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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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. 🤔
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..
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.
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
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?
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 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.
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?
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.
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 ~
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.
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😂!
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.
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.
