Sugar syrup question

[simonforeman]

Ok may be a little early yet but getting organised.....

I understand theres lots of ways to make up sugar syrup... warm water / cold water etc.. how does everybody make theirs up?

How long does it last when made up please before it splits or ferments? Looks like I will have expanded this year and have around 8 hives to possibly feed. I may need to get ahead in making it up nearer the time to fit in with work etc.

What Thermol qty do you add and where can you buy it please

 

[Murox]

Browse this
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6513

 

[pargyle]

Oh no ... It can't be sugar syrup time already ...guaranteed to start a long and fractious thread destined for the under stairs cupboard ... it's only a matter of time before the annual question is asked about how to mix 2:1 ...

 

[Walrus]

Oh no ... It can't be sugar syrup time already ...guaranteed to start a long and fractious thread destined for the under stairs cupboard ... it's only a matter of time before the annual question is asked about how to mix 2:1 ...

So this is how we make beginners feel comfortable asking advice in the Beginners Section?!

 

[pargyle]

So this is how we make beginners feel comfortable asking advice in the Beginners Section?!

Do you want me to post it again ?

Where is the humour button ... the OP is not beginner and if he's been here over one winter he will have seen the annual shennanigans over the SYRUP question ...

Humourless moderating ...

 

[Walrus]

Do you want me to post it again ?

Where is the humour button ... the OP is not beginner and if he's been here over one winter he will have seen the annual shennanigans over the SYRUP question ...

Humourless moderating ...

Calm yourself man.

 

[Millet]

So this is how we make beginners feel comfortable asking advice in the Beginners Section?!

Perfect..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ok may be a little early yet but getting organised.....

I understand theres lots of ways to make up sugar syrup... warm water / cold water etc.. how does everybody make theirs up?

How long does it last when made up please before it splits or ferments? Looks like I will have expanded this year and have around 8 hives to possibly feed. I may need to get ahead in making it up nearer the time to fit in with work etc.

What Thermol qty do you add and where can you buy it please

You will want heavy syrup (2:1) for winter feeding, it won't go off for months (In fact, before now I've had forgotten 2:1 which lasted years.
Remember that the mix doesn't have to be bang on (the bees won't refuse it if it's a little thinner)
I just buy in invert syrup now - life's too short to spend hours mixing syrup. But when I did, pretty simple, big pan, pile in sugar, add hot water, stir, give a bit of heat if necessary (2:1 syrup is near to saturation point so can take a while to dissolve)
Just make sure it's totally dissolved or crystals can reform
2:1 is 2 pounds sugar to 1 pint water, it doesn't work very well with 2 kilos sugar to one litre water as there isn't enough water so use about 2 KG to 1.2L

Look in the stickies section for Hivemaker's thymol emulsion recipe

 

[Dexterboy]

I don't know if mine is the right or wrong way but for the 2 1/2 months I've been beekeeping all I do is 1.5 (1.5kg) bags of white sugar in a bowl the night before I feed them, cover the sugar by about 3cm with boiling water and stir every 5mins until it's desolved, leave it overnight to cool then take it up in a bottle, it normally makes about 4.5pint, the bees seem to like it I think and it's normally gone in about 1 1/2 days, I'm sure it's probably not the textbook method but it seems to work for them.

 

[ShinySideUp]

I've made up 1:1 sugar syrup in the past and it has gone mouldy quite quickly. I believe one can add thymol to stop this?

 

[Antipodes]

I often use 3 parts sugar to 2 parts water, (the water having just boiled). I then add a pinch of ascorbic acid and a pinch of salt.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I've made up 1:1 sugar syrup in the past and it has gone mouldy quite quickly. I believe one can add thymol to stop this?

Why would you add thymol to 1:1?
Its for instant use so needs no preservative
Strong syrup doesn't either.


2:1
Robust plastic jerry can with a mark three quarters of the way up
Fill to mark with sugar
Add hot water to mark
All done

Better still buy invert

 

[For want of a better word]

After years of boiling water in Burco boilers we opted for the sump pump 50 gallon drum mixer.... now have a burnt out Burco and several burned out sump pumps!

