Hiya DarkEmu. Yes we’re almost neighbours. I think I should have fed mine from day one really, but didn’t know. What method are you using to feed ? I’m using two medium ZipLock bags with holes pricked in them, holding 1litre each. Replacing every 4th day.
"It is so annoying when bees don’t read the rule books about brood location, isn’t it? "
Yes I"ll bee having strong words with them “READ YOUR RULE BOOK” I"ll not tell you again. 
Yes will continue to feed now, water’s not a problem we have several fish ponds. Cheers Dave.
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I am using small chicken feeders which I bought for $2 each from Comps Poultry. They are on sale and a real bargain. They still have a lot on offer because I was there yesterday and saw them.
You can use as is. But to make sure no bees drown, I made a loop of 4mm irrigation tube that floats in the sugar water as a perch for the bees. I find them excellent. I used inverted plastic tubs with holes before that, but they only had 6 holes each.
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Yeah when I opened the cover on the brood box entry first time I was expecting a water spot of bees to fly out. 
My bees were available about 2 months earlier than I expected so I didn’t have any protective gear. Opened them up, a bit of anticlimax really, only about 10 came out at first. Seems to be plenty now though. Image from Saturday a lot more the there were during those 44c days. Cheers Dave.
Thanks I’ll check those out. How much liquid do they hold, how long do the bees take to empty them?
Cheers Dave.
The ones I got are 600ml each. I place one or two on the inner cover in each hive.
Consumption is unpredictable. I don’t like to give them much more than they will consume because it will start to go off. I was topping them up roughy every week.
In this morning’s inspection, one of the hives barely touched the syrup though. I take that as a good sign and they are starting to find their own.
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It doesn’t if you add Vitamin C powder (Ascorbic Acid from health food shops or Amazon) to a pH of 4 (check with pH paper strips from Amazon). 
Vitamin C is present in nectar, and most nectar is acidic, so this additive is good for the bees too.
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Thank you Dawn. You are very helpful, I appreciate that. I will definitely try Vitamin C. 
I’ve been battling mouldy syrup for a while, dumping, sterilising, boiling and still goes mouldy … I was on another forum and they suggested all sorts of potions and alchemy from salt to bleach and essential oils. I didn’t trust any.
Update:
Hi @Dawn_SD I was looking at buying that Ascorbic Acid powder online. How much do I roughly need to lower the pH to 4 per litre? They come in packs from 30g to 30Kg. I am guessing that any leftover vitamin C can be used next year if stored in an airtight container? I take my dose of vitamin C from citrus fruits 
Hi mate, welcome to the forum, I see you’ve met our Honourable Sandgroper @Dawn_SD. 
(Hiya Dawn 
)
I’d like to make a couple of points here.
Firstly and most importantly open feeding. I hope my bees aren’t visiting your feeder Mr Emu… Having been harvesting regularly the last 2 months I’d be disappointed if it was tainted with sugar water if ya know what I mean, especially as I’m not far from Hovea, @jojo20‘s baggie feeder is a better idea, at least you know it’s your bees using the feed and it gives a more accurate indication of what they are needing. Using an inverted jar with some holes in the lid on an inner cover or feeder board inside another hive body is also a good option. So is adding some food colouring to the syrup. 
I’m surprised your bees are needing feeding, I haven’t seen the dearth I’ve experienced in previous years this year and with the Marri blooming in patches it looks like it may last a while.
I’m not saying don’t feed, if they need feeding then feed, just don’t feed for feed sake, believe it or not we are in a flow.
Skeg.
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It will depend on the hardness of your water. Our water in San Diego is pretty hard, and it takes about 5-10 grams of ascorbic acid per litre.
One other thing about mould. If you make the syrup 5 of sugar to 3 of water, that slows down the mould too because they don’t like the osmotic pressure of the solution. For your purposes, 1,000 grams of sugar in 600ml water would make a little less than 1 litre. I make it this way, for ease and to avoid caramel products which are poisonous to bees:
- Bring water to a rapid boil. Turn off the heat.
- Stir the water into a whirlpool and add the sugar over about 20 seconds while stirring constantly.
- Put a lid on it, and go away for 15 minutes. Come back and stir again. Within 5 more minutes, it should all be dissolved.
- Wait for it to cool to just above room temperature before adding Vit C (temp affects pH).
- Add one teaspoonful (5g) and stir for 30 seconds. Test pH. Continue adding until strip is correct colour for pH 4. Should be about 2 or 3 teaspoons per litre total. pH doesn’t have to be exact, anywhere between 3 and 5 is fine. Lower pH will inhibit mould better.
