[SWM]

I hate mixing sugar syrup every time I need a few gallons. I like to mix about 30 gallons at a time and I use an old heated bottling tank.
I draw it off in 5 gallon plastic jugs and pour from that into feeders in the bee yard.
How long will 2:1 syrup keep if treated with bleach? How is it affected by temperature? Will it keep longer if kept warm in the tank until needed?

Please share you experience...thanks.

 

[JWPalmer]

Unlike 1:1, 2:1 syrup keeps quite well without bleach. I have had it stored in gallon jugs for more than a month with no issues. If you wish, add 1 to 2 tsp. bleach per gallon, but wait for the syrup to cool before you do.

 

[little_john]

I make up several dozen 4-pint milk jugs with 2:1 (or maybe a tad stronger) at a time. Those which will end up 'on the shelf' I add bleach to as already mentioned. I currently have about twenty of these jugs left over from Autumn feeding, so I'll just keep 'em full, as cool as possible and away from direct sunlight - that way they'll still be good to use come next Spring.
LJ

 

[odfrank]

I fill a truckload of five gallon buckets of Prosweet at Mann Lake when I run out. No spoilage, no fuss, no muss. No work other than the drive.

 

[SWM]

I fill a truckload of five gallon buckets of Prosweet at Mann Lake when I run out. No spoilage, no fuss, no muss. No work other than the drive.

No spoilage certainly sounds attractive Frank, but I'm not within driving distance of Mann Lake. What price are you getting per gallon. Catalog price is $14.00 a gallon in 5 gallon pails.
Even with free shipping, that's outrageous.

 

[odfrank]

$4 or $5 a gallon from the bulk tank.

QUOTE=SWM;1768479]

I fill a truckload of five gallon buckets of Prosweet at Mann Lake when I run out. No spoilage, no fuss, no muss. No work other than the drive.

No spoilage certainly sounds attractive Frank, but I'm not within driving distance of Mann Lake. What price are you getting per gallon. Catalog price is $14.00 a gallon in 5 gallon pails.
Even with free shipping, that's outrageous.[/QUOTE]

 

[SWM]

$4 or $5 a gallon from the bulk tank.

QUOTE=SWM;1768479]

No spoilage certainly sounds attractive Frank, but I'm not within driving distance of Mann Lake. What price are you getting per gallon. Catalog price is $14.00 a gallon in 5 gallon pails.
Even with free shipping, that's outrageous.

[/QUOTE]

Whoa! Good for you...that would be worth it for sure.

 

[snl]

I’ve had it last a year. I draw it from a friend’s tote in which he added some bleach. I store it in 2.5 gallon kitty litter jugs that I get from the recycling center. I just keep them in my garage.
I use those same containers to fill the in hive ML cap and ladder feeders.

 

[bushpilot]

My late fall mix is always good in the spring, with no additives. That is stored in the cold garage overwinter.

 

[GregV]

Why, whatever unused 2:1 I pulled - will be used up in spring where needed.
Just as is.

 

[SWM]

Okay, thanks for the feedback. For longevity mix 2:1 and keep it cold...got it.

Now I'm going to hijack my own thread and ask a second question. Let's say I have 2:1 left from fall feeding
and it's still good in the spring. If I want to stretch the syrup, how much water do I add to each gallon of 2:1 to make it 1:1.
Maybe I'm just being lazy by asking, but my math skills aren't working too well this morning

 

[Biermann]

I always ad bleach since it helps to keep and the bees like it more!

 

[little_john]

If I want to stretch the syrup, how much water do I add to each gallon of 2:1 to make it 1:1.

No need to get your calculator out - just eyeball the volume of the 2:1 and add the same volume of water to it.

And there's no need - ever - to be accurate when mixing syrup, the bees will accept whatever they're given ... if they need it.
LJ

 

[JWPalmer]

No need to get your calculator out - just eyeball the volume of the 2:1 and add the same volume of water to it.

And there's no need - ever - to be accurate when mixing syrup, the bees will accept whatever they're given ... if they need it.
LJ

LJ, you may want to rethink that first part. You would want to add roughly half the volume as water. 1-1/3 gallons of 2:1 will yield 2 gallons of 1:1. But you are right about not needing to be accurate. The bees will take whatever you give them, including the leftover 2:1 just as is.

 

[little_john]

Not at all - forget how the syrup was made up, because now it's a solution: of X number of grams per litre. By adding an equal volume of water you create X number of grams per 2 litres - i.e. half the strength of what you had previously.
LJ

 

[JWPalmer]

half the strength of what you had previously

Indeed you would, and 1/2 of a 66.6% solution (2:1), would be 33.3% (.5:1), not the 50% (1:1) that was being sought.

Took me awhile to figure out why your math looked good but did not correlate to my experience.:scratch:

 

[little_john]

FWIW - in the chemmy lab we usually talk in terms of 'molar' solutions - a 'mole' being the mass (or weight) of a chemical equal in grams to it's molecular weight. So - if we take a chemical with a molecular weight of (say) 100, then 200 grams of that chemical in 1 litre of water would then produce a 2.0 molar solution.
But - you don't just add 200 grams of it to 1 litre of water because chemicals continue to occupy volume even when dissolved in water, and so more than 1 litre would be produced as a result (at a slightly lower concentration than that desired).
So - the drill is to add 200 grams of the chemical to (say) 750 mls or thereabouts of water, then - when fully dissolved - top up the volume to exactly 1 litre, which then produces the desired 2.0 molar solution.

There are some examples of how to achieve fairly complex dilutions from 'stock' molar solutions at: http://dilutions.quansysbio.com/dilutions-explanations-and-examples/ from where I've pinched the following:

Using C1V1 = C2V2

To make a fixed amount of a dilute solution from a stock solution, you can use the formula: C1V1 = C2V2 where:
V1 = Volume of stock solution needed to make the new solution
C1 = Concentration of stock solution
V2 = Final volume of new solution
C2 = Final concentration of new solution

So - to turn our strength_2 solution into a strength_1 solution, we simply double the amount of solvent (water), thus:

2M x 1 litre = 1M x 2 litres, i.e. to give double the volume at half the concentration (strength)

Hope this helps (sorry about the chemmy lecture - chemistry has kinda conditioned how I think about things ...)
'best,
LJ

 

[JWPalmer]

Gawd, it must be getting to be winter, that we are discussing with gusto things of such a trival nature!

I was using C1V1=C2V2 also. The breakthough moment was considering that 2:1 is not twice as strong as 1:1, however pure granular sugar would be. We are not talking about molarity but rather percent concentration by weight of the finished solution. About a gazillion years ago, inorganic chemistry was my favorite subject in college so don't worry about going all chemmy on me, I love it.

 

[Surly L]

UMM, I hate to interrupt the chemistry lecture, but, isnt the 2:1 or 1:1 by weight, not volume?


D'OH!

 

[Biermann]

UMM, I hate to interrupt the chemistry lecture, but, isnt the 2:1 or 1:1 by weight, not volume?


D'OH!

Sorry to rupture your peace, but it is always by weight in my books. I know the old way of volumetric measuring is hard to die, but the weight is what we need (not on our hips).