Rewaxing frames

[jholland]

Has anybody had experience rewaxing used frames? Is it more cost effective to buy new ones in lieu of cleaning and rewaxing. ( I have approx. 3000 frames to do?

[Kathyp]

they are hard to deal with.  i would suggest using starter strips, or if they still have comb that you need to remove, leave an inch or so at the top and let them rebuild with that as a guide.

[BMAC]

I agree with Kathy.  Besides, less they are your used frames do you know for sure the frames are not diseased?

[jholland]

The frames have all been cleaned with a steam cleaner. ( pressure washer ) The question I am asking is can I reuse these frames without any wax on them? These are plastic frame foundations. Will the bees draw out comb without the wax on the foundation since it has all been washed off?

[rdy-b]

  The answer is YES good to go -However it is to your ADVANTAGE to coat them with a light coat of BEEWAX-are you going to rotate them in or start from the beginning -RDY-B

[BMAC]

I did just this but with 1000 frames this past season.  The problem I found was they bees went crazy with cross comb from frame to frame.  A true nightmare.  I noticed this in the very early stages and only have around 150 frames of cross comb I still need to deal with.  I pulled the rest of the boxes and gave a healthy coat of wax on the frames and the bees pulled the comb on the rerst off the frames as expected they should.  Maybe you will not find this problem, I am simply stating the issue and my resolution which worked for me.

Good luck.

when I coated them I sat down on a weekend in the garage with a few beers and good music.  I setup a double boiler on an electric burner and used a small 3 inch roller from cheapo depot AKA Home Depot and rolled the wax on.  I burned up alot of my wax, but considering I dont sell my rendered cappings I have copious amounts of wax that I will eventually turn into rolled wax sheets.  Very simple but time consuming venture.  Music and beer always helps with the mundane tasks.

Just as an overrall general note on plastic frame/foundation though I now have 1000 frames in my Apiary I dislike these type of frames and will be purging them all in the next few years.  I know some folks love them.  I am just not one of them.