What to do with frames with crystallized honey

[gears303]

Hi,
there's a lot of OSR in the farmland around my hives.
My hives have come through winter without using several frames with crystallized honey.
This stuff is like concrete ... you'd need a kango hammer to extract it.
If I leave the frames out in the apiary not even the bees extract are bothered with it.
I am just wondering what other beeks do with these frames?

 

[Jules59]

I would melt it down using my steamer when Ive got enough frames to make it worthwhile.

 

[ericbeaumont]

like concrete

Yes, I have boxes and boxes of solid ivy and I want to get it shifted; plan is to wait until the main flow is over (or a heatwave stops foraging) and put them above the CB, having first put complete boxes into a tank of water, or sprayed with warm water in the shower. Put them on the hives at the quiet time of day, as dusk approaches and excited flight in response to the smell is less likely.

If done in spring on a light flow, putting boxes under the BB is a good method and robbing is much less likely: http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/clearcombstores.html. I vary Roger's method by closing the bottom entrance to avoid robbing and the dumping of good pollen into a box that will later be removed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I use all my stores frames left over from winter to feed nucs or for emergency feeding during a dearth.#
I don't see why people get their knickers in such a twist over crystalised Ivy honey - the bees cope with it fine - as they have done for the last million or so years

 

[Sutty]

Strange that people are concerned bees may be unable to use crystallised stores but expect them to use fondant...

Presumably putting crystallised frames in a warmer at 40C would liquefy it and allow extraction?

 

[jarmo henttu]

I would melt it down using my steamer when Ive got enough frames to make it worthwhile.

No, never.

You loose honey but most of all valuable combs.

I have made several times list of ways to clean the combs.
But where are those texts?

 

[jarmo henttu]

Strange that people are concerned bees may be unable to use crystallised stores but expect them to use fondant...

Presumably putting crystallised frames in a warmer at 40C would liquefy it and allow extraction?

You cannot liguefy crystallized combs any more.

 

[Sutty]

You cannot liguefy crystallized combs any more.

I'm curious why not. It liquifies a bucket full, why not a frame full?

 

[jarmo henttu]

Hi,
there's a lot of OSR in the farmland around my hives.
My hives have come through winter without using several frames with crystallized honey.
This stuff is like concrete ... you'd need a kango hammer to extract it.
If I leave the frames out in the apiary not even the bees extract are bothered with it.
I am just wondering what other beeks do with these frames?

The most easy way to clean those combs is go give 4 combs to the artificual swarm.

You make an artificial swarm and you put the new hive
5 fondations, 4 crystallized combs and one brood frame. And the queen.
Put brood frame innrhe middke of crysrallized frames.

After a week bees have cleaned combs and the queen has layed the combs. And the cleaned combs are full of brood. And foundation are drawn.

2 AS and 8 frames will be cleaned.

 

[jarmo henttu]

I'm curious why not. It liquifies a bucket full, why not a frame full?

But those wax combs. They will be collapsed.
I have tried.

 

[ericbeaumont]

bees may be unable to use crystallised stores but expect them to use fondant

Crystallised honey appears to be made of two sorts of crystals: the ones that bees eat easily in winter by diluting with condensation or water, and the big crystals that they chuck out in spring.

The big crystals always take longer to dissolve by warming, by which time, as Finman pointed out, the weight and warmth will collapse the comb; expect that fondant is made of universal small crystals.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I have tried melting honey out of comb. It doesn't work and the comb collapses in most cases and isn't worth the effort.
You can put a super under a brood box with an excluder and entrance in between (close the entrance in the floor). Bees don't like food below them and will draw any crystallised stuff up. You might need to squirt the open honey with water (plant squirter in the apiary is easy to carry there) to make it easier for the bees to get it out after a week or two. It works well during the June Gap.

 

[jarmo henttu]

I have tried melting honey out of comb. It doesn't work and the comb collapses in most cases and isn't worth the effort.
You can put a super under a brood box with an excluder and entrance in between (close the entrance in the floor). Bees don't like food below them and will draw any crystallised stuff up. You might need to squirt the open honey with water (plant squirter in the apiary is easy to carry there) to make it easier for the bees to get it out after a week or two. It works well during the June Gap.

To wash honey from combs with water is better that destroying whole combs.

When you soak the frames into 40C water, capping first off, let them be to next day, you can then shake the combs empty.