Recent content by itma

The hive roof is supposed to be the 'lid' of the feeder tanks. This may be a problem if you have the "old-style" roofs, which are a tight fit especially on the newer production (denser) boxes which seem to "spring back" and expand a little after they come out of the mould. The new, deeper roof...

Just to mention that OSR and Ivy may be the most common modern UK nectars promoting granulation, but they aren't the only ones. Worth bearing in mind by anyone contemplating investing in a "flow hive".

I know of a few people who have added mesh (of one sort or another) under the removable panels to prevent bee-access to the tanks when the level gets low. The alternative is to top up before the level gets that low ...

Among your options are 1/ controlled meltdown of both comb and wax. The pro kit for this is called an Apimelter. Many bee farmers seem to have them, and those with links to hobbyist associations are usually happy to provide a meltdown service (for a small cost). Simply melting them yourself is...

If you are really an amateur beekeeper (and incidental honey producer), it may be advantageous NOT to present your product too 'professionally'. ;)

That comb having been picked clean, the colony has clearly failed (not unsurprisingly given their nest site). However, to have built that much comb, there must initially have been a fair few bees that have since perished. By the way, I can't tell from the orientation of those combs which...

Because I don't happen to know the different densities of "2:1" and ambrosia-type syrup, I stuck to calculating the weights. Volumes would require another tweak to the numbers.

To put on each 10kg of 'stores' at 20% water, you'd have 8kg of sugar in that 10kg of stores. With 2 pounds to a pint (62%?), that would be 8 x 100 / 62 = 12.90 kg of imperial 2:1 However with an invert syrup at about 73% sugars, to get 8kg of sugars, you'd need 8 x 100 / 73 = 10.96 kg of...

I believe Mr Turnbull makes clear in his book that auctions can be a real risk for the unwary. Don't pay more than you can afford to lose - once you find out WHY someone put it into an auction ... you'll likely either regard it as a loss -- or you'll enter it into another auction! :)

Almost as much. (Probably less than 20% less ... but I'm not starting with a calculator at this time of night!) But surely its better to feed until the hive is up to weight, variable, hive to hive, rather than giving any set amount?

Take a look http://www.parkbeekeeping.com/products/category/honey-extractor-motor-conversions But sadly unlikely to be "cheap" ...

My suggestion would be that you have a go with an LED torch, flexy-stand lamp or head-torch. LED because it gives you a bright light without noticeable heat (much more cheaply than old 'cold light' solutions). Also some LEDs give a little bit of UV, which seems to show up eggs and larvae even...

I think he may mean that you might have a wound 'potentiometer' (a wire coil, giving variable resistance to a contact moved along it) to give control of motor speed.

Yes there are some gears in the box between the motor and the extractor cage shaft. It might even be that the bearing has failed, so the gears don't mesh properly. However, that doesn't look like a current product. Which may make repair difficult to the point of being uneconomic. I've no idea...

I'm not sure that's a motor problem ... sounded to me like there could be a tooth missing from one of the cogs in the gearbox. Rotating the cage by hand, forwards 20° then back 10° and repeat for at least one full rotation should allow you to feel whether there is a spot on the rotation that...