I just found a great deal on a chest freezer on Craigslist, so I can finally freeze my unused drawn comb and honey frames!
Question: can I freeze frames that are wet? It is still cool and damp in Seattle and despite staggering my (dead out) hives on the sunny days, the frames are still really wet. Some have open nectar, some have areas of damp mold.
I know the bees can clean them up once the hives are strong enough, but that won't be for a bit (new nucs come on Saturday.) Can I freeze them as is, and then give them to the bees later (when the hives are stronger and the weather should be dryer?)
I have quite a few frames of honey and brood comb that I'm hoping to save.
Thanks!
Dawn
Dawn Bustanoby
Seattle, WA
http://www.playapixie.org
Question: can I freeze frames that are wet?
Sure - freezing won't damage the wax, and everything else will be held more-or-less 'as is' until the combs are thawed - which presumably will only be in a month or so ? I have a freezer half-full of partially capped combs, but loaded with nectar etc., which I'll be 'donating' any time soon.
Just make sure that the frames are stored vertically, so that the nectar doesn't drip out.
If you ever get short of storage space, then treat any completely empty combs to a 24hr dose of freezer - to kill any wax moth larva - then remove and store in a sealed plastic bag or similar.
LJ
All this talk of putting frames in freezers prompted me to check on my own stash ...
Here's an example of a foundationless brood comb - almost 100% perfect worker cells, and dead straight. When I look at something like that, I really wonder why folks bother with foundation:
(http://i66.tinypic.com/2h5tl5z.jpg)
Now that comb may have looked empty - but just lying it down for a photograph was enough to cause some dripping ...
(http://i65.tinypic.com/1zyhv7k.jpg)
And here's another brood comb - a much bigger one at 14" x 12" - where a good wodge of honey has been stored at the top. BTW - the 'shotgun' pattern of white cells around the brood area are dried, hardened pollen - the girls will carve those cells out and re-build them from the mid-rib.
(http://i63.tinypic.com/vxjfnm.jpg)
The bottom corner hasn't been built-up yet, as that frame was from a hive with a bottom entrance running cold-way - but again, more-or-less perfect worker cells on a lovely straight comb.
Oh well ... back to the freezer with 'em.
LJ
cold wax is wicked brittle .....make sure you handle them with care and stack them carefully in the freezer especially foundationless its really easy to snap a chunk off....i speak from experience :-)
Quote from: little john on April 15, 2016, 05:46:13 AM
All this talk of putting frames in freezers prompted me to check on my own stash ...
Here's an example of a foundationless brood comb - almost 100% perfect worker cells, and dead straight. When I look at something like that, I really wonder why folks bother with foundation:
(http://i66.tinypic.com/2h5tl5z.jpg)
Now that comb may have looked empty - but just lying it down for a photograph was enough to cause some dripping ...
(http://i65.tinypic.com/1zyhv7k.jpg)
And here's another brood comb - a much bigger one at 14" x 12" - where a good wodge of honey has been stored at the top. BTW - the 'shotgun' pattern of white cells around the brood area are dried, hardened pollen - the girls will carve those cells out and re-build them from the mid-rib.
(http://i63.tinypic.com/vxjfnm.jpg)
The bottom corner hasn't been built-up yet, as that frame was from a hive with a bottom entrance running cold-way - but again, more-or-less perfect worker cells on a lovely straight comb.
Oh well ... back to the freezer with 'em.
LJ
What are those horizontal support lines? I assume you put them in when the frame was bare? How strong are they, enough to extract in a machine?
I wish I had known to reinforce. I gotta be real delicate handling a full deep frame. :/
60 lb monofilament (nylon) fishing line - held in place by drawing pins (thumb tacks).
I run 3 lines across 9" deep frames, and 4 across 12" - some folks use fewer, but I'd rather not skimp - it's cheap enough stuff after all ...
Once the comb is fully drawn it becomes superfluous of course - but very handy to have in place during those early days. Here's a shot of what I'd call a 'worst-case scenario' from a support point-of-view:
(http://i68.tinypic.com/51ri1c.jpg)
Without the support, I'd have had to be uber-careful when handling that frame ...
Sorry, no experience of extraction - I only run brood combs. There's not enough nectar around here for a honey crop, so I produce nucs and queens only. But I'd guess fishing line would be ok with shallow frames in an extractor.
LJ