I use 400 lbs of sugar with 6 gallons of water.  I replace the inner
cover and outer cover with the sugar board and make the sides taller
(or deeper).  I flip the new telescoping lid (sugar board) over and run
screws into it and then wrap wire around the screws making a lite weave
pattern. This screw - wire configuration holds the hardened sugar in
the lid as the winter progresses.  After filling the sugar boards and
letting them harden, I flip them right side up and install on the
hive.  They remain on all winter and into the spring for obvious
reasons. I am experimenting with a bit of Peppermint oil in the sugar
boards and others with Honey-B-Healthy in the mix.  Will see in the
spring how this test turns out.  Note: do not boil or burn the sugar
mixture. I use a 55 gallon barrel with heat under the bottom. I stir
with mixer paddle hooked up in my large electric drill.  Spigot near
bottom of barrel fills the boards very easily.  Talked to one man that
used a cement mixer for heating and stirring but have never tried that
method.  

Dr. Joe Carson
Alaska Heavenly Honey
Alaska




> Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:27:50 -0400
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: [BEE-L] Candy Boards
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
>  Roger Hoopingarner, formerly of Michigan State, was one of the great
> teachers of beekeeping.  His advice on candy boards is as follows:
> 
> *
> 
> "CANDY BOARDS FOR WINTER FEED
> *
> 
> During cold days of winter when the bees cannot move any great distance for
> honey, candy boards placed over the upper combs have saved bees from
> starvation. Bees normally move upward during the winter as the heat from the
> cluster allows this movement more readily than laterally. If the bees reach
> the top of the hive before spring weather allows them to move or expand
> sideways they can starve with honey on the outside frames. The use of candy
> boards will allow bees to survive this period when the temperature is too
> cold for lateral movement. Thus these boards are in some sense a temporary
> measure, or to some beekeepers as an "insurance" because they may have taken
> away too much honey, or have the colony organized with the honey poorly
> placed. The boards can be placed on the colonies in just a few seconds and
> thus save a colony that would otherwise die. The making of these candy
> boards is relatively easy, and once the actual board is made the yearly
> operation of adding the sugar candy is routine. The board itself is made
> with the same outside dimensions as the hive. The board looks like an inner
> cover without the hole, and usually has somewhat higher sides to hold more
> sugar. We use 1/4 inch tempered or hardened particle board with 3/4" side
> boards.
> 
> The formula for the candy is as follows:
> 
> 15 lbs. sugar
> 
> 3 lbs. white corn syrup
> 
> 4 cups water
> 
> 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
> 
> Dissolve the sugar in water and stir while heating the mixture to 240oF. Let
> the syrup cool to about 180o, then beat until thickened and pour into the
> board to harden. Once the candy is hard they can be put onto the colonies,
> candy side down, over the top frames. Some beekeepers pour the candy into
> waxpaper lined molds instead of making regular boards, and then put these
> molded blocks on top of the frames while the inner cover is placed over
> them. The blocks must therefore be no thicker than the depth of the inner
> cover rim. If the bees do not use the candy, the boards can be saved, or the
> sugar melted and used for spring feeding as syrup."
> 
> I know a beekeeper who uses candy boards on each of his 500 hives.  He puts
> them on about March 1 and credits them with producing lots of brood that he
> uses for spring splits.  He says that bees will consume the candy boards
> quicker than they will consume honey in frames.  (We all know that the candy
> is better for them than honey, because the candy does not contain ash.)
> 
> Does anyone know the reasoning for using both corn syrup and sugar?
> 
> Lloyd
> 
> 
> -- 
> Lloyd Spear
> Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
> Manufacture of equipment for round comb honey sections,
> Sundance Pollen Traps, and producer of Sundance custom labels.
> Contact your dealer or www.RossRounds.com
> 
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