Beehaus

[pargyle]

First item on sale at Meon Valley Beekeeping Auction this year -only attracted few bids and was sold for Ten Pounds

YES ... Would probably have done much better on ebay ... still plenty of people out there who hanker after one ....at a tenner it would have been worth buying it to put it straight on ebay ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_n...c=1&_salic=3&_sanli=3&_sop=12&_dmd=1&_ipg=200

 

[Erichalfbee]

For such an expensive bit of kit there shouldn't be ANY bits you have to fix. Omlet's had enough time to fix them themselves.

I like the Swienty boxes and you can paint them any colour you like

 

[oliver90owner]

Comments last night are fairly pertinent.

BUT

the side panels can be removed and the hideously large caverns can be filled with loft insulation in sealed plastic bags; the top covers can be filled with polystyrene prills. The central divider only needs sealing for horizontal A/S (and, at the top, for the winter).

I always use National shallows over my Dartingtons and have cover boards of 230 and 460 millimeters, to make roof replacement and operation more simple. Those 'half-supers' were used over the Dartington carry boxes as extra space for nucs, or as bait hives.

I would not be recommending ibuprofen for a beekeeper! The results of stings can be dangerous and life threatening.

I never found any difficulty, or twisting to lift out a frame - perhaps it really is at the wrong height for
you - and I occasionally suffer from a long-standing back injury. It is not often that one needs to actually lift out a full stores frame anyway.

RAB

 

[user 6228]

...
The realisation that good insulation is essential to keep bees going in winter and seemingly the beehaus is well insulated.
...

When I asked Omelet at a trade show about the insulation in Beehaus, I was given to understand there was no foam filling. This lack of filling (if that is still the case) is not going to help.
unfortunately I have no quantitive data on Beehaus.


Edit: a look on the omelet website shows a cutaway diagram with hollow panels. This will be better than the single skin plastic hives (construction a bit like a milk crate or plastic storage container) available in some countries.
It is going to be challenged to match the thermal performance of EPS hives availble on the market.

I will need access to an empty beehaus to get the quantitive data to provide a definitive answer of where it stands vs EPS hives, wooden hives and tree nests


edit: thermal performance is also heavily dependant on the topmost seals on the hive - Something bees appear to know about.

 

[Sunjunkie]

Comments last night are fairly pertinent.

BUT

the side panels can be removed and the hideously large caverns can be filled with loft insulation in sealed plastic bags; the top covers can be filled with polystyrene prills. The central divider only needs sealing for horizontal A/S (and, at the top, for the winter).

I always use National shallows over my Dartingtons and have cover boards of 230 and 460 millimeters, to make roof replacement and operation more simple. Those 'half-supers' were used over the Dartington carry boxes as extra space for nucs, or as bait hives.

I would not be recommending ibuprofen for a beekeeper! The results of stings can be dangerous and life threatening.

I never found any difficulty, or twisting to lift out a frame - perhaps it really is at the wrong height for
you - and I occasionally suffer from a long-standing back injury. It is not often that one needs to actually lift out a full stores frame anyway.

RAB

As a 5'5" lady I found the Beehaus cumbersom to work. Lifting heavy frames of stores made my back sore.

Because the bees didn't seem to like using the plastic component supers, there were lots of stores on the 14 x 12 frames in the brood box & to carry out a thorough inspection, I had to lift these regularly.

My Beehaus was originaly owned by a group of beekeepers who worked it on a roof. We also worked Nationals & WBC's & we all found it heavy work & we were all different shapes, genders & sizes! The height is good, but the reach & twist is not for me & it wasn't for most of my fellow keepers either. Just sayin'.

As far as Ibuprofen is concerned, I don't use it for bee stings & nore did I suggest anyone should, I do use it for my back.. less so since I sold the beehaus!

 

[Erichalfbee]

As far as Ibuprofen is concerned, I don't use it for bee stings & nore did I suggest anyone should, I do use it for my back.. less so since I sold the beehaus!

No....not for bee stings.
There is a definite link between bad reactions to bee stings and levels of NSAIDs (of which Ibuprofen is one) in the blood

 

[Sunjunkie]

Correct! And anyone prescribed Non Steroidal Anti Inflamatories for ongoing treatment of chronic long term conditions should consult their GP if they want to continue to spend time around bees!

 

[oliver90owner]

Sunjunkie,

Firstly, perhaps you ought to decide your gender. Male on the forum and female in the post!

Just one of the several failings of the omlette offering was the fixed height. At least with the Dartington, one can easily shorten them. One of mine will soon need new legs or foot extensions!

