Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: melita on October 30, 2012, 05:22:20 pm
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I rendered wax for the first time last night , had around 10 lb of cappings and old comb , left the wax and left overs in the bucket out doors.
It attracted loads of bees by mid morning and was pretty suprised as its a residential area.
What i would like to know is , is the water solution good for the bees or harmful ?
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I would think not. But it might spoil and smell. Dump downwind :)
Cheers,
Drew
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Um, I think the honey water is a good thing for the bees. I haven't seen them load up on stuff they don't like or isn't good for them.
When we rinse our wax, the first time, we don't use a lot of water, and the bees are crazy about it.
Joel
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I rendered wax for the first time last night , had around 10 lb of cappings and old comb , left the wax and left overs in the bucket out doors.
It attracted loads of bees by mid morning and was pretty suprised as its a residential area.
What i would like to know is , is the water solution good for the bees or harmful ?
It is harmfull . At least it has nothing good. Taste is awfull. It may have diseases.
It is better cover with soil.
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I'm confused :? What this 'water' that is being discussed? What is it used for in the process of rendering wax and what is it besides...water? Thanks for any explanation.
Our system is foundationless so we primarily harvest frames of whole honey comb. When we need to render wax, such as when we crush and strain some, the left over honey-laden wax is always left for the bees who clean it up pretty quick. Then we just melt the cleaned wax down in a slow cooker and pour it into molds for later use. We don't add 'anything' else to the process, material wise, other than the wax.
Are we missing some important step?
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I was a bit confused myself but here is what I think we are discussing :
You and I crush strain and then leave wax for B's to clean. They are cutting caps off with knife and spinning comb which is reused, then boiling caps in water. When cool they have wax on top and, "Thin" ,honey, which they feed back to B's.
Cheers,
Drew
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Thanks for your comments .
T beek you are not missing anything .... Maryland beekeeper explained what i was doing correctly ... well i could be doing it wrong also as i am still learning.
Should i feed back the "thin" honey solution back to the bees ..... after all the water was boiled so any diseases should have been eliminated
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If you search for SKEP on this website there is a whole series on how beekeeping was done over in southern Europe. They distinctly say that they take the water used in melting the wax and feed it back to the bees.
Jim
That didn't work. Try:
http://youtu.be/VrehDfkazO0 (http://youtu.be/VrehDfkazO0)
This is just one in the series, don't know whic one is about melting the wax.
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I agree. The boiling will pasteurize the water. But I would think one would want to use it immediately for fear of it spoiling. I wonder if giving cappings to B's to clean first might be more efficient all things considered.
Cheers,
Drew
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I bottled a couple of jars of wax water last year just to see what would happen and how long it would last. I looked at it about a month ago and opened it up to smell it. I was amazed it hasn't changed from when I put it in the bottles. I did have 1 jar that had mold on it within the first month and I tossed it. I really expected it to ferment real bad but so far it hasn't. Boiling may have helped.
Jim
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Honey is one of natures most potent antibacterials. Bacteria will not grow in it. The Egyptians mummified their gods with it. It will not spoil, the wax however can hold things that will.
Drew
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I just put my cappings out on a peice of cardboard after I let them set in a filter bucket for a few days and let the bees clean it up before I put it in a solar waxmelter. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.
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I don't boil anything, just rinse the cappings with hot water a few times. The first rinse only, it is caught and fed back.
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Seems like some of you folks are working too hard for your clean wax IMO. I'm leaving the job to the bees, they are much better at it than I ;) but thanks for all the explanations.
I don't feel there is anything wrong w/ feeding the 'water' back to your bees as long as its done asap. Bees sometimes consume some pretty nasty stuff (cat litter) and wax water must be at the bottom of any list of hazards.
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"wax water must be at the bottom of any list of hazards."
Its actually just honey water. The water takes the honey off of the wax, and it's not hazardous at all.
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That's also my conclusion, but what are we to do the assertion that "it is harmful" and the advise to "cover with soil" from Finski?
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Possibly:
I rendered comb from cutouts this year, brood comb and all into the pot. What is left after you strain & remove wax is some very nasty stuff that next time I will bury.
Cheers,
Drew
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OK, now I understand......don't render comb w/ brood in it if you want to give the remains back to your bees.
Finski's advise makes perfect sense now..... bury the water from rendered 'brood comb' that actually has brood in it, right? :) Thanks!