Whats the best temp to melt ivy honey that has set in combs? I have put the super into my conservatory to try and make it runny again before I attempt to extract tomorrow evening. Will this work?
You'll need rather better temperature control than that, I fear.
Although beeswax needs 62/64C to actually melt, it progressively loses strength as the temperature rises towards that.
De-granulating honey, without destroying the comb, to permit extraction is seldom attempted.
The commercial beekeepers solution to this problem is to us an Apimelter and melt the whole thing out -- the usp of that bit of kit is the avoidance of overheating by getting the released honey out of the hot zone asap.
Apimelters are expensive. (Big ones take lots of frames at a time.) However (or maybe because of the cost) their owners do sometimes make them available to others, for a consideration.
Certainly if you have plural boxes, it would be well worth asking around to see if anyone has one of the things available. In your area, it might be worth starting with Paynes (who sell the things).
In Kent, Patrick at Mann Lake has made his one available to local association members for a modest fee.
// This sort of thing usually comes up slightly after OSR honey-harvest time!
