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  1. L

    Top bar to Long Deep question

    Sure, Crane proposed the initial idea, but most (perhaps all ?) authorities give credit to Paterson and Tredwell for the resulting design. The design of top-bar hives has its origins in the work done in 1965 by Tredwell and Paterson.[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horizontal_top-bar_hive...
  2. L

    Top bar to Long Deep question

    Not quite ... It was Treadwell and Patterson who initially designed this horizontal hive, which was later adopted by Kenyan students studying under Prof. Geoff Townsend at the University of Guelph, Canada. They were considered suitable as start-up hives for economically depressed Kenyans with...
  3. L

    One size box

    For vertical Nationals I use a 14x12 box for full-size brood, with a pair of 5-frame DN4 supers over. 5-frame boxes can be hugged closely to the chest, thus reducing strain on the back. (Important when you're 75 and 6'4" :) ) 'best, LJ
  4. L

    It ain't over 'til it's over...

    Of course that's not what he meant - but had he meant that - the logic behind insulating the top and not the sides is to allow excess moisture to condense out onto the hive walls so that the condensate can trickle down and exit the box via the OMF. At least that's what I do. Heat loss via the...
  5. L

    Selling beeswax lip balm on a local market

    I don't know if the regulations are still in force, but it used to be that you couldn't sell genuine free-range eggs at market unless you had a 'salmonellae-free certificate' - which of course costs money, and only very large-scale producers could absorb that cost. So they were sold instead as...
  6. L

    It ain't over 'til it's over...

    Well done, Beeno - nice photo too. LJ
  7. L

    Three feet or three miles

    Personally, I don't take too much notice of that piece of wisdom - I move the hives as far as I need to (at night) within the same site, and put a thick Leylandii branch in front of the hive for a few days. The other way of doing it - especially at this time of the year, or later - is to seal...
  8. L

    14 by 12 s or just lots of supers?

    Well that's a persuasive explanation, sure - but I've just imported a couple of AMM queens (Galtee etc) from Ireland which are supposedly the sort of stock which existed over here 100 years ago, and they've taken-off big-time. When I mentioned this to the breeder, he said "you ain't seen nothing...
  9. L

    Do you stop feeding ?

    That's the problem - their stores are being depleted each and every warm day. Mine are still bringing in pollen by the shed-load, but precious little else. I've resorted to giving a pint of 2:1 once a week just to keep 'em 'topped-up' - it's being taken-down during one night which bodes well...
  10. L

    cutting slots for mesh

    This is what I was talking about: Steel mesh with several coats of black paint should last longer in this world than I will ... :) I'd prefer s/s obviously, but the above mesh cost me about 30p. LJ
  11. L

    cutting slots for mesh

    Ah - never thought of that - but then, those of us with a fair few miles on the clock tend not to be worried about such things ... :) LJ
  12. L

    14 by 12 s or just lots of supers?

    I'm with itma on this. Until this year I've been pretty scornful of 14x12 as being excessively large - but I now have 3 new bloodlines - 2 from imported queens (AMM's from Ireland) and 1 from an excellent local swarm (touch of serendipity there) which are uber-prolific and outgrowing their...
  13. L

    cutting slots for mesh

    To be honest, I don't really understand why you want to cut a slot for mesh anyway - but then, I don't understand quite a lot of things ... :). I don't know if it's relevant to what you're doing, but when I fit mesh to the floor of Long Hives, I simply router out a 10mm wide rebate, about 2mm...
  14. L

    can i use this type of Insulation

    Hello Kitta - what I meant was 'trapping air' like breeze blocks, or double glazing panels. It's the trapped air which provides the insulation of those materials. Solid concrete and glass aren't too good on their own. Your stuff turned soggy because it soaked up the moisture and held it, rather...
  15. L

    cutting slots for mesh

    One way of creating thin slots is to cut a rebate, then secure a batten into the rebate, leaving just the required thin gap. Another way is to run the wood over a table saw, with the blade set to the required height. The 'cowboy' way of creating a thin slot is to fit an angle grinder with the...
  16. L

    can i use this type of Insulation

    That's a sales-pitch of course - it's a little more complex than that: "Wool fiber exteriors are hydrophobic (repel water) and the interior of the wool fiber is hygroscopic (attracts water); this makes a wool garment able to cover a wet diaper while inhibiting wicking, so outer garments remain...
  17. L

    Selling beeswax lip balm on a local market

    Yes - sell it as "Cork Lubricant (for oboes, clarinets etc)" and in smaller print: "can also be used as lip balm, though not approved by the EU for this purpose." Which is similar to how the Henry Doubleday approved fully-biodegradable 100% safe weedkiller ammonium sulphamate is still sold - as...
  18. L

    can i use this type of Insulation

    I think you'd better consult the numerous thousands of sheep on Scottish moorlands and on the mountains of North Wales - 'cause wool is the only protection they have ... The more hostile the environment the coarser the wool on those breeds of sheep which live there - and is usually only fit for...
  19. L

    Feeding Fondant.

    It was to those very folks you were addressing earlier that I made my comments. Exactly why some folk want one box, I dunno - maybe they only have a hive or two ? LJ
  20. L

    Feeding Fondant.

    Ah yes - the balmy barmy south - know it well. :) LJ
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