# Syrup Dispensing



## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

A boat bilge pump would work, and they run
off 12 volt batteries.

The distance and lift are not too bad here,
so you won't need much of a pump.

One thing that might not have come to mind
is a simple gravity-feed system. If the tank
is in a pickup truck bed, the level of the
syrup would be above the level of the feeder.

If so, one needs only a valve and a hose, as
the tank will pressurize the hose, and allow
you to fill any feeder that is lower than the
syrup level in the tank.

A large diameter hose is required for
high-viscosity liquids, but you would need
one even if you used a pump.


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## King bee apiary (Feb 8, 2005)

I use a 55 gal. drum in a front-end loader with a garden hose and cut-off valve,gravity feed.This is 1:1 sugar syrup and works great,just make sure you have a riggid hose or it could collapse and limit the flow.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I may have to go that route this
year due to $$$$. I was hoping for
a system in the truck bed so I do
not have to haul a loader around
to feed.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

The bilge pump is an interesting
concept........ I also thought about
a 12V air pump to pressurize the
tank to expedite faster flow.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

I am not sure that a 12-volt air pump will have the output that is needed to pressurize your tank.

Bruce you might try what I do, but just on a larger scale. I spay my yard for weeds and use one of those pump up sprayers. Instead of pumping I purchase the smallest block of dry ice from the grocery store. In Tulsa dry ice is sold by the pound. I break a little piece off and drop it in the sprayer and spray. Makes spraying a lot easier and faster. I bet you could do the same thing.

Or you can try. 
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34679

[ July 09, 2006, 12:42 PM: Message edited by: magnet-man ]


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Mag Man..... Thanks for the input, I
thought about those barrel pumps before
but feeding 110 colonies would be too
big a chore with one.

The dry ice concept is wild... very
MacGiver of you!


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

Most all construction companies have a pickup with a tank for diesel in the truck bed. They use a 12 volt pump to dispense the diesel to the off road equip.
You could use one of those, including the fuel nozzle for turning on and off.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

This looks cool....

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43460

[ July 09, 2006, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: Sundance ]


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

That's the one.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

We used to put a small pice of dry ice in a two liter bottle with a small amount of water and the exploded with enough force to destroy a five gallon plastic bucket AND launch it fifty feet into the air. I would not have the nerve to put some in a tank that was anywhere near me.


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## Gregg (Dec 22, 2003)

Bruce,

Least expensive option (which is how I have fed for the last several years): Gather a few pails, from 2 - 5 gallons depending on how much you want to lift and carry, and pour away! Not as fast as a pump, and kind of hard work (depending on how much you are feeding), but cheap! One Fall a few years back I fed out almost 1,000 gallons via this method using hive top feeders (able to hold about 4 - 5 gallons) and 2 5 gallon bottling buckets (honey gate on the bottom of the pail) in about 8 hours.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Unfortunatly the majority of my hives
are in frame feeders and the thought
of cutting new holes in 75 covers is
not good. I don't like frame feeders in
my limited experience though.


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

If your feeding very heavy syrup the fuel pumps probably won't pump it. You can rig up a pressue tank and fill it with an air compressor at home. This would probably get you through half of your tank and you could bucket it from there or find a gas station.

We have 2 pressure tanks set up but we pack a gas air compressor with us or run them off the compressor on the trucks. They are really nice for spot feeding while you are working bees. You don't have to start and stop a gas powered pump all the time.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

What PSI do you need Nick?? I've
got a 100 gallon propane tank I
could convert to store presurized
air.


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

Depends on how thick your syrup is. Start with 90lbs and work your way up. A small air tank would probably be plenty to pump out 125 gal.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

By a small tank are you talking about
a 20# propane cyliner size?? How do you
plumb in the fitting to the plastic feed
tank? Into the cap??


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## george dilley (Sep 5, 2005)

you could drill a hole in the bung plug and use a valve stemm that screws in place for an air filler not sure i would use a propane tank because of residule gas effects


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I flush the propane tank out well
using Dawn dish soap. It breaks
down the "stink oil" and carries it
out. They make great tanks, I have
5 of them around the farm due to the
new OPD valves.


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## Nick Noyes (Apr 28, 2005)

The syrup tanks we use with pressure are steel I don't know if the plastic totes will hold pressure. I would imagine a propane size tank would work. This is something you will have to play with. If you use a steel tank paint it black that helps quite a bit.


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Sundance another option that you have is to use a CO2 cylinder and a regulator. A CO2 tank is pressurized to 1800 pounds and is liquid CO2. Once it gets converted to a gas it is a large volume. The regulators can be purchased for around $45 and if you are friendly with someone with a soft drink dispenser you could use one of their spare tanks for a day and pay for the CO2 used. This might be the cheapest way to go.

The local welding supply dealer will also have CO2 cylinders that you could rent. With the right incentive, honey, you might get them to rent it to you for three days instead of the usual 30 days.

