# 1: 1 sugar syrup recipe?



## alf1960 (Nov 25, 2017)

How much water do you add per pound of sugar for 1;1 syrup?


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

This is a real easy calculation, and it does not need to be precise. Add one pint of water for every pound of sugar. I mix 1-1/4 gallons of water to a 10# bag of Wal-Mart's finest pure cane. Makes 2 gallons of syrup.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

You add one pint of water for each pound of sugar.


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## alf1960 (Nov 25, 2017)

JWPalmer said:


> This is a real easy calculation, and it does not need to be precise. Add one pint of water for every pound of sugar. I mix 1-1/4 gallons of water to a 10# bag of Wal-Mart's finest pure cane. Makes 2 gallons of syrup.


Thankyou! I need to make a small batch to feed a couple splits in nucs.


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## Champy (Jan 24, 2019)

I mix 4 pints(2quarts) w/4# bag of sugar and it makes just shy of 1 gallon of 1:1


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## roberto487 (Sep 22, 2012)

alf1960 said:


> How much water do you add per pound of sugar for 1;1 syrup?


One gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. So to make one to one by weight, you mix one gallon of water to 8 lbs of sugar. I like to mix one gallon of water to 10 lbs of sugar. Ah, don't forget to add a tablespoon of regular, simple bleach to the mixture.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

_#’s of sugar divided by a lb of water (8.35lbs)= number of gallons of water needed to make 1:1_
_Divide that # by 2 to make 2:1_


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

I am lazier than most and I really do not have the time to be so precise and actually weigh or measure anything. I generally use quart size mason jars and fill it half way with sugar, fill and stir with warm water until all the sugar dissolves (about 10 seconds). All the sugar dissolves just fine and I have never had any issues doing it this way. It is not precise but it is fast. If I am using a pitcher because I need more, same thing. Fill half way with sugar...


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

D,
That works! Not lazy, productive!


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## elmer_fud (Apr 21, 2018)

dudelt said:


> I am lazier than most and I really do not have the time to be so precise and actually weigh or measure anything. I generally use quart size mason jars and fill it half way with sugar, fill and stir with warm water until all the sugar dissolves (about 10 seconds). All the sugar dissolves just fine and I have never had any issues doing it this way. It is not precise but it is fast. If I am using a pitcher because I need more, same thing. Fill half way with sugar...


If memory serves me right it is closer to 2/3 sugar before adding the water to get a 1:1 mixture. I don't think the bees are not terribly picky as long as it is somewhere between 0.5:1 and 2:1


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

alf1960 said:


> How much water do you add per pound of sugar for 1;1 syrup?


Oh God! You've opened this can of worms again. I bet there are a dozen more threads on this topic and they eventually all end up in a brawl.


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## ifixoldhouses (Feb 27, 2019)

I thought it was one part water, one part sugar, no wonder its so soupy, bees devour it anyway


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

Works out pretty much the same. Again, it does not have to be precise. Too much water and the bees just have to evaporate it a little more. Too little water, no problem either. Many people feed 2:1 year round. Better to use the can of worms to go fishing.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

For practical purposes it really doesn’t matter. A pint of water weighs about a pound. A pint of sugar weighs about a pound. Bags of sugar are marked in pounds. If you do pints of water to pounds of sugar it will work fine. I NEVER make 1:1. It doesn’t keep well and doesn’t accomplish anything that 2:1 or 5:3 won’t accomplish with less spoiled syrup.


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

The recipe for 1:1 is on every bag of sugar that is sold. You just need to know where to look on the bag to find the recipe.

On the front on the bag, usually near the bottom, you'll see the words Net Wt. or Net Weight. You'll see something that looks like Net Wt. 10 lb (4.5 Kg). That number in the parenthesis, the weight of the bag in kilograms, is the syrup recipe. That number is how many liters of water you add to the bag to make 1:1. A liter weights 1 kilogram (because that is the definition of a kilogram). Almost all pitchers are marked in both quarts and liters. For example, if you look on your ten pound bag of sugar you'll see that it says the net weight is 4.5 kilograms. You add 4.5 liters of water. If the bag says 1.8 kg, you and 1.8 liters of water. And if it says 11 kg, you add 11 liters of water. (that covers the three most common supermarket sugar bag sizes in the US)

No math. You cannot make it any simpler than that.

