😂 That's funny. SO many times when making a video I do not find what I'm looking for and it is so frustrating. Good point. "Bummer, now I have to harvest all this stupid honey" 🙃
Had the same experience with the honey fermentation when i first started bee keeping. Bought a refractometer pretty soon after that. Definitely a good purchase.
I'm wondering how one or two partially capped frames with a high moisture content (such as you showed) affects a box full or batch of honey when it is all mixed together after extraction. Surely the moisture content is averaged out after extraction? if we have 3 frames at 18% 3 frames at 19% and 2 outside frames at 26% would this average out at over 20%? I think having a small amount (1 or 2 frames) of high moisture content honey would probably not affect the final batch to the point where it was likely to ferment.
Great! Remember when you test your maple syrup, you can use your honey refractometer BUT, you have to use the BRIX center scale for your maple syrup. And with maple syrup, less that 66% BRIX can spoil, ferment and make you sick. More than 68.9 can crystallize. I measured my maple syrup and it was 67.9. But honey has to use the Water % NOT Brix.
Good information! My husband and I are new to beekeeping and watch your videos all the time. We also got your book (autographed :D ). The honey glazed carrot recipe was amazing! Thanks for helping spread your knowledge.
I never had a refractometer back in the early 80's, I recently opened a jar from that time and tested it. It showed 16% water content and had a delicate flavour.
This is the first time I have heard of checking the water content of cells and how to do it. Excellent information and off to checkout this useful tool. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
How would you know they are not getting them from Amazon or having Amazon blind ship it?? Big bee companies sell them for just under $100. Not sure if it is the same model or a "better" model.
Most RUclipsrs see what videos did well by others and then make one to outdo another one. It is hard to be creative. To be a creative adult means that the child in us survived. 😄
David do you ever use queen excluder? When should one be used? My experience has found it harder to get the bees started in a super with the excluder. Thanks
Hi David. wonderful video as always. I purchased a refractometer and they sent me the wrong one, even though it showed a honeycomb on it. i didn't bother returning it as to me it's not worth the drive to get a new package and send it back. Just the fuel alone would cost me almost the price of it. I was very disappointed as i felt misled by the company that poorly advertised it on Amazon. So i just bought another one from a different company and made sure it said Honey in the words. contrary to what you stated in the video, I did have to calibrate it. Maybe the company that you get your's from are pre-calibrated. Also the instructions were for honey they didn't show the percentage of water to oil on the manual. I finally found it on the bottle not before calibrating it with extra virgin olive oil. After doing that and finding out the percentage of the oil supplied. I did the test again. It was accurate to the Olive oil. So I just want to warn people buying this to really check that they get what they're asking for and not a sugar test kit.lol. love your video's and have just about seen everyone you have made. Keep up the good work. It really does help noobs like me. And this is our first season. I will buy your course when you offer the 50% off thing. Not that I'm stingy, but i have over spent lately on Bee equipment and my wifes course with a local class. looking forward to more video's as you have got me happily hooked. Kind regards to you and crew. Terry Johansson. Ps I know this vid was made a year ago. :)
I'm not an expert in how to use fermented honey, so I was only speaking to selling it to customers. Good point that deserves more input from other subscribers
I'm new to beekeeping. Very informative video. Thanks! Our first honey harvest was last year and some of the honey crystalized in the jars over time--is this because of the water content?
No, honey is a super saturated compound of glucose and fructose and all natural, unprocessed honey can crystalize under the right conditions. It is the glucose amount that leads to honey crystallization. This DOES NOT make it bad. It is fine. Different floral sources have different ratios between glucose and fructose.
I use a refractometer to test my jams/brix test so this i understand about the moisture content in the honey. I haven't collected from my hive yet , so this is how i'm learning about honey. This refractometer is worth it,since i went to college for food processing for the science part, the price has gotten a lot cheaper now. When we had ours for the brix they were hundreds of dollars
A subject that I feel would be beneficial to your patrons and viewers is "blended honey"! I personally don't care for the flavor of it, especially when I compare it to local pure honey. What I want to know is: (1) what blended honey is (2) why do they blend it and (3) what effect does blended honey have on the normal health benefits of locally grown honey and lastly (4) am I wrong or does blended honey taste less appetizing? Thanks for your very helpful and instructive videos. I am not in a position to begin raising bees again (my father did when I was young and I learned much from him) as my Dad and I did for years. The best honey I remember was harvesting wild bee trees in the 50's and 60's. I am new to your channel but quite the fan.
