Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Harpman on September 19, 2006, 10:45:29 PM

Title: How much wax ?
Post by: Harpman on September 19, 2006, 10:45:29 PM
We are about to get started with Bees, thinking maybe 3 hives.We live in west central Georgia...wondering about how much wax I can expect from a hive in a year, and roughly how much honey.
Thanks
Ron
Title: How much wax ?
Post by: Brian D. Bray on September 20, 2006, 12:12:20 AM
Wax is a amassed as a result of extracting the honey.  How much depends on you total harvest.  The cappings from several supers may not weigh much more than a pound.  Honey harvest depends on a lot of factors.  I never predict a honey harvest for a newbe beekeeper as much is spent learning and building up the hive in order to successfully winter it.
Title: How much wax ?
Post by: Michael Bush on September 23, 2006, 03:16:02 PM
Even if you harvested ALL the wax here's the basic formula:

From Beeswax Production, Harvesting, Processing and Products, Coggshall and Morse pg 41

   "A pound (0.4536 kg.) of beeswax, when made into comb, will hold 22 pounds (10 kg.) of honey. In an unsupported comb the stress on the topmost cells is the greatest; a comb one foot (30 cm.) deep supports 1320 times its own weight in honey."