For 2:1 it is just half as many liters of water as you have kilograms of sugar in your bag.


edit Bonus.
If you want to figure out the yield, there is a little bit of math. Add together the number of kilograms and the number of liters. For 1:1 divide that number by 1.2. For 2:1 divide that number by 1.3. (The density of 1:1 is 1.2 kg/liter and the density of 2:1 is 1.3 kg/liter). So if you take a little supermarket bag of table sugar, it is 1.8 kg of sugar, and 1.8 liters of water, giving you 3.6 kg of syrup. Divide 3.6 by 1.2 and you get 3. The little bag makes 3 liters of 1:1 syrup. You shouldn't need to convert this to gallons - you know how big a 2 liter bottle of soda pop is, so you should have a good intuitive idea for how much syrup it is.


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

I have a pitcher that is marked off in quarts. If I want 2:1, I pour water up to the 1, then pour sugar in until the water rises to the 3. Simple. 

Alex


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## BumblingBeek (May 28, 2019)

roberto487 said:


> . Ah, don't forget to add a tablespoon of regular, simple bleach to the mixture.


 WTActualF, Roberto???


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## Apis Natural (Aug 31, 2017)

BumblingBeek said:


> WTActualF, Roberto???


a 1/4 tsp per gallon of unscented bleach, it's better than vinegar


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## BumblingBeek (May 28, 2019)

Apis Natural said:


> a 1/4 tsp per gallon of unscented bleach, it's better than vinegar


Is that supposed to prevent black mold from developing?


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## Apis Natural (Aug 31, 2017)

it stops the sugar water from turning bad

that should be 1/4 tsp per 5 gal not 1 gal


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

A heaping tablespoon of Ascorbic acid in five gallons of 5:3 will keep it from turning bad and won't disrupt the microbes, attract a robbing frenzy with the smell, and it's actually good for the bees...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/arch.940020104


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## Greeny (Jun 27, 2016)

alf1960 said:


> How much water do you add per pound of sugar for 1;1 syrup?


I use one pint of sugar to one pound of water. Bees love it.


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## RTBBEE (Dec 30, 2015)

I have done random samplings of a great many nectars, Only to discover the sugar content varies greatly. A cup of water to a cup of sugar, a pound of water to a pound of sugar. Anything will do the job. The more sugar the less evaporation needed to turn it to Sugar honey and the less the ladies need to consume to keep going.


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## BumblingBeek (May 28, 2019)

Apis Natural said:


> it stops the sugar water from turning bad
> 
> that should be 1/4 tsp per 5 gal not 1 gal


I have been told that essential oils are hard on the bees' digestive systems to use as a prevention from the sugar water spoiling. But bleach is ok? This doesn't feel right to me...I'm just a new beekeeper, though, it just doesn't seem right at all that bleach would be easier on the bees than lemon grass and spearment oils naturally occurring in plants.


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## RTBBEE (Dec 30, 2015)

BumblingBeek said:


> I have been told that essential oils are hard on the bees' digestive systems to use as a prevention from the sugar water spoiling. But bleach is ok? This doesn't feel right to me...I'm just a new beekeeper, though, it just doesn't seem right at all that bleach would be easier on the bees than lemon grass and spearment oils naturally occurring in plants.


Bleach turns into salt water very quickly. Essential Oils simply reduce. Ascorbic acid is not an essential oil.


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## Apis Natural (Aug 31, 2017)

RTBBEE said:


> Bleach turns into salt water very quickly. Essential Oils simply reduce. Ascorbic acid is not an essential oil.


Bleach is the cheapest and most common disinfectant when used to kill mold and bacteria and sterilization, and then degrades in the the sugar solution. But it does not turn sugar water into salt water.
Yes bleach can degrade into salt water, after a shelf life of six months. Even in its original bottle, bleach becomes 15% -20% percent less effective as each year goes by. so your statement of turning into salt quickly is wrong.
But as with used food products and sugar water stating it's turning into salt water, this has no effect of short term value in the beekeepers use and prevention of stagnant solutions.

boy get your facts straight straight, your answer seriously has no applicable merit when talking about feeding bees with sugar syrup, except trying to cause upset with the op. maybe your answer has some merit in elementary science class when talking about long term storage for years upon years, but not in beekeeping.

