> >I've ended up with some crystalised oil seed rape honey in some of
> >my frames and was wondering about how to extract it.
 
We have a lot of canola around here  ("rapeseed" referes to the old non
double zero varieties and can include some pretty dark and unattractive
honey that is very heat sensitive).
 
Usually canola honey granulates if the weather is ideal for the flow so
that large amounts of nectar are gathered in a short time, then the
weather turns cool enough that the supers are not kept warm by the bees.
Then -- if the beekeeper does not extract it immediately -- a large
problem can arise.
 
I was told by a university-based honey analyst that canola honey is not
much different -- when fully ripe -- from clover honey in composition, but
that when gathered quickly, canola honey is not converted by the bees to
the final form fast enough to avoid susceptibility to sudden granulation.
Once ripe and processed, it has similar bottling and liquid shelf life
properties to clover honey.
 
> Once the frames are candied I have been unable to extract them.  The heat
> required to liquify the honey would also melt all the comb.  I believe
> wax melting point is 160 degrees C. but heating frames evenly is so
> difficult I do not believe honey can be liquified in the comb without
> considerable leakage.
 
We built a special warming room one year which we held at about 110 - 120
degrees F to try melting the honey.  Honey melts at *around* (depending on
variety)  105 degrees and pure beeswax (which is actually a blend of
several waxes) begins to melt at 142 degrees F -- AFAIK.  We had to
inject moisture too, since honey tends to be very dry here -- about
16%.  Although insulated and equipped with a circulating fan, the room did
not have sufficiently even temperature distribution to prevent sagging
some combs and leaving some hard.  All in all, it was a waste of time.
 
In recent years, the problem has been minor, since we are more efficient
in getting our honey off within a week or two after it is gathered.  When
we do have a problem, we uncap any such granulated combs and place them
in the centre of our thirds, either in a group or interlaced with empty
combs.
 
A super with 3 or so such frames (uncapped) is placed on each hive
immediately above our excluders.  The trick is to put the thirds on a
 bit early.  When the honey comes in for extracting later, there is no
sign of the granulation. We also send uncapped granulation back out during
the season and it seems to disappear.  The trick is not to put more than a
few such frames in any one super.
 
Such frames can also be placed one at a time in the centre of *strong*
hives' brood chambers when spreading brood in hot weather and are emptied
almost instantly.  But be careful, since this latter technique is not for
beginners.
 
Hard granulated canola honey can be deadly for wintering.  The bees simply
cannot deal with it without a lot of heat.  I have seen cells with chunks
of 'sugar' in them after the bees have removed what they can and also lots
of the white granules of the 'sugar' on the hive entrance when too much
granulation is given to a hive.
 
Honey contains two major sugars, one of which -- as I recall -- is
unattractive to the bees, and I surmise that in granulating to such a hard
form, canola honey separates into the two constituents, one of which is
somewhat liquid and attractive and one which is rock hard and of little
interest to the bees.
 
Maybe someone can add to this...
 
Allen.