Part-filled frames

[thedeaddiplomat]

It's that time of year again, when reality begins to triumph over hope (yet again) and I begin to look for honey from my hive(s). Invariably, my bees are disorganised, and fail dismally fully to seal each frame as they finish with it. Still less do they complete super A before moving to super B.

How do others cope with half-sealed frames, and those with lots of nectar still sloshing around? I am quite keen to reduce down to just the supers I leave on over winter with winter stores in, and to get on with treatment etc. But I have yet to work out how best to get there!

 

[MJBee]

I take the quick way out. I clear and remove all the supers. I then sort the frames into 2 lots - more than 50% capped and less than 50% capped.

The frames that are more than 50% capped are then extracted and the honey kept.

The rest are extracted and the nectar/honey mix is fed back to the hives that need more stores usually mixed into sugar syrup with thymol, this masks the honey smell and prevents robbing.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

It's not being capped that's the important thing.
It's whether you've got honey - with less than 20% water.

It's worth investing in a refractometer.

Dusty

 

[enrico]

It's not being capped that's the important thing.
It's whether you've got honey - with less than 20% water.

It's worth investing in a refractometer.

Dusty

As a very general rule, if you haven't got a refractometer the shake test is fairly reliable, take a part capped super, hold it flat side down and do one hard shake downwards, if nectar flies out it is not ripe, if it stays put you are usually ok to extract. The middle five frames are usually your best bet. They are most likely to be ripe. If the outer frames are totally uncapped leave them there, extract what you can and put the wet frames back, put the whole super over a feeder board leaving a small hole only and they will be cleaned within a couple of days provided they have room below to move it to. To be honest I can uncap frames that have higher water content than advisable if I know that most of my frames are considerably lower, once it is all mixed together then the reading will be somewhere in the middle. Works for me!
E

 

[Suzi Q]

I spin out what is not capped first, keep that to feed back to the bees, then uncap what's left and I keep that for me.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've done just that with three supers today.

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

Many thanks for the helpful responses.

Of course, it's too wet to do anything today! (Unless, of course, I despatch the current Lady DD to the apiary to do it for me

 

[Tim1606]

Patience, that is what is needed.
As R.O.B Manley says: and all because the beekeeper can't wait a week or two.