How To: Frame Rehabilitation: Step 1, Melt Comb Out of Frames
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- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Here's how I melt ugly comb out of frames and make them ready to be reused.
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When a young man we kept bees as did others in our area,dad bought a vertical wood/coal fired boiler and I reflued it All the local beekeepers got together and we melted the old comb and bad frames in a steam box it was 10-12' long. Quick work and the old junk frames made awesome fuel for the fire.
Neato.
Hi, it's Akshay from India. 😊 Thank you so much for your demonstration.
Thanks for video
Thankyou for this information Solomon! You are very helpful!
Happy to help.
Amazing looking frames for a swarm trap.
Do you mean filled frames?
Could you use the solar melter to do this? You could put a few frames in at a time, use a passive energy from the sun, change a few frames out over the afternoon, it would probably take the same amount of time as this, but do both processes at once.
Solar melting takes far far longer. Nothing carries heat like water. If you stick your had in 150 degree air, it just feels hot. 150 degree water will scald you near instantly. Plus you're left with the mess of cocoons, those don't melt. You still have to clean them out of the frames.
Can you use this equipment be used to kill AFB spores in the wax, so that you could use the wax again, clear of the disease? I understand that AFB will die around 150 - 170 degrees. What do you know please?
You can use any melted wax, it encapsulates the spores. AFB spores are ubiquitous in pretty much all hives. They are part of the biology of the hive. A proper balance of biological action in the hive keeps AFB in check, as well as hygienic bees. If you're trying to sterilize equipment wax dipping is a good option, but that's with paraffin, not beeswax. Beeswax scorches at 180F and turns brown. You need to get paraffin up above water boiling temp to dip boxes.
You talk about using wood heat. How about a rocket stove (burns wood) to heat the water. More heat focuses on the tank. Just a thought.
That would be awesome. I'm a fan of rocket stoves. I would have to set it into the ground to have the tank at working level, but it would be nice to do this with less wood burning at once, more efficient, no smoke, and able to burn out quicker. Also could be useful for other things, like outdoor cooking.
are you worried about the fishing line melting or leeching chemicals when you dip the frame? or maybe youre using metal supports cant tell
No, only want water at around 160 to 180 F. Not hot enough to boil, doesn't seem to have much effect on the fishing line from FatBeeMan frames. I don't personally use fishing line, but I do use plastic frames. They work really well in honey supers.
@@wiredforstereo may i ask you what you do to combat the bees building away from the plastic? i have a few plastic frames that ive brushed with wax to get them started but the majority of plastic ive seen from my bees and others have a weird building pattern. The bees build away as to double the 'bee space' and make layer of wax they can tuck behind... does that make sense i can find a pic and send it to you. Do you have other social media? Im backroadsapiary on instagram maybe we can message there
@@mmogg4045 Yes, find me on Facebook, or email me, info on my website.
man! that is one cool container! I NEED I NEED!!!--Mann Lake should make those!
Bee Bob easily fixed with a double burner, or how I usually do it, with a small wood fire. Just couldn't do a fire at this location because it was a rented house with no kind of fire pit.
Bee Bob That's correct. I use a candy thermometer to keep things under control. Beeswax should not be heated higher than 180 or it will scorch and change color.
Could you just soak a few frames at a time to soften up the wax and then swish them around? I mean they could soak off the old nasty wax while you do a few other ones, it may go faster then an hour.... kind of like dishes clean better once you soak them.
You could, probably would work with a larger tank though.
put them in the freezer first, the comb becomes very fragile
You can burn wax? I did not know that good to know
Yes, you can "scorch" it or whatever you want to call it. If it gets over 180 it can turn orange or brown. Still wax, but less aesthetically pleasing. I forget what temperature it will spontaneously catch fire. I always try to have water in whatever container I'm heating it with, that way it can never get above boiling temperature.
Brilliant!!! Thankyou!!!
"I don't have a fancy nickname"
Not yet at least!
I think that ship has sailed.
Wouldn't it be quicker and easier to start with straight hot tap water instead of trying to heat up cold water? It would save a lot of time and propane. Also, since the tub you are using is twice the size of the burner, why not use two burners? That would double the heat output, and should have no trouble keeping the water hot enough.
Of course. Just didn't have a tap in the back yard. I also use wood heat when possible, even cheaper and faster, but less controllable.
Would.it warp the plastic foundation(snap on)...I may have to give this a try.
I don't think so, you don't want to get the temp too high, 165 shouldn't cause too many problems, but one way to find out.
Treatment-Free Beekeeping that's what I was thinking about. I'll Try one and see what happens, more efficient than scraping and scraping the old comb.
I realize that this is 5 years later and I'm wondering how it worked? @@franciscomacias9603
Great Video!
Y don’t u put two more while u work on one by itself
Have to hold on to them or risk burning myself.
were bee suit?
rodney adams Not usually necessary. Bees attracted to melted comb find themselves part of it.
it my lucky day your online right now. got few questions if don't mind. how do know what combs to leave for next year and what combs to harvest honey. witch get wax. do most bees die and rehatch from eggs kinda like butterflies or are there live bees in hive though out winter.
also like how much honey and wax can safe harvest from one hive with out hurt bee. is what wanting know. think do candle making and try guess how many candles make with out hurt 1 hive to much. I'm in country but lot house near buy so not want have to many hives if do decide do this.
rodney adams Bees only live six weeks. So I'm not concerned much about hurting them. How much you can harvest is completely based on the location and management style. There is no way I can tell you what you will be able to do. It will be cheaper to buy the honey and wax.
@@rodney73991 In warmer areas you can get away with leaving the bees a single deep box over winter. In colder/northern areas you might need more than that, I'm not sure how much since I don't live up there. When harvesting honey you'll take however many honey supers there are off (the bees will have to be removed from these boxes before harvesting) and that's the honey you get. Most hives will downsize a bit and the bees will be live through the winter, but if there are too few they can freeze, and if there's not enough food they can starve. In taking wax I like to leave the wax in until it's dark brown, taking all the wax a hive makes through the year means more work early on and less honey made. Whichever you value more will inform that decision of how much wax you take and when you take it. If you know anyone who keeps bees you could ask them for help or what they do. Management strategies can vary a whole lot across states. If you don't know anyone there should be beekeeping associations you can visit and ask questions. There's also many good youtube videos and websites.