Thank you Wayne for your kind comments and questions. I can give you my observation and opinion of blended honey. But I'm certain, there are different definition to qualify blended honey. To me, blended honey is when honey sellers secure contracts from many different honey producers around the US and blend all the various honey into one. I would assume they blend it for mass volume. Regarding the health benefits, I doubt if that part changes unless it is ultra filtered. Ragweed in Illinois is probably like other ragweed throughout the country, at least allergic responses. Of course it DOES NOT taste the same once it has been blended and stored and sits on grocery shelves when compared to some honey comb right out of the hive.
Hey David. Love your videos. I'm a newbie in Lake City, FL. Some of the frames my bees drew out we're ugly and started falling apart when we harvested. What are your thoughts on nine frame spacing in the honey super? Thanks.
@@beek I was surprised that it was at 19 after so long. Where I am, the wildflower honey is difficult to dry down to 19 by harvest. So I have to make sure I don't harvest ANY uncapped frames.
Dave I took the sugar water feeder out do I take the board that holds the sugar feeder out also and what do I do with the hole that’s in the middle of it if I do leave it in
I bought a refractometer after my honey harvest to verify the jars are good. I also use one in automotive for antifreeze and battery acid, there are also some testers for other uses.. 25 bucks is far less than a hive box lol
Nitty question here - the refractometer shows blue on top, and white on the bottom, with a gradient band between. This band can represent 1 to 1-1/2% variance. Your images show the arrow at the top of the gradient, but your verbal comments seem to indicate the mid or bottom of the gradient. Which one is the most accurate representation of the actual moisture?
Good question. The results are located at the exact separation between the white and blue line. I must have been in too much of a hurry and just dropped the arrow kinda close.
Hi Dave - love your videos, they have been super informative and helpful for me. I have a question about harvesting royal jelly. I know a guy that is wearing me out about harvesting royal jelly but what I have seen doesn't look like a very sustainable or maybe ethical way to interact with bees. Thoughts? Also, HK VP9 is perfection, not the Austrian toy.
Hi Brian, glad you enjoy the videos. Royal Jelly would be a TON of work. You'd have to essentially graft, start raising queens, then kill the larvae a few days later and steal their royal jelly. Nope, I personally can't do that.
I was wondering if you have tested marking hives with colors different from each other. Some people claim it helps mating queens not go back to the wrong hive and helps with other wandering problems. But I haven't seen anyone say they actually tested it, or that they had data on their conclusions. Thought it'd be fun to see what you thought.
Bees do not see the strong contrasting colors we see. In my mating yards I always prefer shapes. Bees always can determine shapes before colors. Place a black circle on one mating nuc and a black triangle on the other and shazam it helps!
THAT SHIRT…Dave I want one. Please make some up to sell so we can help support your channel !!!
Wow, thanks Mike! I will see what others say in the comments and I might just do that!!
I'd buy one
I'd buy one too
Fantastic info, like science class! thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for watching my videos my friend.
that spider walking on box side lol
I saw that in the edit room and wanted to see how many people noticed it. So funny.
Thank you for making me laugh with your enthusiasm.
I just received mine from Amazon and it is great! Your video was extremely helpful!
This is the first time I've seen a beekeeper seem a little bummed about fully capped honey supers. 🤣😅🐝🐝👑
😂 That's funny. SO many times when making a video I do not find what I'm looking for and it is so frustrating. Good point. "Bummer, now I have to harvest all this stupid honey" 🙃
Had the same experience with the honey fermentation when i first started bee keeping. Bought a refractometer pretty soon after that. Definitely a good purchase.
Yup, thanks for sharing. It's a bummer when you realize all the honey is ruined from too much moisture.
I had a Refractometer on my wish list and got one as a gift. I love using mine, takes the guesswork out of "Is my honey ready?"
Awesome to hear
Loved this episode! As a new beekeeper this was so informative. I'll definitely be purchasing a refractomer.
Thanks Josh!
Crackin' me up licking the refractometer😋😋😜
I'm wondering how one or two partially capped frames with a high moisture content (such as you showed) affects a box full or batch of honey when it is all mixed together after extraction. Surely the moisture content is averaged out after extraction? if we have 3 frames at 18% 3 frames at 19% and 2 outside frames at 26% would this average out at over 20%? I think having a small amount (1 or 2 frames) of high moisture content honey would probably not affect the final batch to the point where it was likely to ferment.
Definitely on my beekeeping list to purchase. Refractometer is going to be helpful for maple syrup season too! Thanks
Great! Remember when you test your maple syrup, you can use your honey refractometer BUT, you have to use the BRIX center scale for your maple syrup. And with maple syrup, less that 66% BRIX can spoil, ferment and make you sick. More than 68.9 can crystallize. I measured my maple syrup and it was 67.9. But honey has to use the Water % NOT Brix.
