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How do YOU mix 50 gallons of syrup?

20K views 59 replies 34 participants last post by  larrypeterson 
#1 ·
Realizing the obvious this fall as I am feeding about 30 hives with the intention of splitting them early - I need to go about it differently than when it was 8 or 10. I'm using 2 gallon bucket feeders which is fine, but I would like to fill them in one or two batches. I'm thinking about putting a honey gate or some other valve on either a plastic barrel or a heavy duty trash can. I have a heavy duty drill and mud mixer already. Is this the way to go? I'm sure others have this all figured out. How much 2-1 can you mix in something like this, and how hot does the water need to be to get it to mix? Will hot water make a trash can too soft to hold up to the weight and stress of mixing, or do I just need to use a steel barrel? Any recommendations for a sturdy, economical, easy to install valve? Or is some kind of pump better?
 
#2 ·
We used to use a 200 gallon "tote" with a small pump attached to feed in the spring. We ran scalding hot water directly from our honey house boiler to make up the syrup. If you buy one you'll find other uses for it occasionally. They are all over the internet.
 
#8 ·
How did u mix the water and sugar?

I bought 2800 lbs of dry sugar today and am considering using our Maytag washing machine to mix syrup. Another thought I had was to use a small boat motor like you see on the sides of bass boats, but they are kinda expensive new.
 
#18 ·
Awesome! LOL, leave it up to a beekeeper! I'm just using my 5 gallon honey bucket now to service 15 hives with either top feeder (4 gal) or quart jars on boardman feeders. Already I am debating how to accelerate the mixing jobs.

Maybe not the whole washing machine, but if you can find one that is broken you may be able to salvage the pump to make up a recirculating system for a 55 gallon drum.
My washing machine is a Maytag w/ a Briggs and Stratton engine mounted on a plate underneath and a hose to let the water out the bottom.
 
#4 ·
I use a honey drum with a gate valve and a home made drill attachment similar to the mud mixer. I fill the drum about half way with cold water then mix in 3 40kg bags and top up the barrel with more water as needed. With hot water I can easily mix 4 bags if I want a thicker feed. One drum fills about 60 frame feeders.
 
#5 ·
I mix in a plastic barrel with a heavy duty submersible pump running for an hour or two. About 150 kg sugar in each batch. I'm using the pump to pump it out into pails. It is about 10-20 minutes work for each batch. Cold tap water works well with this method.
 
#9 ·
I am at the stage of making 12 gallons or so of syrup at a time and researching systems that will do more. My current method is to weigh water, pour it into a heavy duty rubber trash can; heat the water with a 100 watt immersion heater; pour in sugar and mix with a canoe paddle. I pour some sugar then mix, then add more sugar until the mix is where I want it. In the past I have used a bilge pump to get the syrup into 5 gallon totes. I now find it easier to fill my 1 gallon paint can feeders right at the trash can. I use a quart measuring cup to get the syrup from the trash can to the paint can. (50lbs water + 100lbs sugar = 12 gallons of syrup, more or less)
 
#10 ·
For years we mixed syrup in 55 gallon drums with a valve in the bottom using just hot water (if we had it), a 6' 2x4 to stir and 300 pounds of sugar. Then we went "modern" and began using a boat propeller welded onto a steel rod with a heavy duty variable speed drill to turn it. Worked awesome once we got the pitch of the prop flattened out enough to get agitation without pushing the syrup right out of the barrel.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Then we went "modern" and began using a boat propeller welded onto a steel rod with a heavy duty variable speed drill to turn it. Worked awesome once we got the pitch of the prop flattened out enough to get agitation without pushing the syrup right out of the barrel.
Hehehee - Can see that blowning syrup up and out the can, did that in a square tub working on outboard motors. But syrup would be a mess. :rolleyes:
 
#11 ·
I use an old Kelley paddle tank that makes half a drum at once. The hot water comes from my water heater that I turn up to 144.

For a small batch I would use hot water, a bucket or barrel, and your drill and mud mixer. As far as measuring or weighing...

Draw a line on the inside of your mixing container. Fill to line with granulated sugar. Fill to line with hot water...sugar has air in it so level goes down at first. Mix until dissolved. Re-fill to line with hot water and stir. Makes 65% syrup every time. No matter the size of the container
 
#17 ·
For a small batch I would use hot water, a bucket or barrel, and your drill and mud mixer. As far as measuring or weighing...

Draw a line on the inside of your mixing container. Fill to line with granulated sugar. Fill to line with hot water...sugar has air in it so level goes down at first. Mix until dissolved. Re-fill to line with hot water and stir. Makes 65% syrup every time. No matter the size of the container
This works to a T. If you want to make two quarts of syrup meausre two quarts of sugar and add a quart of water and you get two quarts of syrup, think it is a 5:3 mixture which is good for fall.
 
#12 ·
I'm thinking about putting a honey gate or some other valve on either a plastic barrel or a heavy duty trash can.
While my more mechanically inclined husband away getting schooled up at another beekeeper we all know and love - I had the bright idea to try the honey gate idea. Well sugar water is NOT honey- what a mess. Thankfully it was all done outside. The others have all offered you great ideas. We are mixing in pails with the paint mixer, and filling up 2 gallon buckets. Fed 20 colonies and 20 nucs this way all Sept. without too much fuss. If you are going to use a valve- try another type.
 
#15 ·
for just 50 gal we used to put some water into a open top 55 gal bbl and add 350# sugar and top off with water. stir with a garden hoe until it clears up let it set a couple of hours and stir one last time. we used this method in fla as it did not require much equip. I realize this method is too simple for some beekeepers but we used to feed 600 hives this way.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I use an old 40 gal. bottling tank no longer used for honey. I installed an elbow with a 2" ball valve at the bottom. I crank up the water heater to 160 and run 12.5 gal. (100 lbs.) of water into the tank with a hose. I use a measuring stick for the water.

