Abelo crown boards

[Angry_Mob]

Bee space is about 4.5mm to 9mm so frame it for that.

I cut the polystyrene on my crownboard out in two rectangle pieces and fixed in sheets of polycarboante either side so I would have still have the central hole; then I could set the two sheets of the polystyrene back in either side which I lift out to peek into the hive. In hindsight I should have just done one large sheet of polycarbonate and drilled a central hole and cut out the polystyrene as one sheet.

Last few hives however I've resorted to just using 3 screws per disc as its much more convenient and can be easily removed if needs be. Ply would be a major downgrade in my mind; remember that the roof is the most important part to insulate.

 

[Millet]

I've just skimmed through this thread again as I have an Abelo poly crown board and the five discs mean I have to keep it upright all the time or they'll fall off.

I noticed PH mentioned replacing with a ply crown board. Someone else mentioned clear plastic (acrylic/polycarbonate). It does seem with the size of the roof that insulation differences would be negligible.

I like the idea of a transparent crown board. I think I read also on the forum to frame the plastic sheet for top bee space. Any maximum thickness for the frame?

I knocked 14 clear crown boards up last year the hole in the middle has since been modified by placing a square piece of perspex over the feed hole and drilling one corner through the crown board and placing a small nut and bolt through the hole..it can be opened or closed as and when needed..the wood work is between 6 to 8mm thickness..

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43467&highlight=clear+crown+boards&page=2

 

[JazzJPH]

I knocked 14 clear crown boards up last year the hole in the middle has since been modified by placing a square piece of perspex over the feed hole and drilling one corner through the crown board and placing a small nut and bolt through the hole..it can be opened or closed as and when needed..the wood work is between 6 to 8mm thickness..

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=43467&highlight=clear+crown+boards&page=2

I hadn't read this before I met you at the Farmer's Market today sorry

 

[Millet]

I am always making or modifying something keep an eye out in the DIY section..

 

[Millet]

I hadn't read this before I met you at the Farmer's Market today sorry

Page 192 and onward's should show you some more clear crown boards..

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21943&highlight=clear+crown+boards&page=193

 

[JazzJPH]

Page 192 and onward's should show you some more clear crown boards..

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21943&highlight=clear+crown+boards&page=193

Nice one, they look mint!

 

[ericbeaumont]

I think the features of the Abelo hives and crown-board are spot on, but are too advanced for most UK hobbyists who seem to struggle with simple concepts like where your underfloor inspection board goes.

Given the difficulty of supply of the Abelo National poly, they're considering moving production to the UK and modifying some aspects of the design. For example, Damian acknowledged that the floor has an unnecessary ledge and is incompatible with standard 460mm hive carriers.

Anybody use the box slots and blocks? I'd do away with the lot, ditto the complications of the crownboard. More economical and flexible to split using two frames in a polynuc. Simplicity is usually best; I recall HM concluding that separate boards are better than multi-purpose.

Damian has wide beekeeping experience (and ex-NBU) and Abelo are savvy enough to listen to our suggestions for design improvement without being led this way and that. Why not let them hear your product experience?

 

[Madge]

...
Anybody use the box slots and blocks? I'd do away with the lot, ditto the complications of the crownboard. ...

Yes, I often use those blocks - for example, doing a Demaree, or when inserting a queen excluder below some brood frames with drone brood in them. The advantage of using them as top entrances is that I do not have to use an eke with the inevitable extensions of the combs downwards into the eke area. I remove the white polystyrene blocs and insert the ventilation blocks, with one side of the ventilation block cut out in order to reduce the entrance.

I also use the slots in the crown board for feeding (with the ventilation grid removed, obviously).

 

[Beefriendly]

Why not let them hear your product experience?

Where do you think they get many of their improvement ideas from........

 

[Beefriendly]

Anybody use the box slots and blocks?

Yup, use as extra entrances in heavy flows and exceptional hot weather for extra ventilation. Have occasionally had to be entrances on a snelgrove when I ran out of boards... Damn useful.
But if they offend... knock them flush and paint over them.

 

[BMH]

I always buy one of anything before ordering more..if i do not like it i will not buy anymore if i like what i have bought i will get more..pretty simple really or am i missing something..

Where do you get single shoes? Do you have a test hop or something?

 

[BMH]

Anybody use the box slots and blocks? I'd do away with the lot, ditto the complications of the crownboard. More economical and flexible to split using two frames in a polynuc. Simplicity is usually best; I recall HM concluding that separate boards are better than multi-purpose.

