White solids in honey

Could be a problem keeping the plastic dwarf out of it when cutting into sections…

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The only downside of the Broodminder is the plastic has deteriorated quite a bit on the TH unit where the tab sticks out on the weather. They snapped off after one season. The scales don’t seem to suffer the same degradation. I’m moving the scales to the shady side of the hive so the morning sun doesn’t hit it. Direct sun seems to throw off the accuracy resulting in uneven readings. I’ve changed the batteries once, easy job. Bit of a nuisance getting the scales out to change, but not difficult. Otherwise everything about Broodminder is good. I know from the weight graph that my girls swarmed just before I got home from Europe(bugga). So I’m never going away in Spring again. I love my little spot on Bellbird Hill, quite a bit cooler in summer and above the fog in winter. Cheers Peter

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It’ll be a bit chewier and offer the recommended daily intake of petroleum distillates lol

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My husband wants me to try a sous vide circulator on a frame we have that has a segment of crystallized honey in it. This model may not be available in Oz, but you may be able to find a cheap laboratory circulating water bath on eBay. I would put the frame in a large plastic bag first, like a turkey roasting bag. Any melted wax or leaking honey would then be salvageable. :blush:

https://www.amazon.com/ChefSteps-Joule-Watts-White-Stainless/dp/B01M8MMLBI/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1541701742&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=joule+sous+vide&psc=1

I drained the honey and I am waiting to see if the bees clean it all up.

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In the end, after draining the honey from the flow frame, the bees cleaned it all up.

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@Semaphore It is worth noting that these units are not suitable for 240 volts and are only 120 volts.
Cheers

I put those frames in a box beside a hive and the let the bees have at them. It has taken them over two weeks to eat the candied honey- they cannot eat it anywhere as fast as liquid honey. In the future I will take more care- and probably won’t be leaving flow supers on over winter anymore.

having said that: my mum had a few frames that candied- and it seems that the bees managed to eat that honey and refill them with liquid honey over spring/summer. But I have decided that in our climate there is no great benefit to leave flow frames on over winter as we don’t seem to get winter honey- and it’s too much work for the bees to maintain the extra space- and the frames can become damp and get mould.

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What you have said makes so much sense Jack. In your climate and for other with similar the 2 things against leaving a Flow Super on over winter is the risk of the coney going to candy or mold forming on the cappings.
Over here last winter was short and mild and was for only about 4 weeks, the bees foraged very well and I put my Flow Supers on the 1st of July and 5 weeks later the frames were all full and capped so I guess our winter was a fair bit warmer than yours in Adelaide.
Cheers

yep - it’s not like it freezes here but it is cold and damp. The bees forage throughout but eat about exactly what they bring in. If you leave a half full super on over in winter it comes out half full. I’m thinking the bees will be better off condensed down to one box nice and snug. you can take the super off a few weeks into winter and put it back a few weeks before spring. So it’s only off for around 2 months.

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