Essential Oils are used in stress reduction, even help you reduce a headache or feelings of nausea in the practice of aromatherapy,
but as a chemical agent in reduction, no they are not


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## RTBBEE (Dec 30, 2015)

Apis Natural said:


> Bleach is the cheapest and most common disinfectant when used to kill mold and bacteria and sterilization, and then degrades in the the sugar solution. But it does not turn sugar water into salt water.
> Yes bleach can degrade into salt water, after a shelf life of six months. Even in its original bottle, bleach becomes 15% -20% percent less effective as each year goes by. so your statement of turning into salt quickly is wrong.
> But as with used food products and sugar water stating it's turning into salt water, this has no effect of short term value in the beekeepers use and prevention of stagnant solutions.
> 
> ...


 BOY, you need to practice your reading comprehension. I was Agreeing with you Bleach is a good disinfectant, and turns to salt water, as such it is relatively harmless. It is not my response that has no applicable merit, it is your lack of understand of not only in my response but comprehension of the post I was answering!

I never said Bleach turns sugar water into salt water. What I said was "Bleach turns into salt water very quickly"! To say that bleach has a shelf life of 6 months is as stupid as interpreting my statement in the manner you did. Because, Clorox aims to maintain a 6% hypochlorite concentration for at least six months after the manufacturing date, assuming the bleach is stored around 70°F. It takes about 4-8 weeks from the time chlorine bleach is made to when it gets to a store so that you can buy it to take home. This leaves you 3-5 months where the bleach is at the effectiveness level stated on its label. (Clorox Site) Since the temperature is considerably higher and dilution takes the Hypochlorite percentage down below the 6% it's deterioration to harmless salt water is expedited. So It is you that is WRONG. 

Essential oils do not mix with water they tend to pool and swim about until they contact the sides of the feeding container where they attach and they are reduced to a greasy slime and never really make it to the bees. Add That to the fact there is a significant amount of research that indicates essential oils offer little to bees and some have been shown to be detrimental. Believe it or not bees do not use then to cure stress headaches or aroma therapy! They are bees and that is what the discussion was about!!! 

Ascorbic acid acts as a short term preservative as well as makes the syrup more attractive to the bees, 

Stop being so sensitive and small! Every one already knows no one know more than a 2 year beekeeper!


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

beemandan said:


> Oh God! You've opened this can of worms again. I bet there are a dozen more threads on this topic and they eventually all end up in a brawl.


Called this one, didn't you?

As someone that has personally made industrial strength sodium hypochlorite and was responsible for quality control of the over 2M gallons we made annually, I am finding this little discussion amusing. Both parties are so close to the truth, but not quite there.opcorn:


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## Champy (Jan 24, 2019)

Boy..... I thought Drones weren’t capable of stinging. Guess I was wrong. 🙂


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

JWPalmer said:


> Called this one, didn't you?


Sooner or later this topic invariably turns south.


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## little_john (Aug 4, 2014)

Apis Natural said:


> a 1/4 tsp per gallon of *unscented bleach*, it's better than vinegar


Unscented bleach ? Chlorine smells of chlorine - why fool with it ? Bees love chlorinated water - ask anyone with a swimming pool  - and it's most likely the smell of chlorine itself which attacts them. For many years now I've been adding a capful of regular standard thin bleach (around a tablespoonful, I guess - maybe a little more) into each gallon of 2:1 , which then lasts for at least six months without mould developing. Then dilute this stock solution as needed, if you really must.
LJ


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

LJ; over here the stores sell bleach with perfume added to mask the odor of the chlorine, so it is usually stated that it is best to use the "unscented" bleach.


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## little_john (Aug 4, 2014)

AR Beekeeper said:


> LJ; over here the stores sell bleach with perfume added to mask the odor of the chlorine, so it is usually stated that it is best to use the "unscented" bleach.