Do tell us why you needed to remove stores frames regularly. The hive concept was precisely one of not needing to lift them out repeatedly - just push them to the rear. Robin Dartington's book on 'managing a Dartington hive' would be good reading material, I would suggest.

I didn't suggest ibuprofen for bee stings. You perhaps need to read the 'stickie' on the subject?

 

[dodzylla]

For me, this hive looks so simple. I can't understand why it is so expensive..

 

[oliver90owner]

Well, they claim (or used to) that it was two behives in one. Ha ha ha.

Priced for the numpties with loadsadosh to throw around?.

Yes, I bought one (second hand, but new) to be in a position to post with real, down to earth honesty on a product which so many were trying to hype up as something new, innovative and special. When really the plastic cool box was just a timber Dartington dressed up in plastic, and a poor alternative at that, IMO!

 

[BeeJayBee]

Yes, I bought one (second hand, but new) to be in a position to post with real, down to earth honesty on a product which so many were trying to hype up as something new, innovative and special. When really the plastic cool box was just a timber Dartington dressed up in plastic, and a poor alternative at that, IMO!

RAB, do you know if the newer ones any better than the originals, which I believe sagged on the stands and distorted so the roof didn't fit properly - or something!

 

[oliver90owner]

Sorry , don't know.

Mine was actually replaced by omlette after I noted some disturbing faults with the build quality. So mine was already an improved sample over the original batch, I presume.

Some later ones had a hideous division board fixed-position arrangement - the 'two hive' suggestion/claim. It rather prevented the easy sliding of frames along the runners, thus destroying the 'long'hive' principle of the Dartington. I don't know what other mods have been made recently or what their current claims for this single brood box long deep hive, with easy swarm control/increase possibility by separating brood from the queen in her laying area mighf be.

The lads that developed this concept from the original timber Dartigton (with agreement and some help from RD) were relatively new beeks and I think the conversion from timber to plastic was either not well thought out beehusbandry-wise, corrupted by the omlette chicken coop ideas or simply profit over function. A c.2mm plastic outer skin with oodles of convecting air inside was not a particularly smart idea for good insulation, even if the inner leaf was twin walled (it, too allowed convection currents to occur and also, with open ends, was not good idea for pest avoidance).

That was why I recommended filling the side cavities with sealed bags of insulant and also sealing the edges of the correx sides (among several other improvements).

IMO, an expensive alternative to the original Dartington concept. But I did get thrown off the omlette forum for being too outspoken. Too honest for them, I guess. Initially, Peacock and co insisted it was a completely new type of hive and would not accept it was just a converted Dartington made in plastic. How stupid they must feel now.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Thanks RAB.

That was why I recommended filling the side cavities with sealed bags of insulant and also sealing the edges of the correx sides (among several other improvements).

I didn't realise there was a way of packing anything in the side cavities, do they separate (pull apart) relatively easily?

You'll realise I've seen one in use, so haven't been able to look too closely.

IMO, an expensive alternative to the original Dartington concept

Yes, but the one benefit is that it's probably a little easier to move when empty than a ply Dartington.

I actually like the look of them and can see they are useful for people who can't bend and lift easily, but far too expensive for me to try out 'for fun'.

 

[Tremyfro]

I have some Beehaus....we have pimped them.
You can take out the inner lining and put a thick layer of sheep wool insulation inside...it fits into all the corners well. Also we lay a piece of sheets wool insulation above the cover boards under the roof.
You can also buy all the parts if you need to replace any from Omlet.
I bought one old Beehaus......so we replaced the linings as they were correx.
We also made blocks of celotex to go under the large OMF for wintertime.
The varroa board is correx but we have one with a plywood varroa board which holds the insulation well.
We have found we need a strap around the Beehaus in the winter...we are in a very windy area....as the lid will lift despite the elastics.
In regard to working the Beehaus with bees....lifting the brood frames is easy and I haven't found it a problem. I can inspect the Beehaus on my own...whereas I need help lifting the boxes with my poly hives.
As already mentioned...you can slide the stores frames along...so no need to lift out.
I have adapted full size plastic QE for the Beehaus as I didn't like the half size ones. I have thought that attaching the half size QE to the base of the half size supers may be a good option and would prevent the sagging of the QE onto the top of the brood frames which allows bees to pass through a larger gap....but I haven't done this yet.

 

[BeeJayBee]

Thanks.

I have thought that attaching the half size QE to the base of the half size supers may be a good option and would prevent the sagging of the QE onto the top of the brood frames which allows bees to pass through a larger gap....but I haven't done this yet.

It might not be a good idea to try it. Could you guarantee that the queen won't be sitting on the underside of an excluder that's attached to the super?