Mike Rossander wrote:  "I'm not sure that any of my techniques would scale to a commercial keeper."
 
My advice is to listen to Kim Flottum.  In the short and long run, it may be more expedient just to recycle the old and buy new.  For a commercially-sized beekeeper, time is always a critical element, and even though it is cheaper to scrape and reuse, a commercial beekeeper may ot have that kind of time or can find the paid labor to put that time in.
 
And as much as I respect Kim and his infinite wisdom, I'm too cheap to let those frames go.  I find my best route is to freeze my frames (a dozen fit in a banana box) in my deep freeze, then remove them before my wife goes grocery shopping.  Alternatively, I go through my stored stacks of old brood boxes on really cold, winter days.  I can go through more frames on cold, winter days but my tolerance to the cold is really tested.  I prefer small batches in the freezer.
 
I find one of those heavy duty uncapping scratchers (like the ones sold by B&B Supply out of Minnesota) does the best job of getting most of the old, dark comb off when the wax is cold.  It leaves enough behind to give the bees something to work with, without filling in the depressions like a scraper.  I've also tried stiff scrub brushes after the uncapping scratcher, but the brush fills up too fast with the debris.
 
My goal is not to work it down to bare plastic.  However, I've had some wax moths get into some of my old, dark comb.  They do a heck of a good job of loosening up a lot of the wax.
 
Now if there was only a market for wax moth debris.
 
Grant
Jackson, MO



      

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