Honey bee wax on frame question

[nao57]

So...already people of pointed out that I should be asking this stuff for bees on the sister site.

I technically have been, but people don't answer there, at least for the bee section.

...

So I wanted to ask...say you use foundation less frames, the ones with no plastic or whatever it is foundation with air in the wood frame where the bees fill EVERYTHING out themselves.... Are these stable enough to use and not be a mess?

What do you think about this?

And how long would these types of wax drawn comb last?

 

[MarkJr]

I have hundreds of them. They work great for everything EXCEPT being spun during extraction. The extractors that set up with top of frame toward the drum to extract both sides at once are OK provided you start slow and spin them up slowly.
Reason is factory wax foundation has supports (wire) through it already in the vertical direction, and frames are wired horizontally. Install foundation, imbed horizontal wires with a spur wheel. Throw it in the pile. These are then plenty stiff to be put in a basket style extractor without damaging drawn comb.

Back to foundationless frames. When they are being drawn, they are fairly fragile. They hang vertically and are plenty strong, but hold them parallel to the ground and they will break off. They are this way up until the bees finish attaching it to the inside of the frame. Once totally drawn, it can be handled any way you please.

Drawn comb can be used for years and years. Wax absorbs all the bad crap bees crawl through (pesticides, chemicals, etc) and build up cocoons in the bottom from hatching out new bees. In my opinion 3-4 years is as long as I will keep drawn wax. It still renders out nicely and forcing them to draw new comb helps keep the hive healthy.

I have visited beesource.com for years, and there is tons of knowledge to be had there too.

 

[nao57]

I have hundreds of them. They work great for everything EXCEPT being spun during extraction. The extractors that set up with top of frame toward the drum to extract both sides at once are OK provided you start slow and spin them up slowly.
Reason is factory wax foundation has supports (wire) through it already in the vertical direction, and frames are wired horizontally. Install foundation, imbed horizontal wires with a spur wheel. Throw it in the pile. These are then plenty stiff to be put in a basket style extractor without damaging drawn comb.

Back to foundationless frames. When they are being drawn, they are fairly fragile. They hang vertically and are plenty strong, but hold them parallel to the ground and they will break off. They are this way up until the bees finish attaching it to the inside of the frame. Once totally drawn, it can be handled any way you please.

Drawn comb can be used for years and years. Wax absorbs all the bad crap bees crawl through (pesticides, chemicals, etc) and build up cocoons in the bottom from hatching out new bees. In my opinion 3-4 years is as long as I will keep drawn wax. It still renders out nicely and forcing them to draw new comb helps keep the hive healthy.

I have visited beesource.com for years, and there is tons of knowledge to be had there too.

Thank you.

Is there a reccomended limit to what % of your frames you have for foundation-less (open), compared to the other types? Or would you say its possible to fully manage it all the way with all of them of this type?

 

[MarkJr]

All foundationless are possible. Just careful extracting honey.