Hive Weights

Erichalfbee · Sep 25, 2019

Hive weights in Lbs

WOODEN FLOOR 5
CEDAR 14X12 +EMPTY DRAWN FRAMES 18
POLY 14X12 BROOD + EMPTY DRAWN FRAMES 10
CEDAR SUPER + EMPTY DRAWN FRAMES 12
POLY SUPER + EMPTY DRAWN FRAMES 6
POLYCARBONATE CROWNBOARD 1
ABELO ROOF 5
BEES 5

These are weighed with luggage scales so are really not pin-point accurate
Similarly I weigh the hives periodically through the winter with luggage scales, taking a weight each side and adding the two, so again it's an approximation

Wintering
With nadired supers I aim for 70/80 lb for poly and 80/90 lb for wood

Please add your weights and thoughts

Erichalfbee · Sep 25, 2019

Added from another thread

madasafish said:
I weigh all my 7 to 8 hives prior to winter.
I have a minimum weight of 35kg for a standard configuration: lang floor ,super,jumbo b box, C board. Based on observations since 2016- so covering the Beast From the East.

Any less and they will be at risk of starvation in spring.

By Spring the vaerage hive loses 10kg in weight. Anything less than a weight of 25kg then is fed in Spring..

So a usage of 10kg over winter.

No guesswork needed..

No hives lost over winter in this period due to starvation (but 1 nuc)

Beefriendly · Sep 25, 2019

How are you weighing them?
Placing hives on scales?

Erichalfbee · Sep 25, 2019

Beefriendly said:
How are weighing them?
Placing hives on scales?

Sorry should have mentioned
I've edited the OP

madasafish · Sep 25, 2019

Beefriendly said:
How are you weighing them?
Placing hives on scales?

Digital luggage scales on each side.

Lift no more then 2 cms... any more and you underweigh.
(weight increases on side left on ground and reduces on side lifted based on cosine of angle of hive to horizontal : cosine (0) =1, cosine (90) = 0.)

Add both together.

My luggage scales beep when the scales are reading accurately..and weight reading is not fluctuating. Approx £10 on ebay.

gmonag · Sep 25, 2019

Rose Hive Weights:

Floor + Crown Board + Roof (all Thornes BS National) 7.3kg
Rose Box (OSB) each inc. 12 frames drawn comb 7.0kg
Stand 8.0kg

I measure using a DIY custom hive scale.

So 2 boxes on a stand should weigh 47.3kg for Winter (18kg of stores).

Michael Palmer · Sep 26, 2019

Bottom board, 2 deep brood, 1 medium brood, crown board...155-160 lb.

Poly Hive · Sep 26, 2019

I am assuming that is American Langstroth weights?

PH

Michael Palmer · Sep 26, 2019

Of course. I know it seems like a lot of winter feed. Well, we have a real winter. Lows of -20 to -30C. Flow here is finished for the year. Nothing left for the bees. And now, there will be no incoming nectar until mid to late April.

Curly green finger's · Oct 14, 2019

I thought I'd put this on here for the beginner's.
Feeding 5 l of syrup 2:1 increase in stores by 3kgs

In 4.5kgs of honey there is 3.5 kgs of sugar
SO ... colony 1 is 4.5 kgs short of stores feed 3.5kgs of sugar.

B.s. national frame contains 2.5 kgs of honey .(brood frame)
B.s. super frame contains 1.6 kgs of honey.
I'm using b.s. national frames and these are weights I use as a guide.

Ref.page 218. The beekeepers field guide to beekeeping
Author David cramp .

My double brood for winter.
45kgs minimum
Single brood 30kgs minimum.
6 frame poly nucs
Min 12.5 kgs

Colonys weighed with out roof on and are weighed each side, of a screw in the middle of the omf floor using luggage scales.

Cheers

Any confusion with the ratios above pm me or ask and ill be glad to help!
My weights are for two apairys on high ground 450 m .

Ian123 · Oct 14, 2019

Once you have an idea on a weight simply fill an empty hive with some bricks and get an idea what it should feel like when full, never need to bother with all the weighing again!!

