General Sugar Syrup Question

rick42_98 · September 06, 2009, 06:52:07 PM

In order to make things easy I would like to know about sugar syrup. I have been feeding sugar syrup to my bees and I make it as follows:
I use the gallon jugs that water comes in from the supermarket. I buy a 5lb bag of Domino granulated sugar. I use a funnel and empty the 5lb bag almost all the way. I leave about 2 inches of sugar in the bag. I then fill the gallon jug with water to the top, place the cap back on and shake it until the sugar dissolves. Lately I have been adding 4 teaspoonsful of Honey-B-Healty to the gallon jug and the pour the syrup into a 1 qt plastic chinese soup container with the top perforated with holes and the rest into a 1 gal feeder bucket. Throughout the season (so much rain) the bees hardly took any of it. I had to dump most of it down the drain because it would go bad. Now, however they are drinking it down like crazy. A few days and both feeders are empty. Is there a tried and true method for mixing sugar and water to get a 1:1 ratio? I found that adding all of the 5lb bag made it too thick and they didn't take it. Now it's a little thinner and they love it. It may have been the time of the season or the HBH, who knows but they are loving it now..... :?

iddee · September 06, 2009, 06:59:29 PM

You are mixing about 1/2 to 1. Put two bags in a gallon and you will have just a bit more than 1 to 1.This time of year I would mix 3 5lb. bags of sugar to 1 gallon of water and heat until dissolved. That is close to 2 to 1. It makes it easier for them to store away.

Bee-Bop · September 06, 2009, 07:21:36 PM

I agree with IDDEE;
This time of year the recomended syrup mixture is generally 2-1

16 lbs of Sugar and 1 gallon of water which is 8.3 lbs. not really 2-1 but close enough !

For a 2-1 mixture Hot/Boiling water helps the sugar to disolve much better.

In the Fall most Bee Books recommend this mixture.

Bee keeping is a expensive hobby, the books don't tell you that !

Bee-Bop

Kathyp · September 06, 2009, 07:27:08 PM

Quotewho knows but they are loving it now.....

they are needing it now. you'll get the hang of looking in the hive and knowing whether you need to feed or not. of course, that's not foolproof. they can go through stores really quickly and starve on you if you don't keep an eye on things.

if you find that you have mixed syrup and don't need it, you can put it in the freezer. just don't put a tight lid on it until it is completely frozen. sometimes i put it in ziploc freezer bags (after cooled) and store it that way. freezer bags are an advantage because you can put them in warm water to thaw if you need them quickly.

JWPick · September 07, 2009, 03:38:18 PM

Quote from: kathyp on September 06, 2009, 07:27:08 PM

if you find that you have mixed syrup and don't need it, you can put it in the freezer. just don't put a tight lid on it until it is completely frozen. sometimes i put it in ziploc freezer bags (after cooled) and store it that way. freezer bags are an advantage because you can put them in warm water to thaw if you need them quickly.
[/quote]

Great tip Kathy about the freezer bags....Thanks! That's a "cool" idea!

jimmy · September 07, 2009, 04:26:31 PM

This might be of help for mixing instructions.

http://www.beekeeping.com/goodies/conversions_bee.htm

Kathyp · September 07, 2009, 04:51:19 PM

that is a really helpful site. thanks. i bookmarked it!

rick42_98 · September 08, 2009, 11:46:54 AM

ALL:
Thank you for your well considered answers. This board is a great medium and you all are a valuable resource for new beeks like myself. Also, thank you iddee for the PM with your suggestion.

Rich

asciibaron · September 08, 2009, 03:08:57 PM

Quote from: Bee-Bop on September 06, 2009, 07:21:36 PM
Bee keeping is a expensive hobby, the books don't tell you that !

what other hobby provides you with easy money :-D

Michael Bush · September 08, 2009, 08:40:46 PM

Syrup keeps better if:

1) it's 2:1 instead of 1:1 (thicker keeps better)
2) it's been boiled to make it dissolve AND kill all the microbes
3) you lower the pH by adding something acidic such as Ascorbic acid or Acetic acid (vinegar)
4) you add any kind of essential oils
5) you add chlorine

I'm not recommending all of these things, just pointing out that they make a difference.

Jerry/Judy · September 08, 2009, 10:23:05 PM

When we make syrup, we use a one gallon tea container (purchased from grocery store and contained green tea at the time). We add a little water to the container and then add 7 pounds of sugar and fill the container with cool to warm water. Then shake the container several times during the day to keep the mixture mixed. In a day or so, it will remain mixed. Our bees love it and drink it up pretty quickly.

rick42_98 · September 11, 2009, 01:48:08 PM

I learned something new yesterday....One gallon of water added to 3.5 (5lb) bags of sugar yields a bit more than 2 gallons of syrup!!! Very cool but I had to adapt a little.....Since I only need a gallon at a time I will henceforth do the following. Start with an empty pot, add 1 3/4 bags of sugar (about 8 lbs), add 1/2 gallon of water, mix while bringing to a boil. This makes about a 2:1 concentration of sugar syrup, by my reckoning. To that I will add 4 teaspoons of HBH. I think that does it. Thanks Mr. Bush for your suggestions to bring to a boil and to add essential oils to retard spoilage. Again, this board and the knowlegable folks who reply to questions make for a very valuable resource.

scdw43 · September 11, 2009, 11:04:53 PM

It is still warm in SC I had queens hatch 10 days ago that are laying. I am feeding 1-1 now to get my winter brood. I will start feeding 2-1 on 1 OCT and feed until heavy enough. We can feed 25 out of 30 days in October, 15 out of 31 in November and probally 5 days in December if needed. Feed days as in temps above 55 degrees. I am retired so I can feed in the middle of the day when temps get high enough.