making sugar syrup.

[biglongdarren]

with last year being my first year and everything new to me i just made my sugar syrup by pouring the sugar into 2 litre plastic milk containers then the water and shaking it...alot of effort and a few spillages over the kitchen!

I was thinking of buying a cheap kettle and just pouring the correct amount of water and sugar in and turning it on...any body ever tried this before?

 

[BobH1]

I use a saucepan, easy to stir, easy to heat, easy to pour from, easy to clean.

 

[Vergilius]

This is fairly obvious...
Just put 2:1 sugar/water in a pan and then heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Easy. That way all the sugar is dissolved and the bees won't have any digestive problems.

Ben P

 

[beeboybee]

Pan-Heat-Water-sugar-boil-cool=DONE

 

[biglongdarren]

i know to use a saucepan too..was just thinking that the kettle would be handier still thats all...oh and with my bees bringing in pollen now does that mean the queens laying?

 

[Vergilius]

oh and with my bees bringing in pollen now does that mean the queens laying?

Yes.

Ben P

 

[biglongdarren]

next big question is is it a good thing having a queen laying this early on in the year?she isnt a young queen either if that means anything?

 

[tonybloke]

...oh and with my bees bringing in pollen now does that mean the queens laying?

usually, would be a correct answer!!

 

[MuswellMetro]

next big question is is it a good thing having a queen laying this early on in the year?she isnt a young queen either if that means anything?

yes, old beekeeper tales state that she start laying at the midwinter solstice as the day length changes, but i think it i normally later,

she is laying now as your over winter bees will all be dying soon and it take 6 weeks from egg to forager


Kettle I doubt it will work as the heating element will burn the sugar and you wiill get toxic HMFs produced

try boiling milk in a kettle , i have

just use 1lb sugar to 1 pint ,(800g:1L) it dissolves easier than 1kg to1L and is what we all used until decimalisation to hold (i've seen recent rothamsted reports that imply they still use the old ratio ,ie their experiments with fumigalB treatment )

 

[biglongdarren]

thank you mustwellmetro.

 

[psafloyd]

I have some syrup left over from autumn which I'd like to use. Any reason it shouldn't be OK?

I also have some left over that was actually in a feeder above the hive while Apigard was on. This has a slight brownish tinge to it. Any reason this should not be used this spring?

THanks.

 

[Moggs]

Hi BLD. I get all my syrup made up in a big batch. A 50 litre stainless enormo-vessel can be found on flee-buy and that handles a complete 25kg bag of granulated @ 2:1 very comfortably. The dissolving process is quickened with heat, obviously and it's very convenient to do it all in one go. My method: bring water to simmer, remove heat (gas hob), add bulk sugar, stir, stir, stir, rapid cool. The water temperature is rapidly pulled down by the thermal shock of the sugar, which quickly dissolves. Job jobbed.

The kettle element would certainly burn the sugar.

 

[johnandyrob]

I have some syrup left over from autumn which I'd like to use. Any reason it shouldn't be OK?

I also have some left over that was actually in a feeder above the hive while Apigard was on. This has a slight brownish tinge to it. Any reason this should not be used this spring?

THanks.

Yes it starts to develop yest spores after about three days and they are toxic to bees unless it had thymol added when made Regards Andrew

 

[MuswellMetro]

I have some syrup left over from autumn which I'd like to use. Any reason it shouldn't be OK?

I also have some left over that was actually in a feeder above the hive while Apigard was on. This has a slight brownish tinge to it. Any reason this should not be used this spring?

THanks.

i suspect the feeder if open to the air now contains either alcohol or vinaegar as syrup will asorb water vapour and ferment unless you invert the 30% of the sucrose sugar to fructose , or you raise the acidty level with say ascobic acid ~( vitC 1G per 1Kg sugar)

i suspect the other if sealed will be 2:1 and in spring you either need 50%:1 or 1:1 or 0.8:1, leave it to you if want to dilute it, it may be ok, but for 70p a kg, i'd throw it away

 

[winmag270]

Pan-Heat-Water-sugar-boil-cool=DONE

really.....?

for fondant maybe but not syrup.......

i heat mine gently in a suitable sized container, either jam pan or burco, stirring till the sugar is dissolved, then transfer to the storage container, add thymol emulsion to preserve, sorted.

 

[psafloyd]

Yes it starts to develop yest spores after about three days and they are toxic to bees unless it had thymol added when made Regards Andrew

Many thanks, will defeinitely chuck it.

 

[psafloyd]

i suspect the feeder if open to the air now contains either alcohol or vinaegar as syrup will asorb water vapour and ferment unless you invert the 30% of the sucrose sugar to fructose , or you raise the acidty level with say ascobic acid ~( vitC 1G per 1Kg sugar)

i suspect the other if sealed will be 2:1 and in spring you either need 50%:1 or 1:1 or 0.8:1, leave it to you if want to dilute it, it may be ok, but for 70p a kg, i'd throw it away

I suspected there might be a problem with the open one. The other has been sealed since being made and still warm.

I know it would need dilution, but considered recycling as some here seem to recycle fondant into syrup.

Take your point about price. It wasn't to scrimp, mainly to hace something to hand if I need syrup before I get round to making it.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Hombre]

If it smells good, then it probably is good.

If it's good then recycling into 1:1 syrup for spring stimulative feeding is good to go.Filter out any bits and quickly bring to the boil to discourage any yeasts that might be about.

 

[psafloyd]

If it smells good, then it probably is good.

If it's good then recycling into 1:1 syrup for spring stimulative feeding is good to go.Filter out any bits and quickly bring to the boil to discourage any yeasts that might be about.

Good idea. It has no bits in it. I don't even think it has reverted to crystals, either.

Will check it and if I reuse will bring it to the boil.

Brain not working today. As it is 2:1, I need to add 1/3 volume to dilute to 1:1, don't I?

 

[Hombre]

I don't think that the bees will be making too many distinctions as long as it's near enough. Nectar is somewhat thinner than 1:1 after all. A good guess will suffice I'm sure.

The object is to have them burn it for immediate use with least effort and not try to store it for future use.