I definitely need one of those..
This is my first year of beekeeping. Thank you Dave for this information.
Very welcome
Good information! My husband and I are new to beekeeping and watch your videos all the time. We also got your book (autographed :D ). The honey glazed carrot recipe was amazing! Thanks for helping spread your knowledge.
Thank you so much Megan, so nice of your to say.
I never had a refractometer back in the early 80's, I recently opened a jar from that time and tested it. It showed 16% water content and had a delicate flavour.
This is the first time I have heard of checking the water content of cells and how to do it. Excellent information and off to checkout this useful tool. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Another great video Dave!~Beginners Adam and Mary in NH
Thanks guys!
We don't shop with amazon. Any other good priced good quality refractometers from other websites?
How would you know they are not getting them from Amazon or having Amazon blind ship it?? Big bee companies sell them for just under $100. Not sure if it is the same model or a "better" model.
Hah, interesting. You found something to talk about that others aren't. Thumbs up on creativity!
Most RUclipsrs see what videos did well by others and then make one to outdo another one. It is hard to be creative. To be a creative adult means that the child in us survived. 😄
@@beek hahaha. Also I like the avoiding enmity too. But yes you are right.
Or maybe we never really grow up? haha.
David do you ever use queen excluder? When should one be used? My experience has found it harder to get the bees started in a super with the excluder. Thanks
Thanks Steve. That will have to be my next video!!
@@beek please I was wondering the same thing! Looking forward to the video!
Hi David. wonderful video as always. I purchased a refractometer and they sent me the wrong one, even though it showed a honeycomb on it. i didn't bother returning it as to me it's not worth the drive to get a new package and send it back. Just the fuel alone would cost me almost the price of it.
I was very disappointed as i felt misled by the company that poorly advertised it on Amazon. So i just bought another one from a different company and made sure it said Honey in the words.
contrary to what you stated in the video, I did have to calibrate it. Maybe the company that you get your's from are pre-calibrated.
Also the instructions were for honey they didn't show the percentage of water to oil on the manual. I finally found it on the bottle not before calibrating it with extra virgin olive oil. After doing that and finding out the percentage of the oil supplied. I did the test again. It was accurate to the Olive oil. So I just want to warn people buying this to really check that they get what they're asking for and not a sugar test kit.lol.
love your video's and have just about seen everyone you have made. Keep up the good work. It really does help noobs like me. And this is our first season.
I will buy your course when you offer the 50% off thing. Not that I'm stingy, but i have over spent lately on Bee equipment and my wifes course with a local class.
looking forward to more video's as you have got me happily hooked.
Kind regards to you and crew. Terry Johansson.
Ps I know this vid was made a year ago. :)
I know it's not ideal, but if it does happen is it really ruined? There are recipes for fermented honey and honey vinegar. Can it not be salvaged?
I'm not an expert in how to use fermented honey, so I was only speaking to selling it to customers. Good point that deserves more input from other subscribers
Interesting!
My refractometer from Amazon was out of calibration but only takes a few minutes. I recommend calibration every month or two.
Very useful information
Thanks Richard
Interesting , learnt something on this video .
I'm new to beekeeping. Very informative video. Thanks! Our first honey harvest was last year and some of the honey crystalized in the jars over time--is this because of the water content?
No, honey is a super saturated compound of glucose and fructose and all natural, unprocessed honey can crystalize under the right conditions. It is the glucose amount that leads to honey crystallization. This DOES NOT make it bad. It is fine. Different floral sources have different ratios between glucose and fructose.
I use a refractometer to test my jams/brix test so this i understand about the moisture content in the honey. I haven't collected from my hive yet , so this is how i'm learning about honey. This refractometer is worth it,since i went to college for food processing for the science part, the price has gotten a lot cheaper now. When we had ours for the brix they were hundreds of dollars
A subject that I feel would be beneficial to your patrons and viewers is "blended honey"! I personally don't care for the flavor of it, especially when I compare it to local pure honey. What I want to know is: (1) what blended honey is
(2) why do they blend it and (3) what effect does blended honey have on the normal health benefits of locally grown honey and lastly (4) am I wrong or does blended honey taste less appetizing? Thanks for your very helpful and instructive videos. I am not in a position to begin raising bees again (my father did when I was young and I learned much from him) as my Dad and I did for years. The best honey I remember was harvesting wild bee trees in the 50's and 60's. I am new to your channel but quite the fan.
