[norfolk newbies]

Hi
We had hoped to be able to extract some of our honey by now, but the building work has not progressed as quickly as hoped and we have NO ROOM in the caravan for the extraction process. ( Given how much room it took up last time and the sticky everywhere it really is not an option even if putting straight into tubs and not jars).

We are leaving some stores for overwintering ( plus feeding) but we want to take off the top super frames off each hive.
I goodle this and got discussions on freezing frames being the best option, but I suspect that this might be for use by bees after defrosting, rather than extraction.

Does anyone have any experience or advice?
thanks
Jo

[Plantoid]

I saw your post  and started to reply  the same day you posted but my computer crashed as I was typing it out .. all sorted now hopefully.

if you still have enough to leave a super on the brood box & are not too bothered about your  bees having to draw out new wax in the supers next season at the expense of making honey for a week or so .
The excess can be cut out with a knife and dropped in a bucket then stick it in a bigger bucket and pour boiling water in the bigger bucket to make a bain marie. so you end up melting it down .

WARNING
Do it at night after dark as there will be no bees smelling the runny honey and trying to invade your life big style .
It's funny when someone does it  but not at their perspective I can tell you  , imagine  zilions of bees in her kitchen and house one hot sunny day with all windows open .

 The wax will melt and separate from the honey , once cooled the wax can be lifted off and washed using the washed off honey in the mead barrel .
 Don't do it on or near an open flame as the oils in the wax will most likely self ignite with disasterous results in the ensuing fireball explosion .

 I did once have nine buckets of full comb and stood the buckets in the bath , then put in enough hot water to almost float the buckets then spent the next two hours stirring the melting comb and adding kettles of boiling water ..once satisfied that things were melted I pulled the plug and  left them there over night
Then the next evening  cut the wax topping out , washed it in my mead water and left the honey to settle for another 24 hrs in the buckets whilst covered in a white bed sheet .

I then poured the honey into 30 pound lidded containers for storage and bottling at a later date.
 Again the empty buckets got washed out and the washings went  in the mead barrel .  ( 303 litres worth )


Leave out the emptied frames in supers well away from your hives so that bees can rob out any honey left on the wax,  for wet honey is hydroscopic ( attracts moisture ) and this will cause you all sorts of mould probs and rot  if left on the frames that you store over winter .

Store the frames in supers separated by a couple of sheets of broadsheet newspaper and put a dessert spoon moth crystals on each sheet not for getting to put some in the bottom super .

Cutting out the comb and using the moth ctrystals helps keep the wax moth away ..but as you have stolen the wax already your on a bonus .

Some people will be horrified at the removal of comb suggestion  but as bees wax is nearly the same price as honey , I used to make the most of what nature gave me.

 I have seen hundreds and hunderds of ruined frames eaten silly by major and minor wax moths all because the owner did not do this and just stacked wet fully waxed  supers ten high in his barn .. The mice also had a field day, so make sure the top and bottom of a stack have a decent thick plywood to stand on to make a base and a top.

David