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5:3 fall sugar water mix

16K views 47 replies 15 participants last post by  Hoosier 
#1 · (Edited)
Thought someone else might need this, Joe

5:3 FALL SUGAR WATER MIX

Five Parts SUGAR TO Three parts WATER


4# SUGAR (64 OUNCES) 2 ½# WATER39 OZ.+/- 1 ¼ QUARTS
5# SUGAR (80 OUNCES) 3# WATER 48 OZ. 1 ½ QUARTS
8# SUGAR (128 OUNCES) 5# WATER 80 OZ. +/- 2 ½ QUARTS
9# SUGAR (144 OUNCES) 5½# WATER 90 OZ. +/- 2 ¾ QUARTS
10# SUGAR (160 OUNCES) 6# WATER 96 OZ. 3 QUARTS

Note: The sugar plus the water makes slightly more than twice the water, e.g., 5 pounds of sugar plus 1 1/2 quarts of water will produce about 3 1/4 cups of sugar water.

Thanks to Mike Bush for suggesting my making 5:3 ratio rather than 2:1 for fall feeding; this is working much better.
 
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#15 · (Edited)
Quart of sugar = 26.6 ounces

Quart of water = 32 ounces

This is full to the top of the jar.

So for a 5:3 need 5 quart of sugar(133 ounces) and 2 1/2 quart of water(80 ounces)
Not really:
One cup of sugar weighs 220 grams
/One quart of sugar weighs 880 grams = 31.04077 ounces (almost 2 pounds)
5 X 31.04 = 155.2 ounces of sugar (almost 10 pounds) SO 3 X 31 = 93 ounces or about 3 quarts of water
 
#16 · (Edited)
OK, so it sounds like you can do 2 cups of sugar to one of water, and just multiply it to your needs. Of course I was taught math in a public school, so there you go.
Not really:
1 cup of sugar=220 grams
2 cups of sugar=440 grams = 15.52 ounces (almost one pound)
1 cup of water= 8 ounces=227 grams= (1/2 pound) so You would be doing a 2:1 mix not a 5:3
You could do 2 cups of sugar with 9.3 ounces (264 grams) of water; that would give you a 5:3 ratio.
 
#21 · (Edited)
You're close, but it would depend on what you call two cups of sugar:
"2 7 oz. cups" =14 ounces of sugar divided by 5 = 2.8 ounces 2.8 X 3 = 8.4 ounces of water The .4 of an ounce would be significant if you were making a large quantity.
2 8 oz. cups = 16 ounces of sugar divided by 5 = 3.2 ounces 3.2 X 3 = 9.6 ounces of water; that's very significant.
 
#25 ·
Tell me more how I'm wrong.

I weighed a full quart of sugar and a full quart of water and did the math.

Was taught the Imperial system and metric system in grade school and am comfortable working in either.

A baking chart is laden with approximate conversions of volumes.
 
#30 ·
I bought several barrels of junk sugar (warehouse sweepings), the last 8" of the first barrel was so hard a rock bar would not break it loose. I set the barrel on it's side in the yard and sprayed water in it. The bees have cleaned all the hard sugar out. I now throw 2 shovels of junk sugar in the barrel and spray it with water, I am getting all kinds of flying insects but still mostly bees. I am not mixing this at all, The bees are taking it. What kind of problems am I going to experience?
 
#34 ·
I wonder if the hardness of water affects the amount of sugar that will dissolve. I never could get 2:1 to dissolve well and it crystallizes very quickly. And I'm adding it to boiling water and continue to heat until it dissolves. Yet others say they can get it to mix with hot tap water. I assume they are measuring correctly and that there is some other difference such as water hardness to explain this. If I could get 2:1 to work consistently and not crystallize I would do that, but since it doesn't I do 5:3. As far as weight and volume, the bees just aren't that picky. We aren't making anything that is that critical. It's not a chemistry formula. It's not a recipe for something really touchy. It's just syrup.
 
#35 ·
I agree. Mine is still crystallizing even with 5:3, but not as much. I think it's because it's sitting in a top feeder, the one I've mentioned before, and the sun is pounding down on the cover board all day long. That's probably causing a lot of evaporation. Tray Wood Table Room Beige
 
#37 ·
When I mixed it I just took hot water from the tap, put it in the Microwave for a bit (not a rolling boil or anything) and then poured it into the sugar. I'm not making it by the gallons though. My guess is that it probably less work to pour the sugar into the boiling water though, as I have to stir the thick solution for a while, whereas the boiling water probably does more of the work. Be careful though, I seem to remember that when you put sugar in water it raises the boiling temp. I would think that it would be very easy to get a big mess of burned up sugar if you didn't pay attention, as the super heated water could potentially boil away quickly and as Ben Franklin mentioned, that stuff is going to be murder cleaning up.
 
#38 ·
I give up. Even with 5:3 ratio mine is still crystallizing in my top feeder. I'm going with a 1:1 ratio, 4# sugar to 2 quarts (or more) of water, hoping to melt all the sugar crystals in the feeder. I used my hive tool to break up the crystals into small pieces hoping the warm, thin sugar water would/will melt the crystals.
 
#39 ·
I am guessing everyones water will be a different ph. I am also guessing the ph has as much to do with mixing and crystalizing as anything. I have extra hard well water, I do not know what the ph is??? There are times in the winter when I end up with crystallized sugar in the jar or top feeders. I have very little crystalizing in the summer.
 
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