How to Install Layens Wax Foundation into Wired Frames – The Easiest Way

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There may be some complicated things in beekeeping, but putting sheets of wax, or foundation, in wired frames is not one of them. All you need is a source of 12-volt direct electric current and 15 seconds of your time.

Without electricity, you can install foundation by pressing it against the wires — please see de Layens’s Keeping Bees in Horizontal Hives for complete details. Yet it is much easier and quicker to use 12-volt direct current to safely heat the wires and solder them to the wax — you get better results with stronger bond.

The source of 12V DC power can be a car battery with jumper cable (do not use a battery charger for this purpose). But the best tool is an old laptop power adapter. Find the output on the adapter data plate: voltage can range from 12V DC to 20V DC, and power (Volt x Amp) should be from 60 W (Watt) for a more conductive wire to 130 W for less conductive wire. Embedding takes a few seconds longer with lower wattage and faster with higher wattage.

For example, our stainless steel wire works well with 60-Watt adapters (15 Volt DC x 4 Amp) and it takes about 15 seconds per frame. For the frames that come with swarm traps and solid-wood hives we use an old Dell laptop adapter that is 130 Watt (19.5 Volt DC x 6.7 Amp) and it works beautifully and takes about 10 second per frame. If you don’t have an old laptop adapter, you can get one for free from a local electronics recycling facility.

Cut off the end that plugs into the computer; there are a black and a white wire inside. Expose 1/2” at the end of each wire, and separate the wires along 8” so you can spread them apart.

Lay the frame flat with the top bar toward you, the nails holding the ends of the wire facing up. Raise the bottom bar 6” to 8” so gravity pushes foundation flush against the top bar. Position a sheet of foundation so it touches the underside of the top bar and has small gaps between wax and wood on the right and left.

Touch the ends of the frame wire with the bare ends of the black and white wires from the adapter (or black and red clamps of your jumper cable connected to the battery). Hold. The electric current starts to heat the frame wire; hot wire melts the wax and gets embedded in the foundation. You will see wire “stitches” appearing through the foundation. When the stitches appear along most of the length of all wires, disconnect power before the wires cut all the way through the wax! While the wire is still warm, gently press wax against it where no stitches appearted so it gets embedded there as well.

The completed frame will have stitches showing on both sides of the foundation. Done!

When to install foundation

Preferably install foundation just before giving it to the bees or setting out your swarm traps. Installing too far in advance may result in warping because foundation expands and contracts with temperature fluctuations. Besides, freshly installed sweet-smelling foundation is better accepted by the bees and attracts more swarms. If you have to install in advance, store the frames at an even temperature in a closed hive/box.

Storage

Store foundation flat in a dry place. Avoid hot spaces. Do not put anything heavy on the packages with foundation. Do not wrap cartons with foundation in plastic or it can become moldy. Wax becomes brittle in freezing tempretures. If you have to store foundation at low temperature, bring the package into heated space and leave it unopened for 24 hrs before installing foundation in the frames.

Foundationless frames

If you want bees to build their own comb without foundation (“foundationless frames”), cut strips of foundation 3” wide and install as described above. In any case you must install at least a 3” strip of foundation (or more) in every wired frame or bees will cross-comb (build comb across the top bars, connecting several frames together). We recommend using full sheets of foundation in your frames during the first few years of beekeeping — both for swarm traps and for the hives. Then, after gaining experience with Layens horizontal hives and swarm traps, you can start introducing some foundationless frames with confidence.

When all is ready, give the frame to the bees and see them work their magic.

Foundation as it should be

We love our Layens foundation! When we pack it, the entire workshop is filled with its sweet fragrance, and many people report catching more swarms when using it in their swarm traps. It is made from aromatic, deep-yellow brood-comb wax which is irresistible to the bees, sourced from a remote mountain region in Spain where bees forage predominantly on wildflowers away from agricultural crops. Our foundation is also 40% thicker and heavier than the commercial variety — this extra heavy duty is exactly what you need for large frames like the Layens.

    LAYENS HIVES, FRAMES, and FOUNDATION AVAILABLE FROM OUR STORE >>
    Hives include all frames, fully assembled & ready to go

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