The Chamber of Agriculture NRW was our location for multi-day testing of pumps for feed syrup in bee feeding.
More precisely, Department 33 Animal Production, Beekeeping Section in Münster.
The premises of the Bee Institute Münster were available to us there.
Here, we could also count on the friendly support of the staff, who assisted us with their practical knowledge.
Special thanks go to Dr. Werner Mühlen, Holger Kretzschmar, and the trainees Thilo and Johannes.
Our task was to develop a mobile 12-volt pump for conveying feed syrup.
According to the wishes of various beekeepers, such a syrup pump with a 20 m discharge hose should deliver a flow rate of approx. 20 l/min.
The result of the first day of testing with various pump heads and 12-volt continuous duty motors was sobering.
The motors sometimes drew up to 100 amperes of current, with a maximum flow rate of 8 l/min.
A car battery would not last long, and the liter output was far too low.
The idea of a 12-volt DC pump was therefore obsolete.
However, the feed syrup from the company Ickowicz also had its challenges.
This bee feed was very viscous and also very sticky; at least it did not crystallize.
The next approach and test day involved 230-volt motors, which were to be operated with a voltage converter from 12 volts to 230 volts.
Unfortunately, this result was also not practical for beekeepers.
The small motors and pump heads operated with a voltage converter provided far too little liter output.
The third test day then started with 230-volt motors with different speeds and large pump heads.
A combination of motor, speed, and pump head then proved to be the suitable pump for bee feed syrup.
The motor has 1.5 kW and rotates at 900 rpm. The flanged stainless steel pump head has a diameter of 90 mm, with 1 1/2 inch male threaded connections.
The suction hose with an inner diameter of 50 mm is connected directly to the feed syrup IBC via a 2-inch IBC hose nozzle.
The pressure hose has an inner diameter of 38 mm and is fitted at the end with a 1 1/2 inch ball valve with a discharge spout.
The test results with various hose lengths at a syrup temperature of 20°C and a suction hose of 1 m length and 50 mm inner diameter:
5 m hose length 75 l/min
10 m hose length 49 l/min
20 m hose length 29 l/min
25 m hose length 21 l/min
This result is very satisfactory, especially since the pump also has a direction reversal function and can thus empty the hose again by suction.
This pump can be operated mobile with a power generator and then meets the desired liter outputs of beekeepers, even with long hose lengths.
There are also numerous other manufacturers of bee feed on the market.
Examples of product names are: Bioagenabon, FORTUNE API HF 1575, Apiinvert, Api food 75-15, Hostettlers Futtersirup, Ambrosia, Api Gold, Api Royal Sirup, Butiforce, Apikel, Fructoplus, Apistar, Api Alsace.
Our pump reliably pumps all these bee feeds, even with long hose lengths.
Most feeds have a significantly lower viscosity than the feed syrup from France we tested.
Therefore, even higher liter outputs can be expected there.
All known manufacturers of pumps for bee feeds do not provide information on the liter outputs of their pumps for specific hose lengths and the feed used.
They only state the liter output at free flow and often also mention that it is calculated with water.
We know why.
Addendum to the pump:
We now supply the pump with a wireless remote control upon request.
This allows you to conveniently switch off the pump to open and close the beehives.