Bought a Draper Expert plaster paddle mixer and in process of building a cold water system.
We add thymol once ready to use as it prevents the sugar growing mold .... and may have a side affect on nosema and even chalk brood?
2 kilo of white granulated sugar to 1 liter of clean water.

Supplements the ton of invert.

Probably overkill for the 2 hive hobbyist.... but some 2 hive hobbyists become 1000 hive Beefarmers, so not exactly irreverent!

Chons da

 

[Beefriendly]

Why would you add thymol to 1:1?
Its for instant use so needs no preservative
Strong syrup doesn't either.

Depends how long you are going to store it before use. 1:1 goes mouldy pretty quickly.
I usually keep a gallon of of 1:1 + Thymol at each apiary for any emergency feeding. It remains unmouldy all year round

 

[maz0]

Better still buy invert

Why is that better than doing it on your own? Massive cost savings doing it DIY.

22 litres of Invertbee is £36.99 excluding shipping. Works out at £1.68 per litre, an 8 litre miller feeder will cost £13.44 to fill, so £107 quid for OP's 8 hives.

Invertbee is advertised as %50 fructose and glucose, so not sure if that's 1:1 or 2:1 but sounds like 1:1.

Sugar can be bought for 50p per kilo. 1kg/1litre water makes an 8 litre miller cost £4 to fill each, £32 for OP's 8 hives.

For the difference in that price, he could buy a whole new poly hive!

Making your own is a no brainer!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Why is that better than doing it on your own? Massive cost savings doing it DIY.

22 litres of Invertbee is £36.99 excluding shipping. Works out at £1.68 per litre, an 8 litre miller feeder will cost £13.44 to fill, so £107 quid for OP's 8 hives.

Invertbee is advertised as %50 fructose and glucose, so not sure if that's 1:1 or 2:1 but sounds like 1:1.

Sugar can be bought for 50p per kilo. 1kg/1litre water makes an 8 litre miller cost £4 to fill each, £32 for OP's 8 hives.

For the difference in that price, he could buy a whole new poly hive!

Making your own is a no brainer!

Depends where you buy your invert, and how eager your supplier is to rip you off.

Invert syrup is even thicker than 2:1 probably more like 3:1, because of it's even lower water content, you can feed it later, the bees find it easier to assimilate as it is already part inverted and the stores won't ferment if they cannot finish processing it when it gets too cold.
If you only have a few hives, fair enough, mix sugar unless you know of a supplier who will sell invert at an honest price (there are a few) but when the number of hives you have mounts up, you will find that there is more to life than panic buying in Lidl and stirring sugar.
No brainer.

 

[maz0]

Depends where you buy your invert, and how eager your supplier is to rip you off.

Invert syrup is even thicker than 2:1 probably more like 3:1, because of it's even lower water content, you can feed it later, the bees find it easier to assimilate as it is already part inverted and the stores won't ferment if they cannot finish processing it when it gets too cold.
If you only have a few hives, fair enough, mix sugar unless you know of a supplier who will sell invert at an honest price (there are a few) but when the number of hives you have mounts up, you will find that there is more to life than panic buying in Lidl and stirring sugar.
No brainer.

Don't fart around at Lidl...

BFP - 500kg delivered for free by pallet for £200.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Why is that better than doing it on your own? Massive cost savings doing it DIY.

22 litres of Invertbee is £36.99 excluding shipping. Works out at £1.68 per litre, an 8 litre miller feeder will cost £13.44 to fill, so £107 quid for OP's 8 hives.

Invertbee is advertised as %50 fructose and glucose, so not sure if that's 1:1 or 2:1 but sounds like 1:1.

Sugar can be bought for 50p per kilo. 1kg/1litre water makes an 8 litre miller cost £4 to fill each, £32 for OP's 8 hives.

For the difference in that price, he could buy a whole new poly hive!

Making your own is a no brainer!

I’m lazy for one and I agree with JBM’s reasons too

 

[thedozzer]

Some associations buy invert in bulk and sell at a very good price, so another option for us hobby bee keepers.

 

[bingevader]

Depending on where you are on the Haver of Bees - Commercial Beekeeper continuum, you might also consider just leaving the bees enough honey and not have to worry about feeding at all.