Hot air gun to uncap honey frames?

[Popparand]

Does that mean there is surplus wax left on the comb after spinning? Are the bees able to clear this off the drawn comb when recycled back into the hive?

 

[North End Bees]

Does that mean there is surplus wax left on the comb after spinning? Are the bees able to clear this off the drawn comb when recycled back into the hive?

Looking at some of the frames I've given them back, the bees are well able to cope with all sorts of irregularities! Especially after a nectar dearth when the bees have eaten and refilled the cells, it's all over the place, and some neat straightening never quite makes it level.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Picture of an extracted frame.

 

[Antipodes]

Thanks for the photo. I'm guessing the bees cart that wax out the entrance at some stage when the frames are eventually put back on the hives?

 

[North End Bees]

Picture of an extracted frame.

Some of the cells look like wax has dripped back over and resealed them?
Do you have to hold the frames a certain way to control drips?

 

[North End Bees]

I'm guessing the bees cart that wax out the entrance at some stage when the frames are eventually put back on the hives?

Wax is really precious and never 'carted out'. They will use it to remodel the cell.

 

[enrico]

Wax is really precious and never 'carted out'. They will use it to remodel the cell.

You don't have to control it. But I uncap from the top down so that any excess wax runs to the bottom of the frame. You can never tell the following year which frames have been hot gunned or hot knifed, the bees do an excellent job of rebuilding whichever you use.

 

[Angry_Mob]

Some of the cells look like wax has dripped back over and resealed them?
Do you have to hold the frames a certain way to control drips?

Those cells were "wet" as such, the honey was touching the capping so it doesn't pop the same way.

That's were you may use an uncapping tool to open the last few remaining cells.

 

[Antipodes]

Wax is really precious and never 'carted out'. They will use it to remodel the cell.

My bees cart wax out regularly after I put drawn comb in. I was thinking if I used a heat gun for uncapping, I could put a plastic wax collecting bucket under the front of the hive after the frames were put back in to make the wax recovery process easier.