Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Warming up supers  (Read 2055 times)

Offline daniel

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 30
  • Gender: Male
Warming up supers
« on: August 18, 2009, 07:17:52 pm »
 With the cool weather we are having in southern Wisconsin I was wondering if there was a way to warm up supers that I can't get extracted the same day I remove them. Being a novice I do not have a real honey house to keep them warm in. It seems we can't get two nice days in a row when I can get time to work with the bee's. My real job keeps getting in the way of my beekeeping!!!! I was once told that if you set the full supers on top of a empty broad box with a 100 watt bulb in it this would warm the honey but not harm the fountation. Any "cheap" ideas would be great.  Thanks Dan

Online Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2009, 07:27:19 am »
Put them in the kitchen for a few days. :)
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline diggity

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 89
  • Gender: Male
    • Garden Imperative
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #2 on: August 20, 2009, 11:57:52 am »
Does your oven have a "Bread-Rise" setting?  Ours does - it keeps the temperature at about 90-100 degrees.  I stood several frames up on a cookie sheet inside the oven and put it on Bread Rise cycle for a little while, then extracted.  Seemed to work fine.

-Diggity
Gardening advocate and author of the book Garden Imperative (http://gardenimperative.blogspot.com)

Offline RayMarler

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 520
  • Gender: Male
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #3 on: August 21, 2009, 04:02:39 am »
I think a 100 watt light bulb is a bit strong and you'll get melted wax. I set my boxes to be extracted on top of an empty hive box that has a 40 watt bulb in it with a top lid and a blanket over the top of the stack. Of course, the strength of the light bulb needed will depend on the weather temps in the room where you are trying to heat it.

Offline daniel

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 30
  • Gender: Male
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #4 on: August 21, 2009, 09:50:40 pm »
Thanks  I will start with a 40 watt. How many supers can you warm at one time??

Offline RayMarler

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 520
  • Gender: Male
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #5 on: August 21, 2009, 10:11:51 pm »
I dunno how many, heat rises thru the stack. I warmed two deeps at once myself, stacked on top of empty box with a 40w bulb in the bottom, blanket over the top.

Offline daniel

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 30
  • Gender: Male
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #6 on: August 21, 2009, 11:04:20 pm »
  Maybe it will warm up and I will not have a problem Although it is giong to be 51 degrees tonight and only 70 tommorow.

Offline BruinnieBear

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 60
  • Gender: Male
Re: Warming up supers
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2009, 03:29:16 am »
  Maybe it will warm up and I will not have a problem

Don't count on it 'til next June.  Remember, this is Wisconsin, and we've already had our two weeks of warm weather! :-D

BB
Some days you just have to learn the hard way!

Bruce & Minnie Fairbanks

 

anything