A 'perfect'(?) feeder ...

[Little John]

I recently visited a site where the old idea of an open syrup feeder with floats was still being promoted. That is such an outdated method. I tried this ages ago and, floats or no floats, somehow a few bees still managed to drown themselves.

I then switched to using overhead inverted-jar feeders, which have worked fine with full-size colonies where the jar is emptied quickly, but they tend to cause dripping over smaller nucs due to the changes in atmospheric pressure which occur with these jars of syrup being in place for much longer periods.

I then spotted the kernel of an idea from the FatBeeMan, who has been working on feeder design for many years. Using his latest design as a starting point, I was then able to develop what I consider to be as near a perfect design of syrup feeder as it's possible to make. After 3 months of field testing I can report that there's not been a single leak, drip, outbreak of robbing, and not one single bee has drowned. Although I've been focussing on small feeder units (design brief: <3.5" high, <3.5" wide, 1 pint capacity), the same principle could easily be applied to overhead feeders for full size hives with a gallon or more capacity, or even Top Bar frame feeders.


This is the 'Mark I' being trialed - loosely based on the FatBeeMan design - the problem here is that the container can't be tilted up to endure complete emptying.

This is the 'Mark II' - now with a vertical 'stair-well' - again being trialed over a full-sized hive. It works perfectly and several are currently in use over nucs.

This is the 'business end', showing the essential principle of the design: two walls of aluminium mesh, separated by 8mm battens. There is absolutely nowhere for the bees to go swimming - if one should enter the syrup, then one or other of the mesh walls can be used to haul itself out.

Finally, this is the brief I've been working to: each feeder must fit within the height of a single pallet plank's width (for ease of 'super' construction), and within the width of a half (i.e. 3-frame) crown-board, as shown.

Hope this has been of interest ...

LJ

 

[ratcatcher]

good work

 

[dn170221]

I like it especially the part of the brief that references "must be suitable for pallet wood"! A man after my own heart. Does it sit above a crown/feeder board hole or have its own bottom?

 

[pargyle]

I like it especially the part of the brief that references "must be suitable for pallet wood"! A man after my own heart. Does it sit above a crown/feeder board hole or have its own bottom?

Pallet board supers ? Now there's a thought ! ... Photos please ....I thought I was cheapskate making my own supers but I used pine planks ... But ... I have a virtually unlimited supply of PALLET WOOD !!! Design please ...

 

[Little John]

I like it especially the part of the brief that references "must be suitable for pallet wood"! A man after my own heart. Does it sit above a crown/feeder board hole or have its own bottom?

As made, it fits over an existing hole in the crown board.

When changing over to using inverted-jar feeders, I drilled 4 x 50mm holes in each National crown board, and when making 6.5-frame nucs (6 frames and a permanently installed divider), I kept the same spacings between holes on those split crown boards - so when the nucs are in 2 x 3-frame mode I can use one hole for the feeder, and have one hole free - which could then be used for a pollen patty, or pollen-loaded fondant- although I haven't actually done that yet.

But - it would be easy enough to make the 'castle' (that's what I call the wooden riser) to fit any kind of hole.

LJ

 

[Little John]

Pallet board supers ? Now there's a thought ! ... Photos please

Sorry - no pics of pallet-supers in the camera at the moment - but I have a few of a pallet-National-brood-box being made, which of course needs several planks glued together to create the depth - a process I want to eliminate when making nuc-supers by just using one plank.

Ok - this is how I've been making 'sheet material' from pallets. The staggered array is the result of trying to optimise the wood quality - trying to avoid imperfections, nail holes, knots, that kind of thing. I try to select wood as twist-free as possible, and then run it through the table router to provide clean edges for gluing.

Here are a pair of box sides. Blanks similar to the previous shot have been cut to length and run through the table router again to reduce to the right height.
The black grooves are the result of removing pallet nail heads using an angle grinder with a worn-down disk. They'll either be lost during gluing-up, or filled with car body filler during the 'fettling' process.