Ah - LOL - thanks for that. Much appreciated. Live and learn. That is one small facet of American culture which has never (yet) made it over to this side of the pond. I guess we're just a primitive culture. 
LJ (who loves the smell of bleach ... and hospital nurses)


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## JWPalmer (May 1, 2017)

I also love the smell of bleach. It is so "clean" smelling. But I have already admitted to being biased.


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## RTBBEE (Dec 30, 2015)

little_john said:


> Unscented bleach ? Chlorine smells of chlorine - why fool with it ? Bees love chlorinated water - ask anyone with a swimming pool  - and it's most likely the smell of chlorine itself which attacts them. For many years now I've been adding a capful of regular standard thin bleach (around a tablespoonful, I guess - maybe a little more) into each gallon of 2:1 , which then lasts for at least six months without mould developing. Then dilute this stock solution as needed, if you really must.
> LJ


 I believe Apis Natura was referring to the scented bleach that smells like Mountain Morning or tropical summer. Not regular old Bleach! Which is considered unscented. Just my thoughts in it!!


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## RTBBEE (Dec 30, 2015)

Bleach is toxic to humans. If you do not believe that read this dream2clean.com/2012/12/is-bleach-toxic-to-humans/ The FDA requires a concentration of 6% sodium hypochlorite to be considered a disinfectant. That is what household bleach is most frequently at. The rest is water. If you add 1/4 tsp of household bleach to 5 gallons of water it becomes so diluted that it has NO disinfectant value. In fact I would drink water that has 1/4 tsp bleach to 5 gallons of water.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

My experience is that anything with scent sets off robbing. I’ve tried vinegar. I’ve tried bleach. I have ended up with ascorbic acid with good results.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Michael Bush said:


> My experience is that anything with scent sets off robbing. I’ve tried vinegar. I’ve tried bleach. I have ended up with ascorbic acid with good results.


Mike, what's your dosage?


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## Tim KS (May 9, 2014)

In post #21 Michael says, "A heaping tablespoon of Ascorbic acid in five gallons of 5:3 will keep it from turning bad and won't disrupt the microbes, attract a robbing frenzy with the smell, and it's actually good for the bees...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/...arch.940020104 "


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## JConnolly (Feb 21, 2015)

beemandan said:


> Sooner or later this topic invariably turns south.


Just like screened bottom boards. 

I put only sugar and water in my syrup. 2:1 keeps better than 1:1. I don't put more syrup on the hive that they can put away in two to three days. A strong hive can put away 15 to 20 lbs of syrup in a couple of days if they have an efficient feeder. 

Granted, I am not mixing 55 gallon drums of syrup. The largest mix I make at a time is 25 lb bags (11.4 kg) of sugar with 6 liters of water, which makes 17.4 kg (38lbs) of syrup or about 14 liters (3-1/2 gallons).

Since most of these questions are asked by new backyard beekeepers, just keep it simple, since they are most likely mixing small batches (4lb and 10lb bags). As long as they are using an efficient feeder, not a mason jar, then the bees will put it away before it can ferment.

Adding something to the syrup is not necessary with small batches.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Mike, what's your dosage?

I’m using a heaping tablespoon in five gallons of 5:3. The right way would probably be to measure the pH of the water and then experiment to try to get ithe pH to about 4.5. Too acidic shortens the lives of the bees. Not acidic enough and it won’t keep well and will promote the reprocution of every brood disease.


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## aprilsway6 (13 d ago)

roberto487 said:


> One gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs. So to make one to one by weight, you mix one gallon of water to 8 lbs of sugar. I like to mix one gallon of water to 10 lbs of sugar. Ah, don't forget to add a tablespoon of regular, simple bleach to the mixture.


Why bleach?


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## William Bagwell (Sep 4, 2019)

aprilsway6 said:


> Why bleach?


To prevent mold from growing in the syrup. If you read the whole thread, you will find there are better (and worse) options other than bleach. If you only have one or two hives, adding nothing at all might be your best choice.


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## jtgoral (Mar 24, 2018)

alf1960 said:


> How much water do you add per pound of sugar for 1;1 syrup?


1lb of water.
If you do 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water the ratio is good enough for the bees.


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