Solar Wax Melter – Part 2!

Posted by Jon on Jul 20, 2010 in Equipment | 0 comments

OK, so the solar wax melter that I built here had a minor design flaw which I found when the sun finally decided to come out. Instead of all my molten wax dripping sedately into my mesh covered ice cream carton, we had a wax landslide. The black inside to the box had done a great job of heating up the metal tray and melting the underside of the lumps of wax comb.

Build your own Solar Wax Melter

Posted by Jon on Jul 14, 2010 in Equipment | 0 comments

(or how to save yourself a small fortune!)

Here in France, some things are really expensive, including solar wax melters (Cérificateur) which start at about 160€ and go up from there. So given the recent spell of hot weather, I decided to make my own from what I had in the barn. I researched possible designs and decided to build a tilted table with a removable tray (with a mesh filter). This is how it turned out…

Safety: the Anapen

Posted by Jon on Jun 17, 2010 in Beekeeping, Equipment | 0 comments

With a growing number of hives and lots of visitors including children, we thought that we should be prepared for all eventualities. As we’re in a rural location, the pompiers can take up to 10 minutes to get to us which could be too long if someone is allergic to bee stings. Speaking to our GP, we decided that it would be best for us to have an Anapen  on the premises for use in emergencies.

Painting beehives

Posted by Jon on Jun 15, 2010 in Beekeeping, Equipment | 2 comments

As our number of beehives has increased, so has their impact on our garden where they sit. Originally I had painted them all with special silver bee paint (thermo-porous & insulating) bought at great expense at our nearest bee supplies shop, but as more appeared in the garden they started to stand out, looking out of place in their somewhat wild surroundings. Searching for photos when starting up this site reminded me just how great a line of multi-coloured hives could look and I started thinking about changing ours.

Equipment suppliers: Ickowicz

Posted by Jon on Jun 9, 2010 in Suppliers | 0 comments

There are very few internet suppliers in France compared to the UK and Ets Ickowicz are probably the largest. Operating since 1947, they are still family run and are based in Dept 84 with outlets in Depts 30 & 67.  Ickowicz have an extensive range of over 4000 items of which they produce many themselves and have a good helpline with access to English speakers if necessary. The price list is here and they will send you a full catalogue free on request.

Equipment suppliers: Fort Apiculture

Posted by Jon on Jun 6, 2010 in Suppliers | 3 comments

As it’s pouring outside (the promise of summer days didn’t last very long!), my thoughts have turned to replenishing my beekeeping supplies. We’re based in the south of Vienne (86) and have limited places to buy any beekeeping requirements….