Tremyfro
Queen Bee
- Joined
- May 19, 2014
- Messages
- 2,434
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Hive Type
- Beehaus
- Number of Hives
- Possibly...5 and a bit...depends on the bees.
Do you remember the thread about using honey to emulsify thymol?
Well....here are my findings.
Method.
Mixed up the 30 grams of thymol crystals with the 5ml of spirit.
Warmed it in jar in hot water. When fully dissolved....added 70 ml of water and 70 ml of honey. Gave it a good shake.
To begin with it stayed as a creamy mixture.....slowly over many hours it separated into a layer of thick cream and a lower layer of darker liquid. These readily remixed at room temperature. When put outside at night the mixture again separated into the two layers and the top one solidified, the bottom one stayed liquid.
Once rewarmed.....a quick shake remixed the layers.
When added to sugar syrup...2:1....at a rate of 5ml per gallon and mixed by turning the container several times...as in a shake it was allowed to stand overnight at room temperature.
After 36 hours samples were taken....
1... A 5 ml sample from the bottom of the container
2....A 5ml sample from the surface of the container.
No oil could be seen in either sample....nor on the surface of the syrup.
To taste....they were indistinguishable.
Conclusion....in my mixture....the thymol was mixed throughout the syrup at room temperature.
Of course, I don't claim that the honey emulsified the thymol as it did separate...but something happened which allowed it to transfer the thymol properties throughout the syrup. 5ml in one gallon is a very small amount and I think that at room temperature it stays mixed. Perhaps because the syrup at a 2:1 concentration was thick enough to do this.
As I said...interesting.....and some people have reported on the forum that their mixture using lecithin has separated and required warming to remix it.
I have mixed my winter thymol syrup...so now I can see what the bees make of it at the next round of feeding. Since the colony temperature is warm...the mixture should not separate...well I hope sufficient stays mixed to do the job!
Well....here are my findings.
Method.
Mixed up the 30 grams of thymol crystals with the 5ml of spirit.
Warmed it in jar in hot water. When fully dissolved....added 70 ml of water and 70 ml of honey. Gave it a good shake.
To begin with it stayed as a creamy mixture.....slowly over many hours it separated into a layer of thick cream and a lower layer of darker liquid. These readily remixed at room temperature. When put outside at night the mixture again separated into the two layers and the top one solidified, the bottom one stayed liquid.
Once rewarmed.....a quick shake remixed the layers.
When added to sugar syrup...2:1....at a rate of 5ml per gallon and mixed by turning the container several times...as in a shake it was allowed to stand overnight at room temperature.
After 36 hours samples were taken....
1... A 5 ml sample from the bottom of the container
2....A 5ml sample from the surface of the container.
No oil could be seen in either sample....nor on the surface of the syrup.
To taste....they were indistinguishable.
Conclusion....in my mixture....the thymol was mixed throughout the syrup at room temperature.
Of course, I don't claim that the honey emulsified the thymol as it did separate...but something happened which allowed it to transfer the thymol properties throughout the syrup. 5ml in one gallon is a very small amount and I think that at room temperature it stays mixed. Perhaps because the syrup at a 2:1 concentration was thick enough to do this.
As I said...interesting.....and some people have reported on the forum that their mixture using lecithin has separated and required warming to remix it.
I have mixed my winter thymol syrup...so now I can see what the bees make of it at the next round of feeding. Since the colony temperature is warm...the mixture should not separate...well I hope sufficient stays mixed to do the job!
