At 01:03 PM 1/25/98 -0800, you wrote:
>I am into my second year of beekeeping.  I have forgotten the sugar to
>water ratio for winter feeding.  Could someone please help me with this
>one?
 
You can only dissolve so much sugar in a know amount of water and I presume
you want to feed your bees sugar and not water.
 
When you have reached the maximum amount of sugar that can be de solved it
will float.
 
In the old day when we fed bagged or dry sugar we would use hot water to
speed up the process, in any case you will never end up with the same
amount of sugar you can get by using HFC or Invert syrup which many bee
suppliers keep on hand not only for the commercial beekeepers but also will
sell in small amounts like five gallons, in some case to the smaller
beekeeper. You should not expect to pay for the water in the syrup, (so you
must know something about the sugar solids in the syrup), and you may find
it less expensive to buy it for a local commercial beekeeper, bee supply
store, bakery, soda bottler, or a thousand other bulk users of sugar.
Cultivating these sources of supply has more then once led to nice honey
purchase contacts for the future production of many beekeepers and
sometimes a trade of a few jars of honey in opening the door can be more
then rewarding as food manufacturing establishments are not into getting
the last drop of sugar out of that 2,000 gallon tank out back. I know small
beekeepers that get all the sugar they can use just by draining what is
left and would be washed down the drain of tanks, tankers and RR tank cars
used for sugar if you are into that kind of work.
 
ttul, the OLd Drone-
 
... I said, but just to be a bee
 
 
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