Quite happy with my first load of Abelo boxes but the vents and plugs are a waste of time. I can see they have their uses but I hate having to store 'bits'.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Quite happy with my first load of Abelo boxes but the vents and plugs are a waste of time. I can see they have their uses but I hate having to store 'bits'.

Same here, on both counts. I glue in the blocks, cut them flush and paint; the big box of vent blocks will go back to Abelo. I can see that a vent in every fourth or fifth box (at the top of the pile) might be useful from time to time, but commonality is compromised and time fiddling is wasteful. How do you stop the bees propolising the blocks? I tried painting then coating a few with vaseline, but propolis still caused fiddling and I gave up.

Venting a stack during a flow is an old trick and all you have to do is shove the top super over by 8mm; I read that in a book by Samuel Simmins and it was probably (and appropriately!) A Modern Bee Farm and Its Economic Management, published in 1887.

 

[JazzJPH]

I'm sticking a feeder on tonight/tomorrow - is there a particular way the crown board vents come out? Do I need to remove the CB or can I do it in place?

 

[Angry_Mob]

Given the difficulty of supply of the Abelo National poly, they're considering moving production to the UK and modifying some aspects of the design. For example, Damian acknowledged that the floor has an unnecessary ledge and is incompatible with standard 460mm hive carriers.

Anybody use the box slots and blocks? I'd do away with the lot, ditto the complications of the crownboard. More economical and flexible to split using two frames in a polynuc. Simplicity is usually best; I recall HM concluding that separate boards are better than multi-purpose.

Damian has wide beekeeping experience (and ex-NBU) and Abelo are savvy enough to listen to our suggestions for design improvement without being led this way and that. Why not let them hear your product experience?

Theres a few minor things I'd change some as you suggested.

Do away with the four roof vents and leave the central hole. Have some convenient way of fixing the central poly disk so it doesn't fall off each time you lift the board.

The holes in the supers and brood boxes would be better gone. Banging them in tight and cutting them in flush is tempting but it would be better if they were never there in the first place. I've also emailed Abelo before asking would they ever sell matching paint as it would be nice to paint the white blocks and touch up the various parts.

The Ashforth feeder channel is wider than bee space so they build comb in it, would be better reduced.




The weakest part is the floor. Swienty makes a better one and theres a few things Abelo could incorporate.

Remove the landing board. Make the entrance one bee space high thus getting rid off the plastic entrance reducer.

Abelo's tray is made of poly, the last two I've received have been warped. They are difficult to keep clean as the dirt gets ingrained within the material so you have to paint them which takes away from the advantage of buying a pre-painted hive. Swinety on the other hand use an ABS type plastic which alleviates the aforementioned problems.

Much better if they totally resigned the floor and went for an underfloor entrance design, I haven't seen any of the manufacturers make a poly one yet.

 

[Beefriendly]

Remove the landing board. Make the entrance one bee space high thus getting rid off the plastic entrance reducer.


Much better if they totally resigned the floor and went for an underfloor entrance design, I haven't seen any of the manufacturers make a poly one yet.

Bees love landing boards...it's beekeepers who don't. In a busy hive you need more than one bee space at optimal flow periods.
There have been poly underfloor entrances for Langstroths available for several years. Just not for Nationals.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Bees love landing boards...it's beekeepers who don't.

I thought it was the other way around: never seen a hollow tree nest with a landing board, but seen plenty of beekeepers cooing over their fluffy little darlings going in.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Do away with the four roof vents and leave the central hole. Have some convenient way of fixing the central poly disk.
The holes in the supers and brood boxes would be better gone.
The Ashforth feeder channel is wider than bee space so they build comb in it, would be better reduced.
The weakest part is the floor.
Remove the landing board.
Abelo's tray is made of poly, the last two I've received have been warped.
Much better if they totally redesigned the floor and went for an underfloor entrance design.

I agree, though the entrance closer is useful when moving bees; the inspection tray ought to be an optional extra (rarely use them); beespace between boxes ought to be fettled (11mm when I measured a couple of years ago); the central CB feed hole could be a screw thread on the hot water-bottle principle, but with the tab internal to the plug; alternatively, a silicone plug as with the BS polynuc.

 

[Beefriendly]

I thought it was the other way around: never seen a hollow tree nest with a landing board, but seen plenty of beekeepers cooing over their fluffy little darlings going in.

You would
Rarely see any bees in hollow tree nest these days...they've all swarmed off to find hives with landing boards.

 

[Haughton Honey]

Mr S Simmins - the nice man who developed the BS Commercial hive, which is the hive standard that I favour.....along with poly National supers, wooden crown boards and a mixture of cedar and poly roofs. What a concoction, eh?