Abelo poly hive, old style v new.

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wooden kit on maisemore poly hives? Done that, although is it worth the bother apart from cutting down a wooden super to make an eke? Woodn roofs obviously won't fit. Maisemore supers are cheap, but you may need to put in runners as the poly ridge inside is easily damaged. Didn't notice any problems with rain, but the boxes do tend to stick together. Do not try putting vaseline in between because when it comes to inspections the whole pile slide in different ways; lots of fun.

If I was using national supers then I would use their full poly kit but I run commercial brood and supers and just don't want the faff of a different frame standard to worry about hence why I was wondering if my wooden supers would go on top.

I did email maisemore to see if they ever planned to produce commercial supers for their commercial hive but they replied saying there isn't the demand to justify the tooling costs.
 
I've had an interesting insight from a non-beekeeping friend. He turned up unexpectedly with an unrequited, brand-new Mk1 Abelo hive (with the deep roof), apparently, in return for a big favour I did for him. This is a friend who is very technically savvy in many ways and who has been secretly looking into beekeeping since I started, despite having his own reasons for not wanting to get into it in a practical way himself.
With his completely objective approach and no practical experience of honeybees he independently decided that this was the ideal hive...and I think he's right! (and also very generous). :)
 
If I go for a new poly hive it'll be the old style but with the newer floor (you can request that instead of the old one) as apparently the varoa tray and mesh at the bottom is better in the new version?
I also don't really need an enormous landing board.

The only thing that annoys me with poly (because I'm properly anal about stuff matching and looking right) is the fact you can't get a poly rimmed QX
 
If I go for a new poly hive it'll be the old style but with the newer floor (you can request that instead of the old one) as apparently the varoa tray and mesh at the bottom is better in the new version?
I also don't really need an enormous landing board.

The only thing that annoys me with poly (because I'm properly anal about stuff matching and looking right) is the fact you can't get a poly rimmed QX
The newer, small projection poly floor has a grey plastic inspection tray. Personally I like the old style with the white plastic inspection tray as it gives better visibility.
If you're looking for colour coordination you could use green plastic qx with a green polyhive but let's face it the bees don't give a tuppeny damn.😀
 
That anyone would be concerned that the QX didn't match the hive. But then my hives are all a mix of poly and wooden boxes of different colours (the poly ones, the wooden ones are all wood colour), so I'm no hive-fashion guru.
Yes same here.
 
That anyone would be concerned that the QX didn't match the hive. But then my hives are all a mix of poly and wooden boxes of different colours (the poly ones, the wooden ones are all wood colour), so I'm no hive-fashion guru.

The Abelo colours are what first drew me to them. ;) I specifically sought a few pink shallows on my last order; hive fashion is everything. ;)
 
The newer, small projection poly floor has a grey plastic inspection tray. Personally I like the old style with the white plastic inspection tray as it gives better visibility.
If you're looking for colour coordination you could use green plastic qx with a green polyhive but let's face it the bees don't give a tuppeny damn.😀
 

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I have spent months looking back into the which poly hive question. To complicate things, Abelo brought out the new 12 frame one and then BS entered the ring.
I currently own 15 Paradise hives and various wooden ones. Side note: I actually did put a cedar super on one of my Paradise hives last season. People have said it couldn't be done, but there were no problems at all. I do use straps though.
Overall, they are pretty good and I was amazed how quickly a colony develops in them. I have had issues with these hives though, involving the space between between the frame lugs and the plastic rails. basically bees can easily be crushed, unless you manage to 'chivvy' them out of the way. A difficult, more 'animated,' hive can make it hard not to crush bees when inspecting. This can only make matters worse I think? I also find that because the box sides are thick and have a small lip, no amount of bee-chivvying or smoke will prevent some getting crushed there either.
I am expanding my operation and I realise that using Paradise hives would create more time-consuming inspections, if I have to do extra 'bee-wrangling' on every hive. Paradise are cheaper of course, but a bit basic. I had to make my own crown-boards from correx for example.
I decided that the new Abelo 12 frame hive was the best that they were doing and compared it to the BS hive. If I was to score it, without getting my hands on them first, I would say 98 - 100 in favour of Abelo.
I won't go into the detailed reasons for the moment. I have just ordered twelve unpainted Abelo's. I will most likely use some BS hives as well in the future, utilising their unique features as well.
 
using Paradise hives would create more time-consuming inspections. Paradise are cheaper of course

Initial cost savings are seductive but are a false economy when kit creates extra work in the field. Better to pay a little extra and work smoothly for years to come.
 
Re reading this thread it's worth saying all the various parts for the mark 1 and the mark 2 Abelo (Lyson) polyhives are available separately. I've got a few mark 1 floors plus a mark 2 floor which I bought to try. A few mark 1 (deep) roofs which fit the clear polycarbonate crown boards I use in preference to the five hole Abelo crown boards. I stick with the standard brood (I've got 14x12 and standard dn size) and SN super boxes. I don't find any problem in having a frame less in the poly boxes. Most of the kit is mark 1 green but I have a few other colours mixed in due to buying at odd times and taking the best deal. The bees are really not interested in the colour etc as long as they have a place to live comfortably. If I did find water ingress between boxes getting trapped in the frame supports a minutes work would create a drainage notch at each end. Oh and I fit the plastic plugs in the extra holes and they stay there.
 
Does anyone know the wall thickness of the Abelo brood box? I don’t have one to hand to measure unfortunately.

Many thanks, Andrew
 
i have the versions which need a notch cut to allow water to escape as they still fill up

has anyone figured what to use to cut this to minimise disruption to bees or do i need to empty the boxes to do it

keen to hear from anyone who has cut the notches
 
i have the versions which need a notch cut to allow water to escape as they still fill up

has anyone figured what to use to cut this to minimise disruption to bees or do i need to empty the boxes to do it

keen to hear from anyone who has cut the notches
I drilled 5-6mm holes through the plastic frame "into" the hive as drain holes, one at each corner. Works well. I have a few new ones with the notches but looks like I need to do the same with them!
 
I drilled 5-6mm holes through the plastic frame "into" the hive as drain holes, one at each corner. Works well. I have a few new ones with the notches but looks like I need to do the same with them!

That's a shame. Just started using my first one. Do you strap them down tightly and find they leak anyway?
 

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