Have access to 100 deeps with frames; need your thoughts

[westernbeekeeper]

Sounds reasonable but if you are willing to take a chance why do anything?

That is a good point, Ace. I have considered just trying a handful of unscorched hives for awhile and seeing how they do. I have over half the boxes, 75 out of 130, scorched already.

[westernbeekeeper]

(WITH PHOTOS!)

Here's an update:
Okay everyone, I have all the supers totally taken care of. Scraped, stripped, sterilized, and painted. Whew! Plenty of work; but in all, including labor, it cost me about $250 to get the boxes into good shape and ready for bees (minus frames). But WOW, is it good to have them all done and taken care of, and put inside, especially since we are forecasted for a couple inches of rain tomorrow. I have 91 deeps, 38 mediums, 3 shallows, and 1 jumbo in all. A few have frames, but the *big* majority do not. I did get (along with all of this old equipment) a dozen or so telescoping covers and a handful of bottom boards.
Here are some photos:

Here is the pile of frames:
Picture 072.jpg

A good frame with comb (not a lot of these):
Picture 073.jpg

A bad frame (not a lot of these either):
Picture 074.jpg

An average frame (most are like this):
Picture 075.jpg

Here are the covers and bottom boards:
Picture 076.jpg

And the stack(s) of supers:
Picture 077.jpg

A sterilized super:
Picture 078.jpg

I may yet sort through the frames and save the good ones; I don't know yet. But thanks for your help and thoughts, everyone! It is appreciated more than you know.

[Mbeck]

You did a nice job they look great !

[delber]

I agree!!! That's a pretty stack of boxes!! I even like the look of the inside.

[Splatt]

Dang good job!

[Jim 134]

(WITH PHOTOS!)

Here's an update:
Okay everyone, I have all the supers totally taken care of. Scraped, stripped, sterilized, and painted. Whew! Plenty of work; but in all, including labor, it cost me about $250 to get the boxes into good shape and ready for bees (minus frames). But WOW, is it good to have them all done and taken care of, and put inside, especially since we are forecasted for a couple inches of rain tomorrow. I have 91 deeps, 38 mediums, 3 shallows, and 1 jumbo in all. A few have frames, but the *big* majority do not. I did get (along with all of this old equipment) a dozen or so telescoping covers and a handful of bottom boards.
Here are some photos:

Here is the pile of frames:
Picture 072.jpg

A good frame with comb (not a lot of these):
Picture 073.jpg

A bad frame (not a lot of these either):
Picture 074.jpg

An average frame (most are like this):
Picture 075.jpg

Here are the covers and bottom boards:
Picture 076.jpg

And the stack(s) of supers:
Picture 077.jpg

A sterilized super:
Picture 078.jpg

I may yet sort through the frames and save the good ones; I don't know yet. But thanks for your help and thoughts, everyone! It is appreciated more than you know.

Seen you got the comb look at 5:50 to 8:00 on this video
Part 1
http://youtu.be/05tCHtUyNHM

You may just like this one
Part 2
http://youtu.be/wyiaV222JoQ

I hope this help you out




BEE HAPPY Jim 134

[westernbeekeeper]

Seen you got the comb look at 5:50 to 8:00 on this video
Part 1
http://youtu.be/05tCHtUyNHM

You may just like this one
Part 2
http://youtu.be/wyiaV222JoQ

I hope this help you out




BEE HAPPY Jim 134

Yes, that's what I look for. But, as afore mentioned, I did not see any of this.

[westernbeekeeper]

Thanks everyone, I was pleased with the outcome too!

[westernbeekeeper]

I have salvaged about 470 deep frames. I am scraping them clean and then soaking them in 30% bleach solution for 3 minutes, then setting them out to dry. I am stunned by the outcome. They turned out very well. I feel a lot better about using them now. Here are some pics:

Before:
Picture 075.jpg

After:
Picture 094.jpg

Picture 095.jpg

Picture 096.jpg

Picture 097.jpg

[Daniel Y]

Do you remember the thread where you wanted feedback on your business plan? Where various posters brought up the issue of health insurance? And as I recall you don't have any?

I didn't see any line item in that business plan for "plastic surgery" to attempt to undo an accidental 3rd degree burn. If you're going to run without insurance, you need to think about the "worst case" options and the best way to avoid that scenario.

Kerosene is low risk compared to gasoline.

Oh Lord, Yeah I sure hope the burns I get come from Kerosene rather than Gasoline. Try some magnesium. that will light up your life.

[Rader Sidetrack]

Oh Lord, Yeah I sure hope the burns I get come from Kerosene rather than Gasoline. Try some magnesium. that will light up your life.

Burns from any source are usually quite painful. Personally, I don't see why anyone would hope to get burned. But you do seem to have an unusual outlook from the rest of us, perhaps you are "into" pain. Whatever turns your crank.




For those that would like real data, the flash point of kerosene (100–162 °F) is substantially higher than gasoline(-45 °F). Note that is minus 45 degrees. The flash point is inversely related to the potential hazard of a flammable liquid. More at the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_point

[squarepeg]

those frames look great ben, the bleach appears to have penetrated the wood very well.

[Rader Sidetrack]

... the bleach appears to have penetrated the wood very well.

And check out the color change of Ben's hand in the before and after photos. No need to waste money on a tanning booth!

[squarepeg]

trick photography?

[Adrian Quiney WI]

Ben, that was a lot of work. Good job. It is when I think about all the non-bee contact work of running a large commercial apiary that suddenly my job doesn't seem so bad. I'm happy at sideliner status.

[westernbeekeeper]

And check out the color change of Ben's hand in the before and after photos. No need to waste money on a tanning booth!

trick photography?

LOL! Different times of day.

Ben, that was a lot of work. Good job. It is when I think about all the non-bee contact work of running a large commercial apiary that suddenly my job doesn't seem so bad. I'm happy at sideliner status.

Thanks. We still consider ourselves sideliners, but we're on the way up! I enjoyed getting those boxes back into commissionable status; it saved me a little money. Non-bee-contact work
isn't too bad if it's done in moderation.

[westernbeekeeper]

those frames look great ben, the bleach appears to have penetrated the wood very well.

I, too, was fascinated by the bleaching effect it had on the wood. I only soaked them for 3-5 minutes each batch.

[squarepeg]

i believe you approached the whole thing in a very reasonable way ben.

not finding any scale in the old comb was huge.

the bleaching and scorching were done well.

now, it's just a matter of careful inspections as you populate those hives.

good work!!

[ralittlefield]

Thanks for sharing this experience with us. Looks like you did well!

[westernbeekeeper]

I was able to track all this old equipment back to the original owner. I called him and asked him about the history of this equipment: disease, etc. He said, "Why yes, there was AFB in 3 out of those 90 hives. I treated them and it went away; I'd reuse it all if I were you." But I don't want a big risk, so I will just use the boxes, covers, and bottom boards, but I will pitch/burn the frames. Oh well, better safe than sorry.