From: Barry Birkey <barry@birkey.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 01:06:27 -0600
To: BioBee List <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Play it Safe

And yet another viewpoint.

BC March, 1969

----

Play It Safe

"If you are destination sure of your ultimate
maybe you have no desire to delay the day
of reckoning, but if your are not sure,
then you should avoid unnecessary risks."

P. F. THURBER
Kirkland, Wash.

WHEN YOU READ various histories of beekeeping, you shortly get the
impression that most beekeepers were monks, rabbis or priests, both
Christian and Pagan. IF you read a little deeper, I suppose you even find a
few witch doctors who were renowned beekeepers. Because of their religious
background and training, I think we can therefore assume that these worthy
beekeeping predecessors of ours went to their just rewards and are now
enjoying their hereafter. BUT how about you and me? If you are sure of your
ultimate destination maybe you have no desire to delay the day of reckoning
but if you aren't sure, then you should avoid unneccessary risks.

For instance, let's take a look at embedding the cross wires in foundation
as a good example. Most beekeepers apparently use a 110-volt resistance coil
in their embedding setup, and almost every bee supply catalog I've ever seen
lists that article for sale.

The normal way they are hooked up one electric wire comes from the 110-volt
source to a probe. The other wire comes from the other side of the 110-volt
source, then through the resistance coil and then out to the other probe.
When we then touch the two probes to opposite ends of the wire we wish to
embed, we find that the coil has reduced the amount of current so that we
can heat the wire slowly enough to melt it into the foundation, thereby
strengthening the comb after the bees draw it out.

The setup works fine and most small and many large beekeepers use just this
method. So what's the beef? Well, I won't tell you, instead take your setup
and put one probe on the base of a 110-volt electric light bulb and the
other on its metal shell. The light bulb lights fine, doesn't it? That's
because the resistance coil did not reduce the voltage, it just reduced the
current carrying capacity. This is literally and figuratively shocking as
you may have already discovered. The reason you are alive today does not
prove that the usual embedding setup can't be lethal, it just proves you are
lucky, that you feel no pain or that you face your hereafter with
confidence, but how about it - you do have wives, kids, or grandchildren who
can be hurt or killed by a resistance coil setup. Why not use a transformer
instead and play it safe?

The transformer powered embedder works just as well, just as fast, and just
as inexpensively as a resistance coil embedder setup. All you need instead
of the resistance coil is a 6 or 12-volt filament transformer as used in
millions of radios before transistors took over the job the tubes used to
do. You can buy a new filament transformer for under five dollars and any
radio shop has a fist full of them which can be purchased for maybe a
dollar. I'm a firm believer of doing things on the cheap end. I buy filament
transformers from junked radios at the Salvation Army or St. Vincent De
Paul, for the magnificent price of two bits, maybe even for a nice shiny new
one, as much as four bits. If you have a resistance coil and decide to
splurge on a transformer you can use the coil to heat a small honey
liquefying cabinet or something.

If you are now sold on safety and really want to go first class, go out and
buy yourself a "micro" switch. Most places that have surplus electronic
supplies have buckets and bins full of small "micro" switches. Get one with
three contacts and wire it so that when you push the button, the current is
on. Mount the switch in the middle of a piece of two inch half round, which
is one inch shorter than the inside length of the frame you are using. After
cutting a groove in the flat side of the half round, at each end screw a
strip of half-inch wide brass and wire one end direct to the transformer and
wire the other end through the switch to the transformer. This little setup
lets you embed with one hand while the other hand is free for pushing the
wires into the foundation in the event the frame is a little warped or the
foundation is not flat due to improper storage.

Oh yes, try lighting a 110-volt bulb with a 6 or 12-volt filament
transformer - or better yet, touch your bare leg with both probes wired to
the transformer. IF you feel any electric shock, believe me, it's just your
imagination!