I have some frames of (mostly) capped honey that have crystallized after spending a Winter in the shed (oops!). I have heated them at about 90 degrees for nearly a week, but the honey hasn't turned liquid so I have not been able to extract it.
I have been advised by a beek to simply throw them away, because the bees won't be able to eat the crystallized honey if I put them above an inner cover for the bees to rob. Does that sound correct to you, or should I try and see if they can use it? I don't really care about losing the honey, but I would hate to lose the drawn out comb. Is it possible to flush out the honey with a hose perhaps?
Thanks,
John.
Try typing the word "crystallize" in the search option window (above log out). It should bring up some past and recent posts on the subject. Good luck! Hope this helps.
Try a little warmer. I'm not sure how warm wax can get, but I find that typically I don't see honey de-crystallize until I get to 105 - 110F (assuming you were using the fahrenheit scale).
If you were going into fall I'd say put them on a hive for food, but I think you are at the wrong time of year for that.
Otherwise, what I would try (but don't know how it would work!) if you leave them out during a dearth, they will likely rob out whatever they want. If there are crystals left you can spray them with water, or put the super on a hive and they will clean that out.
Rick
hi john
you must put the frames in water that is not heated to more than 38 deg celcius, so the wax wont melt, for about a day.take it out and return it to a hive and the bees will use the leftover honey and remove the suger crystals themselves. obviously uncap the comb.
you will find that the water starts to thicken after some time, use the water to feed some bees.
MMMMMYYYYYY big question is ( maybe its obvious) why does this happen. is it because of the cold?
cheers
jacques
No need to throw the frames away.
Try heating in the microwave in a clear glass bowl. Cut the wax out of the frames and crush it up in the bowl, use a microwave meat thermometer to keep track of the temperature as the mixture hats. The wax will start to melt at about 143 degrees. Sometimes I have to go up to about 190 degrees before the wax and honey fully separate. By then the honey should be liquefied and the wax will harden on top and you can separate the two, then feed the honey back to the bees if you don't like honey that has been heated.
Bees eat crystallized honey all the time. I would give them to a hive for winter feed and forget about it.
Ditto on letting the bees clean it up.