granulated supers

[SixFooter]

Hi,

I have 5 or 6 supers more or less full of granulated honey which I failed to extract, so just left in a stack. I sealed them with duct tape, so they are OK and the honey is still there. What should I do with them?

 

[BobsBees]

Hi Sixfooter,
Well it depends on your 12 Hives have they still got enough stores to see them through the next few weeks? You could just put the Super on top of the brood and later get it off if and when they take it down.
Mine are out flying even in these high winds today, but they are collecting water, to probably either dilute the Fondant or assist the breakdown of the solid honey stores from last year. I recon the queen is gearing up and ready to go into egg laying mode anytime now, but the nectar and pollen is just not quite there yet.
But I guess each county is different.
Bob.

 

[mbc]

A useful trick is to get your own bees to rob them clean, I do this by uncapping the honey, wetting with a fine spray of water and putting them above a rapid clearer board over the bees. This partial separation is usually enough to get the bees to rob them out, whereas just putting them over a crown board, or under the brood box can leave the bees thinking they are still part of their colony and so they're less likely to clean them out. Once the supers are empty but for a few dry crystals of sugar I find they are fine for reusing as the bees either clean out the crystals or they re-liquefy them before refilling the cells.

 

[itma]

Borrow or hire a Dana Apimelter?

 

[Finman]

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I have handled this question many times in this forum, but as I see, no visible resuts.

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[mbc]

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I have handled this question many times in this forum, but as I see, no visible resuts.

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Yeah, you're right as usual, we still use shallower frames in our supers

 

[oliver90owner]

I 'fed' my bees last autumn by putting a few frames, spread out, under the brood box. The stores were soon moved up. Certainly scoring the cappings and wetting them will improve the speed of re-location, but that is a very simple principle whereby bees always want their stores where they can protect them, where they can move upwards to them, etc, etc, etc. Actually not too many etc's apply, but you may understand the need for them! Simple beekeeping in action.

 

[REDWOOD]

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I have handled this question many times in this forum, but as I see, no visible resuts.

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I Think beeks only read posts that apply to them at that time and skip a lot of posts, they are not avid readers like us. I for one would be interested to know what you would do finman as I must of missed it also

 

[itma]

I Think beeks only read posts that apply to them at that time and skip a lot of posts, they are not avid readers like us. I for one would be interested to know what you would do finman as I must of missed it also

melted wax changes the aroma of honey. Same happens when you use too efficient smoke stuff like tree needles and cones.

When you have crystallized honey in combs, don't brake them. take cappings off, then spray water.
Put them into hive.
Next day take the combs and spray water again inside the cells or soak combs into warm water.
After that sugar granules are so diluted that bees can handle the rest.

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However Finman may not have tried the Apimelter.


ADDED

Api melter is your friend on this one, within a day you'd have 250lb of runny filtered honey in buckets and probably 8 kg of wax.

No damage to the honey or wax...

Chris B (according to my memory is also a fan/owner.

 

[Arfermo]

I 'fed' my bees last autumn by putting a few frames, spread out, under the brood box. The stores were soon moved up. Certainly scoring the cappings and wetting them will improve the speed of re-location, but that is a very simple principle whereby bees always want their stores where they can protect them, where they can move upwards to them, etc, etc, etc. QUOTE]

 

[Finman]

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"When you melt the wax, no damages to combs"

well. ..nothing to add in it..

 

[Finman]

A useful trick is to get your own bees to rob them clean, I do this by uncapping the honey, wetting with a fine spray of water and putting them above a rapid clearer board over the bees. This partial separation is usually enough to get the bees to rob them out, whereas just putting them over a crown board, or under the brood box can leave the bees thinking they are still part of their colony and so they're less likely to clean them out. Once the supers are empty but for a few dry crystals of sugar I find they are fine for reusing as the bees either clean out the crystals or they re-liquefy them before refilling the cells.

that is a good way when you have much crystallized honey.

I have now about 200 kg.

. If you have few frames, put them in summer between broodframes.

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[shudderdun]

Finman :-

Im only in the start of my third season, so excuse me if I am talking rubbish.

I also have some of last years super frames with stored honey, if I were to do what you say, would the bees start to build Drone cone below the shorter frame, is the idea to keep an eye on it and take it out ASAP ?

Thanks

 

[Finman]

Finman :-

Im only in the start of my third season, so excuse me if I am talking rubbish.

I also have some of last years super frames with stored honey, if I were to do what you say, would the bees start to build Drone cone below the shorter frame, is the idea to keep an eye on it and take it out ASAP ?

Thanks

when it is summer and bees have super for honey, uncap the honey, spray water on it and let the bees suck te honey. Next day again fill the cells wit water.

If the honey is 2 years old, put the frames into warm water and let sugar dilute off.
Too old honey spoils te aroma of new honey.

What we learn: it would be better to extract honey in time.

 

[shudderdun]

Sorry Finman. Whoops, I have mis-read, though it said between broodframes.

Apologies !

 

[itma]

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"When you melt the wax, no damages to combs"

well. ..nothing to add in it..

I'm not sure what you are quoting, but if it is Crazy Bull's "No damage to the honey or wax..." then it is a rather creative MISquote!


The Apimelter is able to melt the honey gently enough, and with sufficient control, that it is not spoilt - as is usual with meltdown techniques.
Yes, the combs get melted down, but good wax is also recovered.

Standing back, the strategic choice is whether the value to the beekeeper of the drawn comb and beefood is more or less than the commercial value of the honey recovered.
"5 or 6 supers" is an awful lot of bee-food to be fed back to the bees, while on the other hand 60kg of honey might be as much as £600's worth.
Some believe that drawn comb is 'priceless', while for others, at other times, excess is close to a liability.
The choice is recovering comb by using the honey as beefood or pro-quality melting to get good honey and wax.
And it is only a choice if an Apimelter is available ...

But if Finman really has "about 200kg" of crystallised honey, buying an Apimelter might even be a sensible option.

 

[Finman]

But if Finman really has "about 200kg" of crystallised honey, buying an Apimelter might even be a sensible option.

i take a pressure washer. I sweep with it capping off and i put frames to the hive. It does not take much when frames are empty.
I have done it quite much

Such is life

but next I am going to be more carefull and I extract honey frames in time.

.

 

[SixFooter]

I didnt expect the honey to set and left the supers for a week before extracting - My bad. OK. Sorry. Also sorry for not remembering previous posts on the subject and in actual fact, I should have been able to work it out for myself.
Too much work-related stress and weather-related beekeeping-related stress.

Thanks for the answers though. I shall put them above a crown board and save up for an apimelter

 

[MuswellMetro]

if you are prepared to sacrifice the wax then it is possible to extract even solid OSR Honey

I've seen the crystallized solid honey de-capped then cut out of frames, It is then put in small chunks into a honey bucket in a warming cabinet at about 45c for 6 days....any honey drained off into a warmed honey bucket then the wax mush stirred left 24hrs and strained through a coarse mesh, two hot and HMF gets too high and you have baker honey, too low and it don't come out of the wax

Creamed seeded honey made from the honey recovered

The wax is them fed above the crown to the bees , but only on hives collecting osr otherwise it sets normal honey

not viable if large quanties but in a year with no honey...maybe for a two hive operation

 

[Finman]

if you are prepared to sacrifice the wax then it is possible to extract even solid OSR Honey..........

oh dear!

It doest not go at all that way.


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