A note on mixing sugar syrup

Here are the figures explaining the difference between 1:1 sugar syrup and 2:1 sugar syrup. Always use granulated cane sugar when making sugar syrup.

• 1:1 sugar syrup, by weight: If you dissolve 5 pounds of granulated sugar in 5 pounds of hot water, you will have 10 pounds of syrup that is 50% water, by weight. The bees will dry this to about 18.6 % water, by weight, before capping. This means that the final product will contain 5 pounds sugar and about 1.14 pounds of water. To achieve this, the bees must remove 3.86 pounds of water from the original mix. The final volume of ripened syrup will weigh 6.14 pounds.
  • Translated into gallons, 1 gallon of 1:1 sugar syrup weighs about 10.3 lbs (5.15 lbs. water and 5.15 lbs sugar). This will dry to 6.33 lbs of syrup with 18.6% water. This is a bit more than one full comb of capped honey.
  
  
• 2:1 sugar syrup, by weight: If you dissolve 10 pounds granulated sugar in 5 pounds of very hot water, you will have 15 pounds of syrup that is 33.33 % water, by weight. The bees will dry this down to about 18.6 % water, by weight, before capping. This means that the final product will contain 10 pounds of sugar and about 2.28 pounds of water. To achieve this, the bees must remove about 2.72 pounds of water from the original mix. The final product will weigh about 12.28 pounds, the equivalent of 2 full combs of capped honey.
  • Translated into gallons, 1 gallon of 2:1 sugar syrup weighs about 10.98 lbs (3.66 lbs. water and 7.32 lbs sugar). This will dry to 8.99 lbs of syrup with 18.6% water. This is equivalent to 1.5 full combs of capped honey.