syrup mixing question

[Lew Best]

Hi guys

When I try to mix 2:1 sugar syrup the sugar never all dissolves. Using a pedestal type Kitchenaid home mixer with the wire whip.

Seems like back in the dark ages (bout 25 years ago when I had bees before) it was recommended to not heat the sugar syrup for some reason (seems like it had to do with caramelization of the sugar?) so I've been using hot water from the faucet, heating the mixer bowl with hot water so it doesn't cool the water when I pour it in but the room temp sugar cools the mixture enough that it never all dissolves.

Any suggestions appreciated!

Lew

[John Russell]

I boil my water first.
By the time I get the pot off of the burner, and the water poured into the mixer, its cooled suficiently to not carmalize the sugar.
I also add a teaspoon of cream of tartar per 5 gallons to prevent crystalization. I don't know if thats effective, but an old timer taught me that, and it seems to do no harm.
But heating syrup is bad news.
One beekeeper I know doesnt care if the sugar dissolves or not. But he uses hive top feeders, wich I hate.

J.R.

[Lew Best]

Thanks John

Sounds like a good workable plan; need to mix sugar water tonight so I'll try it!

Lew

[Chef Isaac]

Well, to disolve sugar, you MUST have a hot liquid. At least from a chefs point of view.

Take your water and bring it to a boil. Then turn off the heat and add all of the sugar. Stir it and than take the pot of the stove annd stir it some more and then let it cool.

[Antero]

Lew

At first when I had a couple of hives I would bring the water to boil turn stove down to medium add sugar slow and stir,stir,stir after short while the syrup will become clear.
Now I use hot water from the tap into garbage pail,add a little sugar at time ,I use 1/2" drill with a 3/8" or 1/2" rod iron bent into a cicle at the bottom works fine (not as clear

Terry

[Michael Bush]

You have to boil the water to make 2:1. You can get by with tap water on 1:1. For 2:1 I boil the water, turn the heat to medium and add the sugar and stir until it's clear and turn off the heat.

[bjerm2]

The secret is you have to keep stirring the water while adding the sugar if you have any heat on it. You don't want it to burn, since it will become poisonous to the bees. I heat my water and stirring it all the time when I'm feeding.
Dan

[Lew Best]

Thanks everyone!

I heated the water to boiling & poured it into the mixer bowl that had the 2 pounds of room temp sugar in it & mixed at half speed for about 5-6 minutes. No noticeable grains (unless they settled over night; was already a little granulated in the feeder jars from before. The 1 swarm emptied two pint jars in 3 days; 2 more pints set out this morning.

Thanks again!

Lew

[HARight]

My two cents worth. I use a kitchen timer, spoon and pot large enough to more than hold 5# sugar and water necessary for proper mixture. Water and sugar go on stove together, stove is turned to high, for my pot and stove it takes 6 min. to bring mixture to full boil. The timer is set when the stove is turned on and buzzes 6 min. later. The stove is turned off, the mixture stired with the spoon a few times untill the mixture turns clear( about 15 sec.) and poured in to a 5 galon bucket, then the proces is started again. The timer keeps me from forgeting and having the mixture cook down to a burnt mess. Senior moments you know.
Has any had experence with the cream of tartar as an anti crystal agent? Sounds interesting.

[Michael Bush]

Most of the recent discussion of cream of tarter and of heating syrup is about how bad it is for the bees because of invert sugar. I have not tried it.

[Barry Digman]

I heated the water to boiling & poured it into the mixer bowl that had the 2 pounds of room temp sugar...

I notice you are pouring the water into the sugar rather than pouring the sugar into the water. Back in my drilling days, a new roughneck quickly learned to pour the dry stuff into the barrel filled with water rather than dumping the dry chemicals into the barrel and then adding water. It seemed to mix more easily and, depending on what you were mixing, avoided blowbacks and explosions. (At least that's the way I remember it)Don't know if the same holds with sugar and water, but I always add dry sugar to a big pot of hot water and it seems to always dissolve completely and clearly.

[Lew Best]

Thanks Coyote

The reason for doing this is the design of the Kitchenaid mixer I use. The beater I use is the wire whip & the way a Kitchenaid is made the beater goes in a spiral around the inside of the bowl instead of rotating the bowl. I think (am very hesitant to try it) the spinning whip would make a big mess slinging sugar every time it comes around to the area you're pouring the dry sugar into.

I was actually surprised adding it all at once worked; was afraid of clumps but it did fine.

Lew

[Michael Bush]

>Back in my drilling days, a new roughneck quickly learned to pour the dry stuff into the barrel filled with water rather than dumping the dry chemicals into the barrel and then adding water.

I've carried hod (along with every other job in construction) and it works that way mixing mud for brick too. [img]smile.gif[/img] First the water, then the morar mix and sand.

[dcross]

<<depending on what you were mixing, avoided blowbacks and explosions.>>

Some concentrated chemicals generate quite a bit of heat when mixed with water. "Always add chemicals TO water" is drilled into every beginner at the cheese factory where I work, particularly sanitation workers using caustics. That way, the intense heat is dissipated through the water, rather than the water flashing into steam, causing an explosion.

[Hillbillynursery]

So far I use my coffee pot to make syrup. I pour the water from the coffee maker into either a gallon pitcher or gallon pickle jar then add the sugar. As long as the jars have been sitting in the house at room temp it works great. I do not fill the jar/pitcher all the way full(one reason is size of coffee pot) so I close the lid loosely and shish the water around to warm the air inside then close it tight and shake it hard. I have a good washing machine with the timer broke off during a move and thought about using it like I read in an old bee book(the picture was of an electric ringer type). The pump could pump the syrup into a barrel on a trailer behind the 4 wheeler to make feeding alot of hives easier(plan to reach 30 hives by fall and have 10 over wintering + a nuc). I would need someway of metering the water though which could be as simple as a water line run up high with a hose bib and a bucket. Since I have power there I also thought about running the water through a hot water heater turned up(you have to be careful not to boil the water in the tank and blow steam water out of the over flow. Those that have a honey house may like the idea of having a water heater turned up(you would not want this going to sinks as it will scald).

[TwT]

what do yall put in the syrup to keep it or the feed jar from turning green from mold or algie?

[dcross]

The best is just to put it in the bees

But the mold won't hurt, as long as it isn't fermenting.

[Michael Bush]

I just don't make it up until I plan to use it. If I make any ahead of time, it's always 2:1. I can water it down when I feed. 2:1 keeps pretty well. Much better than 1:1.