Wax freshness

[jimbeekeeper]

I have 50 new sealed sheets of wax ready for the new season, to be made into frames.

Am I best leaving theses sheets sealed for freshness for as long as possible before I need them, or will they be OK made up into frames now?

 

[Heather]

Chill out- dont rush- fresh is best. They will harden slightly as they are exposed to air and the bees prefer new. Lots of time in the New Year

 

[Finman]

.
Nothing worry about freshness. 5 years old is OK.
Don't ask from bees what they prefer or like.

If wax is bad, bees bite it off and build new combs. That happens in cases if combs are old or wax is mold spoiled.
I have never met too bad foundation.


.

 

[Heather]

But I have done some early and it went brittle and the bees ignored till quite late on in their building of comb. - just my experience

 

[Finman]

But I have done some early and it went brittle

If foundation is very cold, it is brittle. It should be +25C before you may put it in wires.

I have continuously several years old foundations when I let provider make to me foundations from wax.

I have read too that if wax is too pure made from white capping wax, it is brittle.

If you give foundations in wrong time, they will draw them. OR if the hive is planning swarming, it does not draw foundations.

Just my 40 years experience

 

[Wendy122]

Try this.

Old foundation can have a bloom on the surface.

Dump it in a bucket of warm water. (Not hot enough to melt). Lift it out and it will look and smell revived.

W

 

[Heather]

Thanks for those tips. Have to bring it in from the shed to a spare room indoors - That will emit groans from 'im indoors as I spread stuff further! Still finding propolis on the kitchen floor tiles - where does it come from - even in winter

 

[Finman]

from the shed to a spare room indoors - :

It is better store outdoors because it makes bad odor inside.
I store in my outstore which has frost -20C in winter. It makes nothing.
Usually I have tens of kilos it in store.

But just when you put them into framesm foundation need to be soft and flexible that it lays down evenly on wires. It needs +25C. Twenty is not enough.

I do not mind about blooming = grey dust on surface

When ready combs are in cold store over winter, it blooms too. I am nnot worry about it.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

.

Dump it in a bucket of warm water. (Not hot enough to melt). Lift it out and it will look and smell revived.

W

will this work for the mother-in-law as well

But back to beekeeping!

I am not thinking about make them up right now, but a little bit more in advance than this year when I ended up trying to make them all in a mad panic on finding I needed to do AS's

 

[BKF Admin]

I found about a teaspoon of honey in the boot of my car that has now spread to a 200ft radius of the house on everything I have touched.

I cant belive how far it goes !

Thanks for the water tip Wendy,I have a few packets of white bloom foundation that is a couple of years old.

 

[BKF Admin]

will this work for the mother-in-law as well

No its better to drive a stake through her heart while having garlic around the neck and holding a crucifix.

 

[Heather]

Just bee aware -there are a few mother-in-laws on line here - we know where you live

 

[Finman]

.
My friend puts foundations on sun warmed surface outside. When sun warms them up, they are ready to put into frames too. Bloom goes away in the heat of sun.

 

[Heather]

Stop showing off Just because you get sun in Finland

 

[Finman]

.
Bees start to draw foundations at the beginning of June. Sun will apear before that.

 

[artibaton]

i have inherited my old mans (cracked) foundation press and about 1.5kg of 20-25 yr old wax...which i have filtered and cleaned.....is this stuff still viable or should i just make polish out of it....to my v inexperienced eye it looks smells and feels fine.

 

[artibaton]

also....is it just me or are most of us not working today.....friday??

 

[Heather]

You been to UK recently !! Summer was over by that time this year just gone

But I take your point and we will do our best . Sunshine and fresh air heals most things

 

[Finman]

i have inherited my old mans (cracked) foundation press and about 1.5kg of 20-25 yr old wax.

I have used 25 years old combs in my hives. I don't know. In UK everything try to be so different, but to what direction?

 

[mrDoe]

also....is it just me or are most of us not working today.....friday??

Nope, I'm at work

I'd use the wax IF I was confident it would not have chemical residues from long past treatments. That said I've no idea what those treatments might or might not be, maybe some of the beeks who were around that long ago can shed light on what might be in your old wax.


Peter
Cambridge UK