I have found that this will retard mould for up to a month. After that, I take the feeder off anyway - the bees obviously don’t want it if it is going that slowly! 
Edit - I missed the shelf stability question. I have had my 500g tub of ascorbic acid for about 15 years. It is fine in an airtight container. I used to use it for some yeast-based breads, but my recipes are simpler these days. Like you, I get my Vit C from fruits, capsicums and juice.
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Hiya Skeggs! I value your title for me, thank you.
I think you will find that you don’t need to worry about this. Mr @DarkEmu is a responsible Sandgroper, because he puts them inside the hive:
Unless your naughty Skeg bees are robbing his hive, you won’t have any contamination! 
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Aah yes, thanks Dawn.
Forget everything I said then. 
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Don’t stress @skeggley. I have pretty good guards 
My chook feeders are inside as @Dawn_SD pointed out. I’d be pretty disappointed if your bees are robbing me and you’re selling Dark Emu honey without giving me my cut. 20% sounds about right? 
Regarding feeding, I have to go with what I see inside the hive. I hate feeding so if I can avoid it, I would. My first hive was 2017, never fed them and by easter 2018 I harvested 16kg and left enough for winter. It was in a very exposed windy spot but in shade.
These two just metres away, are more sheltered but in the sun, came from splits I bought, are very different. I noticed their honey stores were getting depleted and not replenshed and had absolutely no honey left as time went by. Zilch!
If you reckon I’m doing something wrong I appreciate if you let me know mate, I’m still a noob. Here in Hovea we rely on park land and state forest so Eucs are the main nectar supply for our bees.
Thanks @Dawn_SD for your exhaustive reply.
… and I just realised I already have Ascorbic Acid in the pantry, some 8 years old which I used to make wholemeal bread rise a bit more.
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Hi mate, frankly I’m still a noob also so can only share my experience.
3 of my colonys are thriving and like you predominantly rely on native flora which, as you know, can be hit and miss. I’m continually amazed at how flows differ in such a short distance, like marri flowering down in the flat lands yet here they are just starting to bud.
Although single brood boxes are the norm here in Perth I’ve gone to 2, 1 FD and 1 WSP. The 2nd box is nearly all honey and is left for the bees and I’m confident when I extract I’m leaving plenty for them during lean times. I’ll move the qx between the boxes summer and winter to keep the brood in the bottom box where possible.
Yes it is a pain with an extra box and having different sized frames but am saving time with the extraction, another 6kg yesterday hassle free, thanks to Flow.
As I can’t use smoke during summer I rarely inspect and use the entrance as a guide. If I notice something unusual I’ll monitor and dive in only if necessary.
My smaller colony is not putting on weight like the others but it’s not losing either,
Sounds like you’re doing what needs to be done so keep up the good work. 
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I don’t regard you you as a noob any more. Your heroic efforts with the giant flower pot colony rubbed off most of your noobness pretty quickly!
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A beekeeper that works with my wife and is also local said that this year he harvested about half of last year. He has 6 hives. It varies so much it is almost irrelevant to gauge by what the guy next door is doing.
Jeff is 18 K’s away by road, maybe 10 K’s for bees, he is harvesting honey and I’m feeding my hives, Most of my rain comes from the S/E and unfortunately I am in the rain shadow of Mount Coolum and the storms split an go either side. A couple of nights ago he got 60mm of rain and I got to hear the thunder off in the distance. With bee keeping it is all about micro climates. I have heaps of flower in the bush but there is no nectar.
Cheers
Sorry Pete if I gave you a bum steer. We only got a couple of mm the other night. I can only wish for 60. They say a 90% chance of 10-25 mils tomorrow. One day they’ll get it right.
I had to go to Yandina yesterday for some more frames and it was raining heavily there and had been for a couple of hours, water sitting in puddles, 15 minutes later back at home it wasn’t a blue sky but no sign of rain either.
Thanks for the correction about your rain the other night. Even so a couple of mm is something. I think I will go and vacuum clean my lawn today. 
Cheers
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Hi All,
Tomorrow I’ll be doing an inspection on the brood box and am optimistic that it will be ready for the Flow Frame Super to be added. Please could someone tell whether the PVC sheet remains on the top of the brood frames or is it removed before the QE is put in place ? Also should I place a PVC sheet on top of the Flow frames ? Thanks In Advance. Cheers Dave.