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Author Topic: Cleaning Queen Excluders  (Read 9718 times)

Offline SCFarms

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Cleaning Queen Excluders
« on: August 27, 2008, 03:36:50 am »
I have 500 Queen excluders I need to clean and the method I was taught seems kind of messy, I’m curious to hear what other beekeepers do to clean theirs so that I can find a better way to do mine this winter when I have some extra time.

Offline Bill W.

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #1 on: August 27, 2008, 04:38:57 am »
If they're all metal, I think I would build a nice campfire and set them over it 10 or 20 at a time.  They'll burn clean pretty fast.

Offline pdmattox

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #2 on: August 27, 2008, 08:51:26 pm »
we use a hotsy, A pressure washer with a heater on it. we also use it on feeder jars to clean out the little holes filled with wax.

Offline asprince

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #3 on: August 27, 2008, 09:00:04 pm »
We place them over a fire barrel full of hot coals for about 20 - 30 seconds. Handle with pliers. Works fast.

Steve
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Offline justgojumpit

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #4 on: December 23, 2008, 11:04:00 am »
you could also use a torch if you have wood framed metal queen excluders.  They make torches that you hook up to a propane jug, like for a barbecue.  These put out a big flame (4" wide or so)

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Keeper of bees and builder of custom beekeeping equipment.

Offline ANDREWSCHWAB

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2009, 01:28:50 pm »
For years we would clean the hundreds of queen excluders by the above mentioned methods. :-\
For some reason one year they did not get cleaned.

To find out it didn't matter there was no more wax on them then when they where installed. Since then the excluders get a quick scraping so they store and sit flat, THAT"S IT!

The bees seem to want to put/fill a certain amount  of wax on them , but never do they come close to sealing them up

Offline rdy-b

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2009, 10:27:37 pm »
I always get better results in the honey suppers after cleaning excluders-it is a ventalation thing for me-hapy bees are more productive-(i think :) )-RDY-B

Offline BjornBee

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2009, 09:43:06 am »
I use flat plastic, and they are cleaned by a simple pass over with the hive tool while sitting on a flat surface.
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Offline rdy-b

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Re: Cleaning Queen Excluders
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2009, 12:42:33 pm »
I also use the flat plastic -I boil a five gallon bucket-(metal) half full of watter on a turkey fryer-pick up five excluders bend and slip into the watter -pull out and dip other half -buy doing five at once you can run through a hundred in about forty minutes -takes time but it is easy work-RDY-B