Plastic foundation

[Newbeeneil]

So were mine, then one day at about 47 I read something and it was slightly out of focus. That was the start of it, now at 51 it's reading glasses, even for eating dinner!

It's that bloody alphabeti spagetti!

 

[Michael Palmer]

I'll just say, about plastic foundation...

Years ago, I bought several thousand Pierco one piece deep waxed plastic frame/foundation. Hated it. Still trying to get it out of my operation. Bees didn't draw it well. Frames too flimsy. Edges sharp and make sore hands. I have used plenty of Pierco medium waxed plastic foundation i wood frames...for extracting. Acceptable but not great. Slow in drawing.

Last year I discovered Acorn plastic foundation. Better cell bases. Crisper and more defined than Pierco. I bought it unwaxed, and set up a dipping tank to use my own wax. Temperature at 190˚F. Tried it last year. Wow! Bees are drawing it as if it were wax. We're getting 10 pounds of wax on 100 sheets. Nearly the same as wax foundation....wax foundation is 7 sheets to pound. Maybe that's the trick.

 

[foghornleghorn]

I'll just say, about plastic foundation...

Years ago, I bought several thousand Pierco one piece deep waxed plastic frame/foundation. Hated it. Still trying to get it out of my operation. Bees didn't draw it well. Frames too flimsy. Edges sharp and make sore hands. I have used plenty of Pierco medium waxed plastic foundation i wood frames...for extracting. Acceptable but not great. Slow in drawing.

Last year I discovered Acorn plastic foundation. Better cell bases. Crisper and more defined than Pierco. I bought it unwaxed, and set up a dipping tank to use my own wax. Temperature at 190˚F. Tried it last year. Wow! Bees are drawing it as if it were wax. We're getting 10 pounds of wax on 100 sheets. Nearly the same as wax foundation....wax foundation is 7 sheets to pound. Maybe that's the trick.

Can they be boiled?

 

[Michael Palmer]

Not sure about boiled. My dipping tank is filled 1/2 with water and 8" of hot wax on top. Boiled to clean off plastic of old comb remnants? I've thought maybe scrape off old comb, and re-dip in hot wax. Haven't done it yet.

 

[foghornleghorn]

Not sure about boiled. My dipping tank is filled 1/2 with water and 8" of hot wax on top. Boiled to clean off plastic of old comb remnants? I've thought maybe scrape off old comb, and re-dip in hot wax. Haven't done it yet.

Lots of afb around here so being able to boil and sterilise older combs could be useful

 

[Beefriendly]

Lots of afb around here so being able to boil and sterilise older combs could be useful

Unfortunately AFB spores are resistant to boiling.....

 

[foghornleghorn]

Unfortunately AFB spores are resistant to boiling.....

In caustic soda?

 

[Beefriendly]

In caustic soda?

No idea, but not something I'd want to boil.

 

[Helen]

I use normal sized national plastic. Cut one in half and attach to bottom of another. Gives you 14x12.

Here's a few pics of the 14x12 plastic foudation. Bees are drawing it out. As you can see (or not), foundation being drawn evenly across whole face.

I've marked by a red arrow where I've joined 2 bits of foundation together to create the 14x12. Bees don't seem to mind it.