View Full Version : Filling candy tubes
We have filled them by hand for the last few years, but with the growing client and chore list it is high time to automate. I have seen some pictures of what looked like an electric caulking gun and heard stories about a heated tip. Anybody have suggestions on how to automate or speed the process up?
adamf
01-21-2008, 06:44 AM
John,
What is a "candy tube"? Do you mean the part of a queen cage that holds the candy? Either in three-hole (Benton) cages or in JZBZ cages?
Adam Finkelstein
adamf7@gmail.com
The plastic tube that inserts into the California mini cages. The three holes are fill by hand for sure, but most of our queens go in a battery box with attendants on the outside of the mini cages with each cage plugged with a candy tube...pretty standard operating procedure.
adamf
01-21-2008, 01:52 PM
The plastic tube that inserts into the California mini cages. The three holes are fill by hand for sure, but most of our queens go in a battery box with attendants on the outside of the mini cages with each cage plugged with a candy tube...pretty standard operating procedure.
SOP only on the LEFT coast... ;) (HEH).
Even though the Cal mini cages are a convenience I've always had better outcome with queen/virgin health having attendants in with the queen.
Couldn't you build a form to hold a bulk # of those tubes and then press the whole form into warmed candy, thus filling a mess of tubes?
Adam Finkelstein
adamf7@gmail.com
BEES4U
01-24-2008, 01:28 AM
Web site: www.CFKOEHNEN
They had bees on our farm near Butte City Calif. in 1953. They started in 1907.
http://www.koehnen.com/photo%20gallery.html
Check out the lower left photo of Maria making 3,000 -3,500 tubes per day
Regards,
Ernie
Thanks Bees4U. I can quite reverse engineer from that picture, but it does look convenient. Filling them by hand gets old pretty fast. What do the rest of you do?