How to Apply Beeswax to Plastic Foundation
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ธ.ค. 2018
- Adding additional beeswax to plastic foundation can produce better comb and faster results. We show how we apply melted beeswax to plastic foundation and explain why we prefer plastic to beeswax foundation.
Short and straight to the point! I have a few plastic foundations I need to this to. Alot of the plastic foundation that I've bought doesn't have enough wax coating to begin with! I have seen some advertised as triple dipped that stuff might be better but expensive! I always enjoy your videos! Very informative and helpful! Thanks!
Mr Binnie, saw you speak tonight in Douglasville...... GREAT PRESENTATION ! I am very new to all this bee stuff and I learned a lot 👍🏻
Thank you for sharing this process. First time jitters for installing my new package tomorrow. Your video helps alot! 😊
Bob I owe you a gratitude of thanks.
I need to order from your store to pay you back. Thank you
he seems like the kind of guy who's payment is in helping others :) i wouldnt worry about it myself.
Thank you for the advice, it works like a charm! 🤓🐝🍯
I have been a beekeeper in the UK for 40 years. I decided to try plastic foundation in the supers on two hives this year.
It resulted in one hive reluctantly drawing the foundation and the other hive refusing point blank to even look at it.
The result was both hives swarming despite the fact they were re queened last August.
Think very carefully before you fall in the plastic trap.
We've had good experiences with it as long as it has ample wax on it. If it doesn't the bees sometimes consider it another wall.
Thank you so much! I have failed three years in a row with bees. Swarming on the first year, a bear on the second year, and a queen death very late in the season the third. Going to clean up my frames and try again. Lovely video.
Four times will be the charm!
Seems like a cool dude👍🏾
I like how you lay several layers of beeswax with a loaded rollers with a leading edge of honey - nice job. Too many beeks brush a few strokes with only one loaded roller and call it good leaving thin and thick spots. They say the bees will move it around to where it suits them. Why add more work for the bees - the idea is to get comb drawn ASAP. Your approach also helps to seal up the side edges helping the bees out a little. thanks for the video.
Thanks for the comment
Gonna do it your way
Last time I made a big mess had wax way too thick
thank you
Could you do a video on how you completely clean it back to the clean plastic after a few years of use ?
I’m in Ireland and just starting to use plastic foundation in my supers this year as a trial . I’m still researching on how to use it and still curious as how to clean and sterilise it properly
دائما مبدع بالعمل
هل البلاستك أفظل من الشمع الطبيعي أثناء استخراج العسل اي لا ينكسر
Hey Bob, Can I bee your new son? lol Love what you do and thank you for sharing with us.
Bob, what's that floating in the liquid wax? Some sort of pad or a block of unmelted wax? Looks like it's useful for the technique, whatever it is.
Hi Dan. It's a block of unmelted wax
Bob, I like the idea of a roasting pan. It would hold more wax. We've been using two crockpots I got from Walmart, for about three years. We use a 4" paint roller with a thicker pad. Does the thin roller pad work better?
Hi Jim. We've tried several different rollers and the one we're using here seems to work good.
Do you add wax to the brood box frames? Or the super frames? Brand new to beekeeping and a little confused.
The new foundation we use is pre-waxed. It can help to add more but it's not absolutely necessary. We do add wax to old foundation. Don't feel bad. The confusion never stops. 🤔
I have the same roaster. Is there a certain temperature you like to set it at? I have found that both too hot and too cold the wax doesn’t stick to the foundation very well.
Hi Andrew. We set it on 350 to get things melted and then set it between 225 and 250 while working.
One of my bee aquaintances literally blew a gasket because I wouldn't buy acorn foundations double waxed. He argued profusely and went off the deep end when I told him how heavily I wax foundations. I think he owns stock in acorn or something. Never lost a buddy over where I buy plastic from. Weird..
Good Evening Mr. Binnie. Does the melted cappings wax still have some of the adhered honey? Or do you separate it completely?
