Well I’ve just checking my flow frames prior opening them and found one mostly capped. Thought I might shake it to see if any came out. ie the right moisture content, but evidently I must have shaken it a little more than required. Whaa!!!
Ain’t bee keeping so much fun Alan.
Sorry mate, but I just had to.
Cheers
I was thinking it’d be a tough gig crush and straining that.
Yeah Peter. Now I get to watch Ceaser showing me how to put a flow frame back together. I actually figured it out so kudos goes to those guys to figure all that stuff out to make it easy to understand.
Going down to Burnett Beekeeping Supplies at Morayfield Sat morning if you need anything happy to get it for you Alan.
Skeggley yes. Had a little think about it first and put it on the kitchen counter and put it back together. Scraped the wax and put it in a centrifuge. All good. Minor drama in the end and learnt something new! Think I’ll celebrate with a wee dram:tumbler_glass:, and a honey sandwich
Thanks Peter for your generous offer. I just replenished some items but will have to swap some wax for foundation before winter finishes and spring arrives early. I have six new boxes being made by a chippie mate and have 60 new frames ready to go. But that’ll keep.
lt looks like an easy reassembly then drain it! Whoop!
Hi Peter, I need to get a new wax mold. Is it this morning you’re going down?
Glad to have been able to pick it up for you and catch up for a chat mate. I prefer to go the extra hours drive to buy from a bee keeping supplier that cares about what he sells, you know what I’m talking about mate.
Cheers
Hi Pete, I know what you mean. Some people are coming this afternoon to pick up some bees. I told Wilma it will be funny if they turn up in khaki colored bee suits, the type he sells. Some other folks bought those & had to re-sow them, they were that badly made.
I just did this too the other day- luckily for me my frame wasn’t full of honey. I was just shaking water out of it. Lesson here: do not shake heavy flow frames… I’m not exactly looking forward to putting mine back together- it seems like a bit of a pain.
I looked at Ceasar dismantling and assembling a frame and it looks soo easy. What could go wrong??
I may have missed something Jack, but as you would advise a beginner: why remove an uncapped frame and shake it? You would advise leaving it in the super and let the bees dry the honey till it is capped then extract it!!! Oh, come on Jack, you’re better than making that mistake mate
Of course I will deny that last night I left 15 litres of honey to drain into a 12 litre pail over night, but I have age on my side, or working against me.
I didn’t shake an uncapped frame Peter- I was washing an entire flow super I removed for winter in water and I lifted one out of a tub of water and shook it to get the water to fall out. the entire thing promptly fell to pieces. When they are heavy (with honey or water) if you hold them horizontally and shake they just fall to pieces. You live and you learn.
Thanks for clearing that up mate, I guess the weight of the water puts a bow in the frame and in shaking it it isn’t rigid enough and falls apart.
Live and learn, hopefully from others mistakes when they post them on the site.
Cheers
yes- I was surprised at how little of a shake was enough for it to bend right in the middle and simply fall to pieces. It wouldn’t happen easily if the frame was empty but the water in the cells was enough weight to pull it apart.
speaking of flow frame lateral flexing- I recently drained an entire flow super after removing it for winter and when I did it off the hive- using a single tool- I was able to see how much the frames flex. Using two tools there is no flex at all. I would suggest that anyone who cracks a flow frame use two tools if they have a spare one. It makes it easier with more leverage and would likely decrease leakage at the capping face. I think it possibly helps in re-setting the frames two- ensuring they are re-set perfectly without misaligned rows.