Abelo 12 frame

[Brodie]

Hi guys What Queen excluder for the abelo 12 frame hive ?thank you

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

one from Abelo made for a 12 frame hive.
The joys of tying yourself in to a format made by only one manufacturer.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Queen excluder for the abelo 12

As I recall, it either fits awkwardly or beespace is double; whichever, it was irritating to use (not mine, thank goodness).

https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/nation...-poly-hive/metal-excluder-12-frame-hive-only/

 

[lindsay s]

Hi guys What Queen excluder for the abelo 12 frame hive ?thank you

I have had some 12 frame poly Abelo hives for 3 years now, after spending all my beekeeping years with Smith’s. I run the poly hives with 11 frames ( it gives me a bit more wiggle room ) and I am still comparing them with my Smith’s.
Two things that I’m not keen on.
1 The rebates make it almost impossible to twist the boxes before separating them without having to prise them above the lip. A difficult task if trying to remove two heavy supers at one time. Also you have to be careful not squash more bees when putting them back on.
2 The queen excluders.
Abelo supply a plastic one that sits on top of the rebates and gives bee space underneath but it’s liable to bow, I have tried one.
The metal Q E which they supply is more robust and sits inside the rebates flush on top of the frames. Having used wired framed Q E,s with bee space all of my time I find the flush ones a pain in the butt! I now have to get the bees between the frames before I can put the Q E back on without squashing them. To avoid vigorous smoking, I lay a cover cloth over the frames for a couple of minutes and then a few puffs of smoke should get the rest down.

 

[Swarm]

I have had some 12 frame poly Abelo hives for 3 years now, after spending all my beekeeping years with Smith’s. I run the poly hives with 11 frames ( it gives me a bit more wiggle room ) and I am still comparing them with my Smith’s.
Two things that I’m not keen on.
1 The rebates make it almost impossible to twist the boxes before separating them without having to prise them above the lip. A difficult task if trying to remove two heavy supers at one time. Also you have to be careful not squash more bees when putting them back on.
2 The queen excluders.
Abelo supply a plastic one that sits on top of the rebates and gives bee space underneath but it’s liable to bow, I have tried one.
The metal Q E which they supply is more robust and sits inside the rebates flush on top of the frames. Having used wired framed Q E,s with bee space all of my the time I find the flush ones a pain in the butt! I now have to get the bees between the frames before I can put the Q E back on without squashing them. To avoid vigorous smoking, I lay a cover cloth over the frames for a couple of minutes and then a few puffs of smoke should get the rest down.

I notice you are using a strip of wood outside your shorter Smith lugs, Have you considered a rim on those to give you space?

 

[lindsay s]

I notice you are using a strip of wood outside your shorter Smith lugs, Have you considered a rim on those to give you space?

Because the majority of my hives are still Smiths I will be sticking with the shorter lugs. I got a joiner to make up the strips to the stop the frames moving on the side of the frame runners and they fit the supers as well. It’s a good idea that you have suggested but I would be worried about a tight fit of the Q E right round the brood box. I will give it some thought thanks.

 

[ericbeaumont]

pain in the butt

Good assessment, Lindsay. Difficut to understand why one extra frame and more complex practical use benefits the beekeeper. Still, design diversification does increase the sales opportunity.

 

[Rory Fields]

Hi guys What Queen excluder for the abelo 12 frame hive ?thank you

Just the basic green plastic BS National's from Maisemore- they fit perfectly, cheap and cheerful. I've got 30 + of the 12 framers and I love them

 

[local_beekeeper]

Hi guys What Queen excluder for the abelo 12 frame hive ?thank you

I have 460 x 460 metal one sitting on top of the rebate, perfect you can upgrade this to the stainless steel version if you prefer too. So much choice every0ne prefers somthinfg diffrent

 

[BeeBird]

Just the basic green plastic BS National's from Maisemore- they fit perfectly, cheap and cheerful. I've got 30 + of the 12 framers and I love them

That’s exactly what I use and they work well.
Another thing I do to make removing the shallow box from the top of the brood box without the plastic QE sticking (which it always does), is to tie a piece of plastic line to each corner of the QE and let it hang outside the hive, then hold it to prevent the QE coming off with the shallow (makes it a lot easier).

 

[Grant R]

I have been using a solid QE from Thornes that sits on top of the rebate. Easy to remove, sits in the rebate from the box above and no bending. I found the metal one that comes from Abelo not the easiest to remove or install without disturbing the bees. Again loads of choice but this is where I ended up.

https://www.thorne.co.uk/hardware-c...s/wire-excluder-grid-only-18-quot-square.html

 

[Brodie]

Thanks everyone