tap water and mixing sugar water. don't work!

[hoodswoods]

Wow - this thread sure got derailed. Sorry OP!

I guess I am still wondering what the consensus is on if you guys mix by weight (ie. 1 gallon of water to 8 pounds sugar for 1:1) or volume ( 1 gallon water to four quarts of sugar for 1:1).

I am fairly new to this and have been going by weights.....

If you pour 8 lbs of sugar into a measuring device it will be very close to a gallon in volume - or oz by measuring standards, that is not truely weight (oz), because of the difference between the weight of sugar vs water - whatever it might be. For example, 12 oz of honey weighs 1 lb because of the difference in it's specific gravity and water - which measuring devices are calibrated on - So the methods you are describing are both volumn based since 1 lb of sugar is very close to 8 oz of water. Volume is displacement, not weight - imagine if sugar was as light as packing foam and you could disolve it - it might take 50 gallons volume to equal the the same weight as 1 gallon water.

I don't use buckets that have graduated measurements to mix my feed. Since I guess that the same volume/weight of water = the same volume/ weight of sugar, I use equal measured amounts.

[DonShackelford]

Is there a problem with feeding sugar wet just enough to form a cake rather than liquid? The bees seem to take it fine and it doesn't mold. I got the idea from Michael Bush's site. I was wondering if anyone had compared the two styles to see the difference.

[Keth Comollo]

Some have had success with "fluffy fondant". Here is a recipe . . .

http://ribeekeeper.org/newsletters/fluffy_fondant.pdf

[BeeCurious]

Some have had success with "fluffy fondant". Here is a recipe . . .

http://ribeekeeper.org/newsletters/fluffy_fondant.pdf

Wouldn't "Damp Granulated Sugar" be a more accurate name?

Any "fluffiness" can be attributed to the fact that it's not fondant...

[Ozarks Honey Company]

Is there a problem with feeding sugar wet just enough to form a cake rather than liquid?

This is almost exactly what my friend does. He puts the sugar into a plastic tupperware or similar container. Then wets it just enough to get it to stick together. After it dries a bit the pops it out, basically creating a big sugar cube. Then pops it out and puts it either on top of the frames w/spacer, or on top of the opening in the inner cover. He (and others) swear by this method in the winter because they like the fact that it actually absorbs condensation and keeps it from dripping back on top of the bees, also making it easily palatable for them too as it "melts".

I think it is a great idea and plan to try it myself this winter.