Solid osr

[rook66]

I have a super of osr gone solid, what to do? If I cut it into a bucket and heat, will the wax and honey seperate? No suggestions on purchasing crazy priced equipment please.

 

[Bee Bumble]

Uncap spray with water and place under brood box, bees may move it up during a flow, or in Autumn as winter food supply.
OR
Uncap, spray with water and place one frame one in middle of brood nest - bees quickly empty it - has risks!
OR
Uncap, swish comb in warm water to melt honey - you get the drawn frames back.
OR
Go to someone with an Apimelter e.g. Bee equipment in Kent and they will melt it for you for a fee.

 

[Finman]

.
Uncap the combs. Put 2 combs into the hive. Next day spray on honey water. Then bees are able to dilute it.

If you put honey combs during flow into hive, bees cap the honey in 24 hours.
.

If You have AS, put 3 combs together with foundations. Bees will clean the combs for laying and they draw foundations in a week.

Do not waste the honey. And combs are as expencive to melt and destroy.
.

 

[bob_o]

Scrap the honey out using a serving spoon. Scrape it back to the foundation then you will still have a frame that you can use. It will only take around 10 minutes to do a supper. Then melt the honey and wax. after it has melted let it cool and the wax will set so that you can lift it off and be left with the honey that will just need to be strained ready to use.

 

[Amari]

Scrap the honey out using a serving spoon. Scrape it back to the foundation then you will still have a frame that you can use. It will only take around 10 minutes to do a supper. Then melt the honey and wax. after it has melted let it cool and the wax will set so that you can lift it off and be left with the honey that will just need to be strained ready to use.

The disadvantage is that in order to melt the wax you are heating the scrapings for a few hours at quite a high temperature, maybe reducing the honey quality?
When I separate honey from wax cappings by this method I usually sell the honey at reduced cost in unlabelled jars as cooking/mead quality.
I'd be interested to read the thoughts of other forumites.

 

[sean-a]

Even worse....
My OSR has solidified in the extractor.....
I have put the Extractor in my car in the hope that a hot sunny day will melt it...

Doh !

 

[Beanwood]

Even worse....
My OSR has solidified in the extractor.....

Doh !

Unfortunately, you're not the only one
I know, I should have known better, but life gets in the way sometimes, and that last two inches in the bottom was left overnight, then overnight turned into two days, which turned into a solid nightmare...

I can tell you a really warm shed doesn't shift it one iota.

Anyone have a better idea please?

 

[einsteinagogo]

my experience of solid OSR it needs to be at 39-40 degrees C for at least 24 hours, and sometimes 48 hours.

 

[Finman]

Scrap the honey out using a serving spoon. Scrape it back to the foundation then you will still have a frame that you can use. It will only take around 10 minutes to do a supper. Then melt the honey and wax. after it has melted let it cool and the wax will set so that you can lift it off and be left with the honey that will just need to be strained ready to use.

Destroy method....

The wax in combs have about 7 kg honey on each super box. You destroy that work of bees. A huge loss.

 

[Finman]

.
I have about 200 kg crystallized last year honey in my combs, and I will feed it to bees in 2 months. I will not destroy any combs in this process.

Crystallized OSR is nothing new to me.

During years I have told many times how to do this with several methods.

 

[rook66]

The disadvantage is that in order to melt the wax you are heating the scrapings for a few hours at quite a high temperature, maybe reducing the honey quality?
When I separate honey from wax cappings by this method I usually sell the honey at reduced cost in unlabelled jars as cooking/mead quality.
I'd be interested to read the thoughts of other forumites.

There are high temps. involved using this piece of equipment.
https://www.paynesbeefarm.co.uk/uncapping-equipment/dana-api-melter/

 

[Finman]

.
Melted honey combs will be ruined. You loose your customers.

 

[Etton]

.
Melted honey combs will be ruined. You loose your customers.

So does using a heat gun to melt the cappings when extracting honey from the comb damage the honey in any way? Or is it always better to cut cappings off with a knife rather than using a heat gun?

 

[rook66]

Unfortunately, you're not the only one
I know, I should have known better, but life gets in the way sometimes, and that last two inches in the bottom was left overnight, then overnight turned into two days, which turned into a solid nightmare...

I can tell you a really warm shed doesn't shift it one iota.

Anyone have a better idea please?

I think the honey is a write off. Try putting water in on top of the honey and leave to ferment.. then try a power washer, but then who am I to give advice!!

 

[Finman]

So does using a heat gun to melt the cappings when extracting honey from the comb damage the honey in any way? Or is it always better to cut cappings off with a knife rather than using a heat gun?

Once I had too hot capping knife. Thermostat was broken. I must put 100 kg into dumping place. I have used hot gun too and it ruined too the aroma of honey.

 

[Teemore]

If you feed this honey back to your bees you are still getting the benefit from it in the long run.
If you are set on harvesting this OSR honey and are prepared to sacrifice the combs, you might wish to consider the following process. Use an uncapping fork to scratch the cappings on all the frames and then cut the combs out of the frames. use your hive tool to remove the retaining slip/wedge in the frame first to make comb removal a little easier. If you have wired frames, pull the wire out at this stage. Chop the comb into smallish chunks and put this into a honey bucket. Lid onto the bucket and put the whole lot into your warming cabinet. There is no need to melt the wax, you only need to get the honey liquid. Having scratched the cappings helps the honey drain out of the comb. You can then press or squeeze honey out of the comb and strain it all through a coarse sieve. The frames can then be scraped clean/washed and rewaxed for subsequent use.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

The disadvantage is that in order to melt the wax you are heating the scrapings for a few hours at quite a high temperature, maybe reducing the honey quality?
When I separate honey from wax cappings by this method I usually sell the honey at reduced cost in unlabelled jars as cooking/mead quality.
I'd be interested to read the thoughts of other forumites.

Perhaps a read of the 2015 honey regulations might help you?

 

[Finman]

.
Listen now comb crusher what I do with my 10 boxes.

I take away caps with pressure washer.

Then I put the box over the hive, and bees move the honey so much as they can.

Then I take the combs off with cleaner board. I spray with garden host water mist over crystals. It may dilute over night and then I give the combs again to the bees.

It needs a little bit work but the value of combs and honey pay the work back.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Even worse....
My OSR has solidified in the extractor.....
I have put the Extractor in my car in the hope that a hot sunny day will melt it...

Doh !

If you can reach the bottom of your extractor a judiciously applied strong metal spoon should enable you to get most of the set honey out and transferred into a bucket in a warming cabinet. Then a mixer with dough hooks and repeated stirring should return the honey to usable consistency.

 

[Finman]

.
I wonder why there is no "scientic" comparative test how to clean crystallized honey from combs. It would have lots of benefit to beekeepers.

I have several tricks how to do it but advices have not been the value of fixed advices.


The most easy is that you put a crystallized comb between brood combs. You do not even notice when bees clean the comb and lift the honey up to super. It is same with ivy honey.
.
The process consumes lots of bees' energy.