The honey separates when the wax is heated hot enough to go liquid.
Great video! I only have two hives and don’t have access to enough capping comb … can I role up excess was between frames/under cover and create a ball of wax to then scrape onto foundation?
I'm sure that would work fine.
I have reused the same ritecell foundation for a few years now. I have pressured washed the foundation but it doesn’t come completely clean any more. Still ok to use? Just apply wax over the stained ones?
Yes, as long as the defined cell wall remains.
Hi Bob, love your videos. I was going to ask what that was in the electric roasting pan that you were rolling the excess wax off of, as it looks huge. This will be my first year beekeeping, and I just found an old Oster roasting pan for 15 bucks. Since the one pound wax blocks I bought are about 3" x 6" or so, do you think it would be acceptable if I just set a regular brick in the bottom of the roaster to use for rolling excess wax off the foam roller? Thanks
It's a block of beeswax in the pan.
How did you prepare them to be waxed? What's your process to clean them? Do you prefer black or yellow plastic foundation?
We're happy with either foundation. We usually just brush dirty foundation off. If it is old comb we just throw it away although I have pressure washed in the past which works good.
Can I use wood frames and plastic foundation for my honey supers? Do I need any other support (e.g. fishing line or wire)?
This is the combination we are currently using. No support needed with plastic foundation. Just make sure it has a coat of wax on it. Many manufactures do a good job with this but some don't.
I replaced my flow hive cells and within 24 hours they were patching it up. I didn't apply any wax to them.
Some say we should give bees around I think 3 Centimeters of bee wax and let them to do the remaining parts, what's your opinion?
We give the bees a full sheet which gives us straighter comb.
Bob, Can you do a video on how you clean old plastic foundation? Thanks!!!
Pressure washer.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thanks!
Where do you buy those plastic foundation? Can you show us how to clean used comb built-foundation? Also, how to insert foundation into the frame? Thanks in advance ~
www.mannlakeltd.com/hives-components/foundation/8-1-2-waxed-rite-cell-foundation-natural-or-black-case-of-100/
Is that a plastic foundation in the roaster? I see you use it for removing excess from the roller.
It's actually a block of wax.
Going to try plastic wax for the first time my ? Is applying the wax do u have water in the melted wax or is it pure melted wax?
In this case it is just wax.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank u very much sir can't wait to see how the plastic foundations do
How do you avoid filling up the cells. Our State Inspector said the Bee's would not use the cells full of wax. We experimented and found this to be true. Thank you.
What is shown in this video works well for us. If you don't move too slowly the cells won't fill up too much.
@@bobbinnie9872 thank you.
What toxins would there be in brood beeswax? I've just started my 3 hives in April and have yet to use any chemicals.
The older the comb the worse it is no matter what you do. There are chemicals from the field in our comb that most people have never heard of. Recent research has shown that as much as 98% of ALL wax samples taken in North America were contaminated with something. If your brood comb is relatively new it should be relatively OK to use.
Is it just wax in the crock pot or do you add a little water?
Only wax.
How do get any cooker to melt the wax? I have tried one from Walmart not hot enough! I tried one that was make for beeswax not working! Propane bottle only way so far😂!
We're using a turkey baster which seems to work OK.
At what temperature do you set your turkey roaster?
When one person is using it we set it at 175f. With two people 200f.
Hope that bug likes hot wax, lol
i found yor explanation here
Why don't you dip it in the wax?
You can do that but you have to be careful not to apply to much. It's best if the cell remains defined on the foundation. I have a friend that dips in a vessel of very hot water with a thin layer of melted wax on top to avoid over applying.
@@bobbinnie9872 I'm about to switch to plastic frames and thinking of pre-heating the frames and then dipping them to avoid over applying. Pre-heating makes the wax not set immediately, preventing over applying. I need to do some real-world tests though to verify my statements.
@@verlicht Let me know how it works.