Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Honeybee Healthy

30K views 83 replies 38 participants last post by  alpha6 
#1 ·
I was curious as to the cost per ounce to make HBH versus to buy HBH.

And anyone know of whole salersthat carry the oils?
 
#6 ·
Probably wont help, but.

I'm not worth a darn at math but my cost don't compare to Dadant's !

For a little over 1/2 gal. { I use 2/1 some use 1/1 }

I use;
5 cups of water * Cost = cheap
10 cups of sugar * Cost = 45 cents lb.{used to be a cent sign on a typewriter}
1 powdered capsule lecitin * Cost = 8.29 cents {100 caps. $8.29 Wal-Mart}

15 drops spearmint * Cost = ?
15 drops pure lemon grass * Cost = ? See below

I bought the Spearmint oil, 2 oz. & pure lemongrass oil, 4 oz. shipping included,for $13.31. { made several batches & haven't hardly touched it }

I'ts only a expensive Hobby
PCM
 
#7 · (Edited)
Here is what I come up with. Keep in mind I am boarder line stupid.

15 drops = .25 tsp. So a .5 ounce bottle has 3 tsp. (180 drops) I pay $6.50 for a .5 ounce bottle of lemmon and spearment. That = .0388 per drop.
 
#8 ·
I don't have the figures on what I paid for the oils but it has to be MUCH cheaper to make your own.

I barely touched the oils (lemon & spearmint) I bough and they were the most expensive ingredient. Other then the lecitin (sold by the pound, was pretty inexpensive if I recall) sugar and water are pretty cheap. :p

Is it exactly the same as HBH, I don't know but I do know bees take syrup with my homemade stuff quicker then with out so they like it....

K
 
#9 ·
When I make a batch I use wintergreen oil instead. I use one ounce of wintergreen and one ounce of lemongrass. same lecithin about 1/4 teaspoon. one drop of hand dishsoap to make the water wetter. This makes up one quart of total mix that I add one tablespoon of finished product to one gallon of syrup.

lemongrass oil is about $2 a ounce in 16 ounce bottle.
wintergreen is about $3 a ounce in 16 once bottle.
Lecithin about .05 cents

I add a cup of my own honey also and that is priceless....

total cost is about $6 a quart

a whole lot cheaper to make it yourselfs. I love SARE grant info that helps you do it yourself. I am all for them making a profit and some people do not want to mess with making it as it does ruin your blender for anything else you make. So there is a cost there also.
 
#11 ·
I'm also all Ears !1

How does it ruin a blender ? { I just use a pot & big spoon }

Now the BIG question !!!!
Why Do You Use Soap In The Mixture ????

{They must have said some bad words & washing their mouth out ?? }

Sorry Chef, had to ask that question again !!

PCM
 
#12 ·
i believe the lechin..(also used as a food additive) is to allow the oils to emulsifywith the sugar water

i use a cheap 9 buck stickblender from walmart..they blend much better in whatever container you use.. and you can get a real nice mix..
on the oils.. the best oils i have found are from now foods.. usually foundin health food isles. they have just about anytype of herbal oil you will want. i dont think they sell online but they do have a list.. and also a list of the local stores that carry it.. i get mine from the amish store in windsor...
now that i know how to make the stuff .. thanks you you gentlemen..
i plan on doing so. but what is the best way to feed it? i want to make sure i do this right.. and if i use wintergreen oil.. is that better? for what reason? would love to know.. i have wintergreen as well as spearmint. ginger oil.. and a few other types..already.. just need the lemon grass oil
 
#14 ·
Chef,

HBH has other "stuff" in it and is not just pure EO's, so you can't do a real price comparison.

I prefer to know the quality and what quantities of EO's I am feeding. Unless you get a percentage breakdown from HBH you are not going to know this information.
 
#17 · (Edited)
Makes one quart of mix

I take 1/4 teaspoon of lecithin granuals and mix it in one cup of boiling water. I add one cup of honey and one cup of ice to cool it to room temp. Put it in a blender and put on low setting. one ounce of each wintergreen and lemongrass. Add drop by drop both oils until a yellow milky looking mix. Add one drop of hand dish soap and mix for 15 more seconds. The Lecithin and soap are both emulsifiers and will help keep the oils mixed in solution. add water to make up difference to total one quart. I feed at one or two teaspoons to the gallon of feed.

The difference in oils.

Lemongrass great antiviral and antibiotic properties. Very good feed stimulant as well

Wintergreen has phenols in it that make mites steril when feeding on larva.

OH the Blender

The oils will make everything taste like them. Not so bad if you have glass or stainless but the rubber seal between the motor and the blade will smell from it. IF you have a cheap plastic one it will pit the plastic and the smell never comes out of it. I use the plastic ones and keep it in the honey house.
 
#19 · (Edited)
Chef, I am not usre if you have found this info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drop_(unit)

So here they are suggesting 20 drops = one ml, but this will depend on what you are dropping from. When I had O chem in college our lab droppers dropped exactly one ml per drop if I recall correctly.

The soap will help in creating and emulsion between the oil and aqueous phases if the mixture.
 
#20 ·
I beleive there's probably a bit of a flexability to the size of drops used though, isn't there? for the drops that come out of the eye droppers, chem droppers, or even the EO's that have the tilt dropper, I think for the amounts that we use, that there wouldn't that much difference, would there? give or take a drop or two.
 
#22 ·
If you want to be REALLY accurate

Earlier you were asking about exact measurement for drops. Like someone said before, it really depends on the dropper.

If you want to be exceptionally accurate, you could always buy some pipettes from a science supply store. Depending on the size, they are accurate down to fractions of a milliliter. As long as you are careful, you could get away with mouth pipetting the essential oils, just don't suck in too hard.

Hmmm... can you tell I spent a lot of time in chemistry classes? :cool:
 
#23 ·
To calculate the size of the drops, I think you would have to know what the
original drop size was, that who ever originaly posted this recipie many many moons ago used.
Other wise I think your just beating a dead horse !

Just my uneducated thinking ! :doh:

PCM
 
#26 ·
sheri: but since the essential oils are htem ost expensive item in the recipe, i would think one would want to know the cost. A pinch or salt in a recipe for four people might not be a thing to think about but make the recipe in a large batch, it matters.
 
#27 ·
As PCM already mentioned, you will need to determine what the original poster meant by "a drop", keeping in mind he might not have been overly concerned about the definition himself.
I think maybe you are over thinking this, chef. Wouldn't Rainesridge's formula be a good comparison? His makes a quart and takes an ounce of both oils. Compare the costs of his ingredients with the cost of a quart of HBH and ya got your rough comparison. The amount of the oils seem to vary by whoever is mixing it and does not seem to be a critical measurement, certainly not to the point of defining the size of a drop. Phillip's cost is $6 a quart, using 2 tsp per gallon dilutes it fairly thin, even doubling the amount of the oils would make it very cheap compared to HBH.
Sheri
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top