Hi honey lovers !
Drying honey technology ...
On Mon, 12 Sep 1994 Jeff Young <[log in to unmask]> asked:
> I have a question about end of season honey harvesting. I have been left
> with a few frames that are still uncapped and it is time to start wrapping
> the hive up for winter. My question is, since I really can't extract the
> honey that is left uncapped, what is the best way to handle this uncapped
> honey?
Good question because question encountered by all beekeepers (other queries),
but ambiguous question as remarked by Malcolm Roe <[log in to unmask]>
> Why do you say you "really can't extract the honey"? If you mean
> that you don't have the time or equipment then the advice you've
> already received is fine (ROBBING, see below). However, I think
> you're implying that because the honey is uncapped then it won't keep.
> (It's unripe.)
I think it also and the different answers coming on the Net don't
satisfied me ...
Matt Ter Molen <[log in to unmask]> proposed to get robbing
this honey by the bees and gave different robbing methods when you
don't extract it. Pay attention : robbing is very dangerous this time:
put the frames to be robbed at more than 80-100 m from your hives to
avoid the robbing of your own colonies (reduce the hive entrances, put
the frames after 5:00pm and remove at the night are good ideas) ...
> One option would be to place an empty super over the inner cover of a
> hive that needs feeding and place the frame/s in that super. The bees
> will take the honey down and use it for winter stores. Another option
> would be to extract the honey and then feed it to colonies that needed
> winter stores by placing the honey in a feeder frame or inverted jar
> feeder. A final option would be to just set out the frames by your
> apiary and let the bees take it when they clean up your supers. I
> wouldn't really recommend this option because it can promote robbing
> in your bee yard and pass disease on to other colonies. I would (and
> do) use option one of putting the frames in a super over the inner
> cover of a hive that needs more feed.
Malcolm sayed ...
> This would be true earlier in the season but assuming the honey flow
> is over for the year I doubt that it's true now. It only takes a few
> days for honey in the hive to be ripened. It just involves
> evaporating off some of the water.
...<cut see below>
> What you need to do is to test the honey. The easiest way is to remove
> a frame, hold it horizontally over the super and give it a good shake.
> If drips of honey come flying out then it's unripe. If none (or
> virtually none) comes out then it's ready for extraction. Even if it's
> still unripe, once the flow is over all you need do is leave it a few
> days more and try again.
Ok Malcolm, you are right, this is not honey, it is drying nectar, but
even when it don't fly out, you aren't certain of the water amount in
your honey and if it rained and rains yet (as here in Belgium), this
could increase by catching water as sayed below by Adrian G. Dent
Malcolm sayed more ...
> The bees are eternal optimists. If the cells aren't full they
> leave them uncapped in the hope of more nectar becoming available.
but this seems a bit anthropomorphic and Adrian reacted as a good
cartesian researcher ...
> Um...I don't know about this...do you have any evidence to support
> this?? I have seen bees cap a frame of cells less than half full,
> just as I have seen them having not yet capped great big bulging
> three-times-their-normal-thickness frames (I love it when they do
> that)
> I could still be wrong. If you have evidence that ripened honey
> remains uncapped, please tell me. I would asume that because of the
> hygroscopic nature of honey, if it is left uncapped to long, it will
> start taking up water again.
Really, at this time of the year (the length of the days decreases
sharply), you can see
1/ the capped honey is never eated or even uncapped (but robbing)
2/ some ripened honey remains uncapped (and is used by the bees).
I don't know why and don't have any evidence but the observation of
the fact, year after year.
But it is not the question ...
How to harvest honey not quite capped ?
DRYING THE HONEY by the bees ...
There is a lot to say about the drying of the honey (thermodynamic):
In the hive, it results of the temperature and humidity of the
external air which is moved by the bees, heated by the brood (thus
less humid=:vapor pressure of water in the air vary with temp.) and
pass through the honey frames. This complex process give good results
under usual conditions : it give honey which contains 17-21% water.
But it fails when the conditions are different : for ex.: it is not
possible to catch quite ripened honey on a small pacific atoll by 30dC
and 100% relative humidity.
HONEY UNCAPPED ...
Is it ripened or is it not ? As Malcolm sayed, if it is after about 3
days without any crop, maybe it is ok, maybe it is not. It is
possible to mesure the level of water in honey with a refractometer.
There is some cheap but pay attention that you must be able to record
the temperature while you read the water value : it strongly varies
with the temp.
Result : the refractometer give a correct value : you may extract the
honey ... if not ... what do you do ?
DRYING SUPERS ...
It is possible to dry the honey in the frames with uncapped cells using
a suitable, easy technology : the same technology than bees :
Use a circulating dry air in the supers : I do it for 8 years with my whole
crop of honey : the solution may be different while you have or not
the material.
My solution today (I have some other projects, but):
Material : only a blower (with heating or not, the mine heats), and an
empty super where you cut a hole to blow the air of your blower.
Put this super and the blower in a dry room (honey-room?).
When you have your supers with honey (honey not nectar, see above but
no matter it is capped or not), put they all in one column on the
blow-super and blow. If the room is dry, you are sure the honey is ok
after 4-5 days (I had a ref about this but I don't put the hand on it).
It is the easiest system : you could complicate it (I do it)
(heat + thermostat 30dC max ! permanent blowing ! dehumidifier)
My ref : In '93 I removed 120 kg of spring cherry trees honey while
only 10% were capped (2 raining days, I must get out the orchard !) :
the honey was correct, 16.7% water.
So it's enough for today (if somebody wants more detail(s), ask.)
Cheers
Jean-Marie <[log in to unmask]>
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