

They are drying off now, all ready for the amazing season that I just know we are all going to have

That's not what the great Finster advises - he says uncap a few at a time - spray with a water mister and give back to the bees.

so basically fill a tub with warm water and put the frames in and the honey runs out, sounds easy and I can re-use the supers this year...

And throw good honey away?
I suppose it keeps the TAXMAN off your back if nothing else

 

[Thymallus]

Economically speaking assuming three fully capped supers that is a potential 9 lbs of honey @ say £5 per pound is £45 quid vs three undrawn sheets of foundation, which a good hive will draw out in a few warm days...... at say 50p/full sheet = £1.50.

Melt until honey is liquid and extract (sod rescuing the foundation) is the obvious financial solution or make a solution with warm water and pour £45 quid away down the plughole.

No brainer....

 

[Hivemaker.]

Economically speaking assuming three fully capped supers that is a potential 9 lbs of honey @ say £5 per pound is £45 quid vs three undrawn sheets of foundation, which a good hive will draw out in a few warm days...... at say 50p/full sheet = £1.50.

Is this really about three super frames of honey? and I thought he was talking about three complete supers of honey, between 75 to 90lbs of it.

 

[Jimmys Mum]

And throw good honey away?
I suppose it keeps the TAXMAN off your back if nothing else [/QUOTE]

I guess it depends on what the 'good honey' is
Mine was crystallised Ivy stores. Stank the bathroom out!

 

[Finman]

.
Worst is to melt combs and heat honey. Compared to that melting honey in warm water is not that bad. Because you save combs.

If last year honey is OK, you can save it. But if its taste is rubbish, you spoil your new yield too.

2 hives and 3 boxes crystallized supers sounds not good at all, if old honey tastes .*.

 

[Tdod]

The honey is crystalized and I pressume it is Ivy because it tastes foul!! I dont think its good enough to be jarred.
just wanted a solution to get it out of the comb so they can be reused this year

 

[Jack Straw]

Best way to sterilise drawn comb

The honey is crystalized and I pressume it is Ivy because it tastes foul!! I dont think its good enough to be jarred.
just wanted a solution to get it out of the comb so they can be reused this year

I have a couple of supers full of crystallised ivy honey and one brood box where I lost the colony over winter (probably as a result of an unmated queen and so I do not think I have any nasty diseases lurking)

I already have a couple of buckets of diluted ivy honey to feed back to them and it tastes foul so not good enough to jar so I do not want to keep the surplus honey

I could put it all through a steamer recycle the wax and put new foundation in the frames but I would like to re-use the drawn comb from both the brood box and the supers if possible

If I uncap any stores and immerse the frames in warm water I would expect the honey to dissolve and I will be left with empty comb. Best practice is to sterilise the frames before introducing them into my apiary when needed later in the season

Should I follow the guidance issued by National Bee Unit to sterilise using acetic acid or is there a better way to sterilise the frames whilst keeping the drawn wax that I should be thinking of