[ July 17, 2006, 08:08 PM: Message edited by: magnet-man ]


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## TX Ashurst (May 31, 2005)

<
posted July 10, 2006 06:15 AM 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We used to put a small pice of dry ice in a two liter bottle with a small amount of water and the exploded with enough force to destroy a five gallon plastic bucket AND launch it fifty feet into the air. I would not have the nerve to put some in a tank that was anywhere near me.

--------------------
Michael Bush
>

Here in No. TX the police consider those to be explosive devices ever since 9/11. You wouldn't believe the stuff they charge kids with these days, and I mean felonies! Then they try them as adults. There is a serious lack of humor in the world these days.


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## tecumseh (Apr 26, 2005)

nick noyes adds:
If your feeding very heavy syrup the fuel pumps probably won't pump it. You can rig up a pressue tank and fill it with an air compressor at home. This would probably get you through half of your tank and you could bucket it 

tecumseh thinks out loud:
I would be extremely leary of this approach given that most vessels are not designed to accomodate pressure. anyone who has ever constructed or repaired tanks usually has a story to tell about one coming apart at the seams. back during the days when I did this type of repair we typically checked our work using 10 psi. if I was to use a vessel that was not made for pressure I would experiment by starting at 10 psi and very slowly work my way up. certainly if you were using an old propane tank these are constructed to withstand significant internal pressure.

magnet man adds:
Sundance another option that you have is to use a CO2 cylinder and a regulator.

tecumseh replies:
the regulators on these will freeze solid due to the nature of co2. wetter and colder conditions will increase the likelyhood of freezing the regulator solid.


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## Action (Jan 8, 2005)

I use a tote 275 gal i think. I just gravity feed with hose and gas nozzel. works good not super fast but works for me.
Jack


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

This is how we do it now. http://community.webshots.com/user/pvhoneybee
First album
John is making some changes later on this year. 
Sheri


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Just picked up a nice gas powered pump
for $50 at auction and will plumb it
into my tank in a simular setup as
yours Sheri. My tank is only a 125 gal
though.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Hi Bruce
We used to do same thing with a couple 55 gal drums, gas engine/pump that worked too. 
John wants to change ours out to a 500 gal.
When the mad dash is on to get them fed, he has to come home mid day and refill the 325 and wants to eliminate that trip. Of course, if he goes bigger tank, also wants to change out the pump and motor. Or is it called an engine????  Just call me mechanically dis-inclined,lol.
Anyway, he has a 12H Honda motor?engine? and bigger pump also bought at auction...Ebay all ready to go, just wanting the time to dig into it.
Sheeeeesh, .....Boys and their Toys!!
Sheri


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I only have 100 to feed so the 125 will do
until next year. I have a half dozen of 
those 275 gallon cube's I can run after
that. 500 colonies is my limit.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

500 colonies is our limit too, trouble is we have more.....  
Sheri


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## pahvantpiper (Apr 25, 2006)

I like the propane tank idea so you can put as much air pressure as you need to and not worry about motors and pumps. Where I buy my HFCS its loaded out of a huge tank on a train and it's all done by air pressure - no pumps involved. I'm using a pump and motor this year but am going to change over to a 250 gal propane tank for next year.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

John says he's seen alot of large operators in CA going the propane tank route and it works pretty slick. Pushing instead of pulling. Guess they have to have a compressor tho, so they don't run out of oooomph before they are done. And here my non-mechanical brain is working overtime, don't you need a generator to power the compressor?  
Sheri


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## Spigold (Jul 31, 2004)

Has anyone experience with Mann Lake EZ-FILL? 

It has some pretty big claims about filling bottles and then using it in the field to pump syrup.


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## pahvantpiper (Apr 25, 2006)

Sheri,
From what I understand (and granted it may not be a full understanding) as long as you don't have a leak in your tank you can pressurize it before going to feed your bees and it should be enough to empty the entire tank without additional help from compressor and generator. Just like a can of hairspray or spray paint.


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## sierrabees (Jul 7, 2006)

I rigged up a bilge pump setup last year that works really well for me. The pump is set up with a preasure sensing switch so I can turn the flow on and off at the nozzel without having the pump run against preasure. It clamps on to the 12v hot lead to my dump trucks hydrolic pump and grounds anywhere on the body that is handy. Since it fits ordinary garden hose I can easily add another hose to reach the hives I can't reach with the truck if the ground is too wet. The pump and preasure valve are mounted on pvc pipe with a U at the top so I can hang it over the edge of a 55 gal drum and move it from one drum to the next with not problem except a little spilled syrup if I don't let it drain long enough.


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## Beemaninsa (Jun 9, 2004)

Any suggestions on the bilge pump?Brand/model? GPH? Has anyone actually tried this?


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## FordGuy (Jul 10, 2005)

24 bucks. it's cheap, and it sticks in your bunghole. not fancy, automatic, hydromatic, but gets job done.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_137382_137382

[ February 16, 2007, 09:19 PM: Message edited by: FordGuy ]


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