I then use 100 lbs. of sugar for 1:1 (makes about 20 gals.) or 200 lbs. sugar for 2:1 (makes about 28 gals.) I stir by hand using a large plastic tank scraper with a 48 inch handle. The syrup is drawn off in 5 gal. plastic jugs. I sometimes fill bucket feeders with this too...a small piece of carton sealing tape over the holes will seal them while in transit to the bees. I just repeat this process for larger quantities.
 
#19 ·
200 gallon SS tank, fill to the line with HOT water, 1 1/2 hp pump hooked to outlet valve with 1 1/2 inch hose to return to tank. Add 16 2/3 bags of sucrose(50lb bags), pouring into the return stream. Add HBH, or other essential oil. Once the tank has water to line, it takes a half hour to add sugar and mix. Pump into tote or other tank to fill pails. Makes 150 gallons.

Crazy Roland
 
#22 ·
FYI for those wondering how to get mass quanities of hot water out of your domstic hot water heater. The normal hookup for your washing machine is garden hose threads.

take 50' hose into the house, hook up to were your washer normally does and turn it on. 40 gal of hot water right from the hot water tank.

If i had this job id cut a 6" hole in the top of a 200gal tote. place to pour sugar and place to drop sump pump. use the sump pump to mix as shown above. use standard ball valve on bottom to pour into buckets or tractor to feed location and use sump pump to dispense directly into feeders.
 
#25 ·
I purchased a 55gal plastic drum with a removable lid ($20 on Craigslist). I have a hot water spigot on my house. I dump sugar in, fill with hot water and put on lid. I then knock the barrel over and roll it to my hives, thus mixing it in route. Wait a while for it to cool the then just dip the feed out with a bucket. Next year I will pump it out straight into the feeders.
 
#26 ·
Looks like many of us are doing the same type of mixing. I use a 55 gallon stainless steel drum and tig welded a bung fitting on the lower part of the tank and installed a Maxant no drip valve.
My mixture consist of mainly 1/1 solution based on weight starting out with about 30 gallon of water and add 240lbs of sugar while mixing with a long paint paddle mixer that I extended and placed on a heavy duty drill. I place a heating strap around the drum and heat overnight. The next day the syrup is hot and I remove the heating strap and let cool. After tis is done I add my secret formula of bee PED.
I top feed through 5lb jars, my feeding requirements are a bit different than some because of my warm location. The Maxant valve eliminates messy fills and is quiet speedy in filling. I try not to store a lot of mixture, just keeping about 100 gallons is good for me, then I mix again.
 
#27 ·
Thanks - Lots of good tips and ideas here. Beekeepers are a resourceful bunch. It looks like I can make use of what I have on hand to do what I need. I believe I'm gonna have a bung for a boiler drain faucet (on hand) welded into the bottom of the side of a 55 gal honey barrel that I bought sugar in, and mix it with my mud paddle and drill using hot tap water. I can either fill it and mix it in the bed of my truck or just fill my bucket feeders at home - probably the second one because my Italian robbers just cake up on open syrup right now.

Other tips like filling to the same level as the original dry sugar for 65% mix instead of even measuring water sound like great time savers.

Thanks to everyone - but keep them coming if there are more.
 
#29 ·
So, I got a 1/2" npt fitting welded into my honey barrel as low on the side as they could get it, set it up on a pedestal made of concrete blocks in my garage and started using it a few days ago. Big time saver, but as usual there are a few things I would do different.

I would have a larger fitting installed and use a faucet with larger passages. It takes a few minutes to fill a 2 gallon feeder 3-4 I think - I haven't timed it. Faster would be good though.

Since I don't have a trolling motor, utility pump, or convenient source of really hot water I end up with about 3" of undissolved sugar in the bottom. Not a big problem - very little of it comes out with the syrup, and it will just get mixed into the next batch, but I'm sure it's part of the weak stream issue. So I would probably have a second (bigger) fitting installed about 4" off the bottom.

Now I really need to get in the habit of keeping the garage door closed.
 
#31 ·
I'm using a heavy duty construction drill with a mud mixer paddle bit - which I had on hand. If I mixed it for long enough I guess it would eventually all dissolve. Apparently I don't have sufficient patience. Or a washing machine... Well, I do... Nah, my wife would kill.

I've thought about a lot of things (although not a hot plate) but I really don't want to over complicate it. Or burn down my garage. What I'm doing works - works pretty good for that matter - it's a freaking technological breakthrough for my operation. Works great compared to mixing 5 gallons at a time on the kitchen stove - which makes excellent syrup but just takes too long, and results in a sticky floor more often than not. I was just pointing out to anyone who might be reading the thread and thinking about doing something like this what I would do different If I knew than what I know now.

When I am finished feeding for the year I will probably have another threaded fitting put in, because it occurs to me that then even if one or both was a little slow, I could fill two feeders at once. If I hadn't had any of the materials on hand I would probably just get a utility pump and use it both for mixing and filling feeders. But I had all of the tools and materials, and I traded a quart of honey and $10 for the expert welding.
 
#32 ·
Are you putting the water into the bottom fitting? Injecting it into the bottom will help to agitate the the sugar/syrup.

A hot plate under a metal barrel would help heat the mixture. We used to use a tractor that didn't have a block heater, in the winter months and used a hot plate under the oil pan to get it started.

Wonder what would happen if you created a closed loop with a small pump. Draw water from the top and inject it into the lower tap??????????
 
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