Michael Palmer · Oct 14, 2019

Well, hefting method works with a few hives. But, when hefting hives all day long, after the first apiary or two they all feel heavy. So additional syrup is given just in case. I can't afford "just in case". An actual weight enables me to give the bees what they need without over feeding and over spending on sugar. We just finished feeding this past Friday. Weighed every colony and fed accordingly. Even though I get my sugar for free...60 drums of waste sugar from a sugar warehouse...I wouldn't do it any other way.

Curly green finger's · Oct 15, 2019

Michael Palmer said:
Well, hefting method works with a few hives. But, when hefting hives all day long, after the first apiary or two they all feel heavy. So additional syrup is given just in case. I can't afford "just in case". An actual weight enables me to give the bees what they need without over feeding and over spending on sugar. We just finished feeding this past Friday. Weighed every colony and fed accordingly. Even though I get my sugar for free...60 drums of waste sugar from a sugar warehouse...I wouldn't do it any other way.

Wow sounds like your very luck getting free sugar Michael, do you have to test the sugar , what sort of sugar is it?

I've a friend near a sugar / jam making factory and his honey and bees get looked at by bee inspectors very regularly.. he's never had any problems tutch wood..

Michael Palmer · Oct 20, 2019

Clean granulated Mexican sugar. The company imports, warehouses, and distributes the sugar to food manufacturers. Mostly a chocolate manufacturer. Somewhere more than a thousand metric tons. When a tote is compromised, it is no longer food grade and they used to throw it in the dump. Now they give it to me.

enrico · Oct 20, 2019

So much is dependant on weather, location and available forage. In Shropshire my bees went to bed in late September and came out again in late Feb at the earliest. In Somerset they are foraging hard now and do so on any sunny day. There was nothing in Shropshire that was forageable. Even the ivy opened too late for them. Here it is a different world!
I had to feed hard there.... Not so much here! In Surrey I only fed a candy block and never syrup.
E

Curly green finger's · Oct 20, 2019

enrico said:
So much is dependant on weather, location and available forage. In Shropshire my bees went to bed in late September and came out again in late Feb at the earliest. In Somerset they are foraging hard now and do so on any sunny day. There was nothing in Shropshire that was forageable. Even the ivy opened too late for them. Here it is a different world!
I had to feed hard there.... Not so much here! In Surrey I only fed a candy block and never syrup.
E

Can I ask what part of Shropshire , we've two apairys in south shropshire and the one down by the river has hb untill early October plus ivy - even last week they were bringing it in ivy I mean.
The apiary on the hill has ivy not enough to have a crop but it gets mixed with syrup .
Climate change ? Time/year's since you lived in these parts?

I do notice that the girls in the valley build up quicker and will fill supers quicker all mongrel bee's.

Ian123 · Oct 20, 2019

Complete lack of ivy down my way atm and we normally are swimming in the stuff!!

enrico · Oct 21, 2019

Can I ask what part of Shropshire , we've two apairys in south shropshire and the one down by the river has hb untill early October plus ivy - even last week they were bringing it in ivy I mean.

Just outside knighton in a village called llanfair waterline
600 feet up under the ****. The hills used to stop the sun rising till 11 am in the winter.
Moved there years ago
E

Curly green finger's · Oct 21, 2019

enrico said:
Can I ask what part of Shropshire , we've two apairys in south shropshire and the one down by the river has hb untill early October plus ivy - even last week they were bringing it in ivy I mean.

Just outside knighton in a village called llanfair waterline
600 feet up under the ****. The hills used to stop the sun rising till 11 am in the winter.
Moved there years ago
E

I know knighton very well my wife grew up there was born in llandod
Llanfair is more welshpool way a lovely light railway there and also a very beautiful part of the world.
Apologies for the of topic chat.

RichardBeeW · Oct 20, 2020

Curly green finger's said:
I know knighton very well my wife grew up there was born in llandod
Llanfair is more welshpool way a lovely light railway there and also a very beautiful part of the world.
Apologies for the of topic chat.

Further apologies for further off topic chat but my wife and I moved in just six fields away from Llandod a year ago from the Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire area where we’d lived since ‘81. Back to beekeeping after a 30 year gap

forgotten most of what we knew! Don’t know what this area will be like for the bees - time will tell. Looking forward to year two to come - Richard

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