Thank you Wayne for your kind comments and questions. I can give you my observation and opinion of blended honey. But I'm certain, there are different definition to qualify blended honey. To me, blended honey is when honey sellers secure contracts from many different honey producers around the US and blend all the various honey into one. I would assume they blend it for mass volume. Regarding the health benefits, I doubt if that part changes unless it is ultra filtered. Ragweed in Illinois is probably like other ragweed throughout the country, at least allergic responses. Of course it DOES NOT taste the same once it has been blended and stored and sits on grocery shelves when compared to some honey comb right out of the hive.
Hey David. Love your videos. I'm a newbie in Lake City, FL. Some of the frames my bees drew out we're ugly and started falling apart when we harvested. What are your thoughts on nine frame spacing in the honey super? Thanks.
The second hive in the video was a 9 frame super. I like it. It does seem to make it easier to manage the frames.
I might have missed it in the video but what was the moisture when you put those frames in storage?
I may not have tested it, cannot remember but certainly it has not jumped up.
@@beek I was surprised that it was at 19 after so long. Where I am, the wildflower honey is difficult to dry down to 19 by harvest. So I have to make sure I don't harvest ANY uncapped frames.
Off subject, is there advantages or disadvantages to using med supers vs shallow supers
just used mine 17% ,kinda thin n light clover seems predominant, aming other sources,ill be rechecking the uncapped,glad i got one
Would it be any easier using a syringe to get a sample out
Great information!
Thanks so much!!
While it is true that bees reduce down the moisture, they also add enzymes to it that helps convert it to honey.
Dave I took the sugar water feeder out do I take the board that holds the sugar feeder out also and what do I do with the hole that’s in the middle of it if I do leave it in
Yes, remove it if you are not feeding.
@@beek Thank you so much for the information it’s a pleasure watching your channel
I bought a refractometer after my honey harvest to verify the jars are good. I also use one in automotive for antifreeze and battery acid, there are also some testers for other uses.. 25 bucks is far less than a hive box lol
Nitty question here - the refractometer shows blue on top, and white on the bottom, with a gradient band between. This band can represent 1 to 1-1/2% variance. Your images show the arrow at the top of the gradient, but your verbal comments seem to indicate the mid or bottom of the gradient. Which one is the most accurate representation of the actual moisture?
Good question. The results are located at the exact separation between the white and blue line. I must have been in too much of a hurry and just dropped the arrow kinda close.
Great video
Thanks!
David I am interested in becoming a beekeeper and being a successful beekeeper and help mother earth repair her self
Hi Dave - love your videos, they have been super informative and helpful for me. I have a question about harvesting royal jelly. I know a guy that is wearing me out about harvesting royal jelly but what I have seen doesn't look like a very sustainable or maybe ethical way to interact with bees. Thoughts? Also, HK VP9 is perfection, not the Austrian toy.
Hi Brian, glad you enjoy the videos. Royal Jelly would be a TON of work. You'd have to essentially graft, start raising queens, then kill the larvae a few days later and steal their royal jelly. Nope, I personally can't do that.
I was wondering if you have tested marking hives with colors different from each other. Some people claim it helps mating queens not go back to the wrong hive and helps with other wandering problems. But I haven't seen anyone say they actually tested it, or that they had data on their conclusions. Thought it'd be fun to see what you thought.
Bees do not see the strong contrasting colors we see. In my mating yards I always prefer shapes. Bees always can determine shapes before colors. Place a black circle on one mating nuc and a black triangle on the other and shazam it helps!
@@beek Very cool. Thanks.
Next video, most efficient way to clean your refractometer. 😂
Good idea!
I also saw that giant spider @ 11:30
I use a toothpick to dab the honey on the refractometer.
Yea, that grand daddy long legs had her day on RUclips 😃
Can I get some of your books for my store ?
My favorite part about using the refractometer is cleaning it 😋 I’m the only person to use it so I don’t see a problem with it 😂
That's funny. I almost deleted that part out of the video (me licking the refractometer clean) but I thought it was funny. Gotta show the true ME. 😂
@@beek I’m glad you left it in! Thank you for sharing, I truly appreciate your videos 😊
@@beek Yes, be you! I think you deserve a "taste test" :)
🐝🍯🐝
18:45 nothing goes waste :)
I thought you had to cover the whole blue surface?
Why don't you use inner covers?
Hi Sandra and thank you for asking. I cover this extensively in my recent video: ruclips.net/video/GpbQTieOVwc/видео.html
There two spiders in one of the hives !!
If you are selling honey it looks like the refractor is an essential piece of kit. Your fermenting jar could explode like a bomb worse case scenario!
Indeed!
Poor spider. Wondering if it’s still alive. 😬
Yup, I saw it walk away at the end