When do you add a Super?

[tecumseh]

I would ask threadkilla if you are asking about the quantity of foundation wax in a box or the wax after every thing is converted into comb?

a quick glance at any of the catalogues from the bee supply folks will give you a quick idea of how much wax goes into any size box (ie sheet/pound).  I think? my very old abc/xyz has some 'estimate' on the wax you can salvage from a box of comb but I would need to look that up.
 

[Beeboy]

I guess my goal is to find out how much the empty comb (not foundation) weighs. If I knew how many pounds were in a box, then I could figure out how much syrup it would take to build out that much comb.

For instance, (easy math here). If there are two pounds of comb in a deep box, & it takes 8 pounds of syrup to make a pound of wax, then theoretically if you feed 16 pounds of syrup, then that would equal two pounds of wax. Make sense?

I realize there are a lot of variables here, but in a perfect world, what would it take? Of course the bees have to be in wax building mode, & in the right time of year, etc.

[iddee]

Your figure would have to be added to the unknown amount it would take to feed the colony if they weren't drawing wax, therefore adding an unknown would make your figure useless. You just have to feed until they can forage enough to not need supplemented.

[riverbee]

"So my little theory is that if you feed no more than 27 pounds of syrup then that should be enough to draw out the frames, thus you won't get any syrup in the combs. I think I would rather stop short of 27 pounds, & let them finish it up with nectar..........I guess my goal is to find out how much the empty comb (not foundation) weighs. If I knew how many pounds were in a box, then I could figure out how much syrup it would take to build out that much comb.
For instance, (easy math here). If there are two pounds of comb in a deep box, & it takes 8 pounds of syrup to make a pound of wax, then theoretically if you feed 16 pounds of syrup, then that would equal two pounds of wax. Make sense?
I realize there are a lot of variables here, but in a perfect world, what would it take? Of course the bees have to be in wax building mode, & in the right time of year, etc."

what iddee said, and my HO, but i think you are over thinking this tk, like you said lot's of variables, and too much math.......
spring really is the best time of the year to get them to draw wax, and if supplemental feed is required, by all means utilize it.  what i do is keep an eye on the combs being drawn, especially in supers, and as soon as they are near finished, any feed comes off.  simple, no math........

[apisbees]

You can not relate Lbs of syrup to Lbs of honey cause honey is saturated sugars containing 17% moisture where sugar syrup is much higher water content. Bees producing wax in the honey super is a response to bees not having empty combs to store the nectar in. With no space to store the nectar to ripen it, the bees hold the nectar in their honey stomach and the wax scales are produced. If there is drawn comb the syrup will be stored in the cells before new comb is drawn out.