Hello Everyone,

I have two somewhat related questions.  I use a Maxant Uncapping Plane
to uncap all the frames from about 35 colonies.  Although it is heavier
than a  knife, it has less stress on the wrist.  The problem is I am on
the third heating element and this one may be going.  The seem to last
about two years.  I only have power to the unit when I am actually
uncapping.  I use a foot control to avoid overheating or just forgetting
to turn it off.  I realize the heat has to transfer from the element to
the copper blade but I am unable to uncap a complete frame.  By the time
I am half way down the second side the blade has cooled enough that I am
pulling the cappings rather than cutting them.  I don't think I am
overusing this and the fact that it is the third element I am wondering
if there is an overall problem.  I would have thought that this plane
would easily handle 100 colonies and last a few years between elements.
I don't want to keep replacing elements and thought about just buying a
new one. But before I do I was wondering what others using this tool
were doing.

Second question.  I harvested a super of very dark honey.  It looks just
like buckwheat, but has a very mild taste.  It appears this was filled
in the last few weeks.  Goldenrod has been blooming well but I thought
it was not as dark as this and would have a stronger taste.  Asters have
started blooming but I don't think that is it either.  Whatever it is
there is a very strong flow as packing it everywhere they can.  The
colonies are located on a wildlife sanctuary.  There are no cultivated
fields close by but there are some a few miles away.  I don't know of
any loostrife stands in this area.  Again the only plant I see blooming
in numbers is goldenrod.  Any thoughts on what this may be?

Thanks in advance.

   Ron

Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, (eastern) PA, USA


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