# STORING FRAMES OF HONEY



## W.Gramps (Aug 16, 2000)

I am a first year bee keeper,I have 10 frames of capped honey in a medium super I do not have a extrator,is it possible to freese the frames and use them for food stores in the spring. Thanks


----------



## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

You can't go wrong storing honey in the comb in the freezer. I still have sections of comb honey in my freezer from 3 years ago and it tastes as good (almost) as the day I put it in. Just be sure your bees will in fact need the extra stores in the spring. Here in the midwest, I let my bees store up on the fall flow and I've never had to feed the bees in the spring. Usually just the opposite, too much honey left over.

If you find the bees don't need it next spring you can always extract or decap and drain the honey then for your own use.

Regards,
Barry


----------



## Juandefuca (Mar 16, 2000)

It would be interesting to know why honey in jars does not have to be frozen and honey in combs is different.
Depending on the source of nectar , one type of honey crystallizes almost within a week whether in comb or not. How do you conveniently liquefy / extract the honey in combs if crystallisation took place ?? Honey is antibiotic and can be stored for an unknown long period.Whether in combs or vessels.The capping of the cells effectively seals the product within and the bees do a splendid job of it.
Therefore I would like to know the reason why take valuable space in freezers ?
It is understood that honey does NOT go bad either way of storage, except when it is not cured properly , i.e. open cells.Just to throw another fly into the ointment : The other day we removed a colony from an attic which was home there for at least 5 years according to hearsay. Some of the combes were totally black and hardend containing perfectly preserved honey which is now of course in jars.
respectfully ,
Catfish

[This message has been edited by Juandefuca (edited 08-19-2000).]


----------



## Robert Lamb (Jun 1, 2012)

W.Gramps said:


> I am a first year bee keeper,I have 10 frames of capped honey in a medium super I do not have a extrator,is it possible to freese the frames and use them for food stores in the spring. Thanks


Hi, I am curious if your plan to store frames for the bees' use in the spring worked out? I am also a first year beekeeper & ended up with 3 frames of capped honey (about 1/2 of each frame has the honey) and don't have an extractor. I ruined one other frame manually extracting it and would prefer to keep the 3 left as insurance food for the hive I have in the spring. 

How did it work out? 

thanks,
Robert


----------



## Eddie Honey (May 30, 2011)

I store comb honey in the freezer so ants and other pests don't smell it and come looking for it.
Honey in a jar is sealed. I suppose you coud find a big tupperware container or the like and seal the combs in there so there is no scent.



Juandefuca said:


> It would be interesting to know why honey in jars does not have to be frozen and honey in combs is different.
> Depending on the source of nectar , one type of honey crystallizes almost within a week whether in comb or not. How do you conveniently liquefy / extract the honey in combs if crystallisation took place ?? Honey is antibiotic and can be stored for an unknown long period.Whether in combs or vessels.The capping of the cells effectively seals the product within and the bees do a splendid job of it.
> Therefore I would like to know the reason why take valuable space in freezers ?
> It is understood that honey does NOT go bad either way of storage, except when it is not cured properly , i.e. open cells.Just to throw another fly into the ointment : The other day we removed a colony from an attic which was home there for at least 5 years according to hearsay. Some of the combes were totally black and hardend containing perfectly preserved honey which is now of course in jars.
> ...


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Robert Lamb said:


> How did it work out?


Robert - You are not likely to get a reply from _W.Gramps_, as he posted his comment 12 years ago, and that was his only post to Beesource.  _I wonder who scared him off? _:lookout:

But you can find quite a few comments from other members on using formerly frozen honey frames with the _Search _function. Here's one example:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?249640-Can-you-freeze-honey

If you do put the frame back in the hive, just make sure it is fully defrosted before you put it in the hive.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Robert Lamb said:


> Hi, I am curious if your plan to store frames for the bees' use in the spring worked out?


You really only need to freeze it for a couple of days to kill eggs that might be in the honey. Then you can store it sealed in something closer to room temperature.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Were Gramps still w/ us I'd ask him why he doesn't simple store the honey on the hive?

Joined in August 2000? He must have been the first member or close to it. Maybe be Posted and then died.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Acebird said:


> You really only need to freeze it for a couple of days to kill eggs that might be in the honey. Then you can store it sealed in something closer to room temperature.


Eggs Brian? Do you mean wax moth larvae perhaps? What eggs are you refering to?


----------



## Robert Lamb (Jun 1, 2012)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Robert - You are not likely to get a reply from _W.Gramps_, as he posted his comment 12 years ago, and that was his only post to Beesource.  _I wonder who scared him off? _:lookout:
> 
> But you can find quite a few comments from other members on using formerly frozen honey frames with the _Search _function. Here's one example:
> http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?249640-Can-you-freeze-honey
> ...


Thanks for updating me Graham. totally misread the date and thought it was last year. I checked the hive i have out in the field and it's frames are chock full of honey for the winter, so double check the other posts out there as you suggest, but am leaning towards freezing these these 3 and then store in a tote in a shed til spring when they may need a refill.


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Three frames or three supers? Where did you get them from?


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

sqkcrk said:


> What eggs are you refering to?


Am I wrong? I thought I read somewhere that small hive beetles lay eggs in the honey. I assumed wax moth did too. I could be wrong on both counts but the bottom line is freezing kills something you don't want living in the honey.


----------



## imkerwannabee (Feb 27, 2012)

Jumping into this discussion.... I discovered two days ago that two of my four hives were dead. One was my hive that did very well this year (120 lb honey extracted). There were still one and a half supers of honey left on this hive. My plan is to freeze the all the frames from these hives— honey, pollen, etc. for 24 hours to kill anything that shouldn't be there, then store them with crystals until needed. Any reason not to do this?

imkerwannabee


----------



## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Were it me, I would extract tose combs. But, in your case, I see no need for the crystals, now that it's getting cold out. Nor the freezing. It's almsot freezing where you are right now, I bet.

Where are you going to store them? What killed them do you suppose?


----------



## imkerwannabee (Feb 27, 2012)

I've been storing empty hive parts, empty frames, etc. in our basement, stacked tightly (sealed) with moth crystals and then air pieces out for a few days before use. It feels like a lot of work to extract about 15 frames....

I just tore them apart now and did find a small empty mouse nest in one, but no mouse. It was likely out of the hive when I added the mouse excluder. I'll need to get that on earlier next year! There were only a few hundred dead bees in each of the hives. They were so strong not too long ago. I'm at a loss, not knowing what I should have done differently.

imkerwannabee


----------



## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

Absolutely do NOT use moth crystals if there is anything in the comb (including pollen)! Empty comb only, and air for a week before you put it on, else the bees are likely to vacate the hive if you don't kill them outright. Honey will absorb the paradichlorobenzene.

Strong hives that suddenly fail are very often infested with mites, and the mite population is so high when they cut back brood production in the fall that the new bees don't survive and the population crashes when there are not enough winter bees. Look for white specks in the brood cells -- if you have a lot of them, you have severe mite infestation (the white specks are mite feces).

There are other causes, but a sudden crash in late fall is very often mites.

Peter


----------



## imkerwannabee (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks for the counsel on not using PCB with honey and pollen.

I've watched these hives closely for mites and do not think that was their problem.

Imkerwannabee


----------