Ok - here are a pair of ends for a Timing Box - grooves for the dividers have been made using the table router once again - a very useful piece of woodworking kit. The thin laths in the picture were used to space the two planks of wood apart, to accurately accommodate the long lugs of the National frame whilst maintaining the correct side bee-space.

Another example of something useful which can be made from pallet wood.

And here's the (almost) finished product - a Timing Box and stand made from 100% pallet wood. But because it's made from such cr@p wood, which is prone to swelling if it becomes wet, I've given it a coat of polyurethane floor paint (ex-boot-sale) inside and out.

Normally I wouldn't fart about making a mass-produced item like a National brood box - which are cheap enough to buy - but I needed one with fixed '4-3-4'-frame partition spacing, a permanent base, and both top and bottom bee-spaces - so it seemed easier to make one, rather than convert one. And there's no rails, 'cause I don't plan on sliding frames around, and it'll probably only be used for a month or two anyway - but having said that, it may possibly have a secondary use ... but more on that in another post.

LJ

 

[Little John]

Bit of an update ...
(another way of saying that I'd rather play with the camera than start work ... )

Ok - this is what I'm in the process of trying to avoid - the 'high-top nuc super' used to hold inverted-jar feeders - one seen here above the nuc on the left. (BTW - I don't normally position boxes so close together - these have been gradually moved to this spacing over a 2 week period in order to undergo combining)

And here we have NUC5, now empty after the combine - with 2 x nuc supers over - showing one of the problems of using slightly twisted planks. Despite using several 56lb weights during glue-up, these supers still have a residual twist of "2 CD's" (I use plastic strips cut from old CDs as spacers ) albeit over 4 surfaces. So - these are now awaiting a trip through a router-thicknesser I've made to level 'em out.

Pallets ? Yeah - love 'em ....

Here's some of my 'pallet-stash' ...

And a back view of this stack ...
(the scaffold trestle at the rear is from where I'll be reducing the hedge height during this afternoon - think of me sweating cobs as you guys sip beer in the sun ...)

Views of this stack from up on the trestle (unfortunately the really good quality pallets are at the bottom, supporting the cr@ppy stuff at the top) ...

Yep - I love pallets. Where some see firewood - I see beehives ...

LJ

 

[dn170221]

Thanks for the photos.
So far I have only used pallet wood for floors stands and roofs, may have to consider making boxes as well. Although as you say boxes in the sales are so cheap, I may move to pallet wood for Nucs and see how that goes.

 

[Little John]

There is one issue with making boxes from pallet wood that you really need to keep in mind. The 'planks' from the pallets I have come in various thicknesses - from 16mm right through to 22mm. I even found one with 25mm planks, but that was a one-off.
So - unless you're going to reduce their thicknesses to that required by 'the plans' (which is a lot of work just to save a few bob), I'd be inclined to avoid using this wood for any boxes used in an interchangable system, like the National - or else you might find that the floors, crown boards or roofs just don't fit.

Ideal for making National roofs themselves though, or stands, nucs, and anything which is a stand-alone unit - like a one-piece horizontal hive.

LJ

 

[madasafish]

There is one issue with making boxes from pallet wood that you really need to keep in mind. The 'planks' from the pallets I have come in various thicknesses - from 16mm right through to 22mm. I even found one with 25mm planks, but that was a one-off.
So - unless you're going to reduce their thicknesses to that required by 'the plans' (which is a lot of work just to save a few bob), I'd be inclined to avoid using this wood for any boxes used in an interchangable system, like the National - or else you might find that the floors, crown boards or roofs just don't fit.

Ideal for making National roofs themselves though, or stands, nucs, and anything which is a stand-alone unit - like a one-piece horizontal hive.

LJ

YES. All my TBHs except the first are from pallet wood. And my hive stands..

 

[Little John]

YES. All my TBHs except the first are from pallet wood. And my hive stands..

But do check out Scaffold Planks ...

For the relatively small amount of money involved, at 35mm thick and 220mm wide they're perfect for making either Warre's or Long Hives with - all you need to do is cut 'em to length.

I found a bloke in Nottingham who will sell me NEW Grade A unbanded 13 foot boards for £7. The only negative is driving over there to collect 'em.

LJ