Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

How old is too old for Honey?

6K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  jdmidwest 
#1 ·
I have this 20 gal barrel of old dark tulip popular honey that must be 25 years old. The barrel was coated with some kind of paint/teflon coating and has likely been crystalized for a long long time. When it was put up is was strong tasting and I didn't have a market for it so I just forgot about it. I plan to heat it up in a bigger barrel full of water and place a couple of bricks in the bottom of the water barrel and heat it up and liquify the stuff. Plan to re-filter the stuff for the paint chips (lead?) if any look like they came off the sides) and see if it would be fit to feed back to my current bees. I know where this honey came from and don't expect any foulbrood issues but maybe dysentery if feed too much at a time in cold weather . Worth the trouble or any other use?
 
#2 ·
The age of the honey doesn't bother me (as long as it hasn't fermented). However, the paint chips are a cause for concern. If the paint chips are indeed lead, you could be poisoning your bees and potentially introducing lead into the honey stores that you intend to rob later.

It might be worth finding out exactly what paint/coating was on the inside of the barrel before making a decision.
 
#5 ·
I would suggest if you do feed some of this honey back to do so in the early fall to give them plenty of time to cure it. Do not feed it anytime late in the spring or you may well have it show up in your new crop honey.
 
#8 ·
Like Mr. Lyon says, feed it back late winter and early spring. I doubt that the bees will eat any paint chips and if they are just eating it and not stoing it, I can't see much of a problem. Of course using it could cause a meteor shower and exacerbate Global Warming or worse bring on an ice age or cause shingles in 3 out of 7 women who eat turnip greens. SO many things to worry about about when you have too much time. Personally I would invert the barrel in my bee yard now so it doesn't get water in it and let the bees rob it out on nice days. If they can fly enough to get it, the solids won't be an issue anyway. If you have been beekeeping that long, you don't need your hand held anyway.
 
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