Cleaning frames

[Eman]

I have a large quantity of frames to clean. They have wax and propolis built up on them. I have heard you can dunk them in boiling lye water. Has anyone tried this, and what is the best procedure?

[baddawg1976]

I usually just use a metal scraper or chisel, after putting them in a freezer for a while, the propolis will be hard and not sticky.

[odfrank]

I have cleaned hundreds of frames boiling them in a barrel with immersion heaters and lye. I quit because breathing the fumes burns one's throat. Also, it is too much work. They have to have the wires repaired. I don't think it kills foulbrood. In the end you have an old frame after spending fives times the time of making a good new one. I now throw out the old ones, and make new ones. Boiling tank for sale.

[Clayton]

Hi,

I have a large quantity of frames to clean. They have wax and propolis built up on them. I have heard you can dunk them in boiling lye water. Has anyone tried this, and what is the best procedure?

reply:

Forget the lye, you don't need that to clean frames. I use a barrel with emersion heater cooking around 190 degrees. Frames are then removed scraped clean with hive tool. Wax is scooped into molds. Don't remove wires. Use metal brush from auto department and brush the wires clean. Taking a wire crimper that BRUSHY MOUNTAIN sells recrimp the wires and they are tightened back up. The crimpers in the US are rather junky but the Austrailian ones are good. This save alot of labor rather than rewiring all those frames. As for foulbrood, well I don't use antibiotics so they aren't masked those frames are removed when encountered and dealt with differently.

Clay