BS Honey Bees New Poly Hive - Best in Class?

[Ian123]

I do like your idea of the double bung crown board/feeder.

I think this is what’s jenks means when he says fiddly modificationsbut at least they could then have binned the crown board and getting that particular mould made. Plus purchase cost for the beek!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think this is what’s jenks means when he says fiddly modifications

No, it isn't actually, but we see it time and time again modification upon modification, yet another non standard design and all because manufacturers try constantly to pease every whinger that rolls up on their stall instead of trying to aim for uniformity and functionality across the board

 

[user 819]

You're obviously handy. Some of us could easily destroy a crown board in following your example.

One would have to be very ham fisted to make a complete pigs ear of one.

 

[Swarm]

I use dedicated split wooden boxes, two five frame or three three frame. The triples are used for mating but the doubles do have boxes that fit on top, I find this handy when raising queens as the top box can provide the bees. Whole thing sits under one roof, which is another benefit

 

[mbc]

I respectfully disagree with JBM and Philip above. Nothing wrong with being innovative. One doesn’t have to use the divider option, it’s an added feature.

Thing is, the divider option adds cost and looks like a good place for wax moth to get a hold, if you're not going to use it it would be better if the option wasn't there.

 

[Swarm]

Agreed, use something purpose built rather than either/or.

 

[thorn]

One would have to be very ham fisted to make a complete pigs ear of one.

Don't assume everyone is capable of basic carpentry jobs. In my woodwork class in the first year of secondary school we were expected to do three simple exercises involving sawing to length, planing and doing two types of joints. We couldn't move on to the next until we'd completed the previous one to the teacher's satisfaction. For the next two years we could do all sorts of projects. One fellow made himself an electric guitar.
At the end of the third year I was still trying to complete the third of the first year's exercises.

 

[user 20297]

Angst doesn't seem a good choice of word,

.....to an extent I think your answer shows that it was the right choice of word within this definition...." a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial".

"Anger" seemed a bit strong. "concern" seemed a bit inappropriate; maybe a better word would be "dissatisfaction ?

 

[Ian123]

Don't assume everyone is capable of basic carpentry jobs. In my woodwork class in the first year of secondary school we were expected to do three simple exercises involving sawing to length, planing and doing two types of joints. We couldn't move on to the next until we'd completed the previous one to the teacher's satisfaction. For the next two years we could do all sorts of projects. One fellow made himself an electric guitar.
At the end of the third year I was still trying to complete the third of the first year's exercises.

On the plus side you must be a godsend to thornes

 

[Swarm]

Don't assume everyone is capable of basic carpentry jobs. In my woodwork class in the first year of secondary school we were expected to do three simple exercises involving sawing to length, planing and doing two types of joints. We couldn't move on to the next until we'd completed the previous one to the teacher's satisfaction. For the next two years we could do all sorts of projects. One fellow made himself an electric guitar.
At the end of the third year I was still trying to complete the third of the first year's exercises.

Must have been a miserable experience for you

 

[thorn]

I suspect it's because I'm mix handed.
The woodwork teacher was very free to hand out punishments for "wasting wood" but he must have realised my handicap, as he never punished me.

 

[Swn58]

I respectfully disagree with JBM and Philip above. Nothing wrong with being innovative. One doesn’t have to use the divider option, it’s an added feature.

The strange thing is that I was making divider boards to fit some of my Paradise hives, so I could do splits with less hassle. This solves that problem.
I was drawn towards the 'extra entrances' on the Abelo boxes, as I could see possibilities, regarding other ways of doing splits and queen rearing. However, the BS boxes could be adjusted if required.
I have five BS nuc boxes and will be buying a lot more this year hopefully, along with their hives by the look of it!

 

[pargyle]

I respectfully disagree with JBM and Philip above. Nothing wrong with being innovative. One doesn’t have to use the divider option, it’s an added feature.

There's always room for innovation in my book but sometimes you have to look at the wheel and ask yourself does it need adding to and modifying to accomodate all those who would seek to use it for a multitude of different purposes or would it be better if it were simplified and made compatible with other wheels and axles ...

Some years ago I had a BMW 535i ...BMW commissioned a totally new road wheel - a metric size not compatible with any tyres except for the runflat Michelins that were made for it ... if only they had stick with a standard wheel size... there were times when I had to track all over the country to find tyres as Michelin only made a batch once a year ... and the cost ? Horrendous - It cost more for one tyre than four more regular sized ones. I eventually had to swap the wheels for a standard set ... Someone at BMW in the design department - seemed like a good idea at the time ?

I think what people mostly want in a Poly hive is a simple box, without any complications, a decent roof, a simple floor and compatibility in both physical terms and competitive in price with timber hives.

I don't think all of the above is possible ... somewhere there had to be a compromise but I remain unconvinced that adding bells and whistles is going to make it a better offering. Time will tell ...

 

[domino]

The 2 in 1 nucs are very useful to me, I love them. Not sure what value I'd get out of using this hive as two six frame nucs glued together and I'd suspect that if you try to divide them once bees have gummed all the grooves up it would be a pain in the arse.

It is nice to see lots of different takes on the poly hive, been quite static over the last few years in terms of new ideas.

 

[BugsInABox]

Is it designed as a double full hive though, not sure the dividers are meant to seal multiple boxes. Maybe supers for mating Nucs?

if you don't devide the super above an exzcluder isnlt it just like a two queen system you read about people experimenting with occasionally.

 

[domino]

if you don't devide the super above an exzcluder isnlt it just like a two queen system you read about people experimenting with occasionally.

I thought the two queen system was having two queens in two brood boxes over the same supers - having two queens on six frames seems a waste.

 

[BugsInABox]

I thought the two queen system was having two queens in two brood boxes over the same supers - having two queens on six frames seems a waste.

Ah yes, and if you were just supering to over winter you’d remove the excluder. Doh.

 

[Swn58]

Another thing I thought of I dont like about this BS hive is the amount of branding, every side of every box has their company details. On the BS nucs I find the lettering is always the most time consuming area.

I must admit that painting the raised wording on the BS nucs and my Paradise boxes took more time than I would have wanted. It does seem a bit unnecessary!

 

[amandaj57]

I must admit that painting the raised wording on the BS nucs and my Paradise boxes took more time than I would have wanted. It does seem a bit unnecessary!

I find using a sponge radiator roller works quite well. A bit more pressure going over the letters and the sponge just moulds round it.

 

[Ian123]

I find using a sponge radiator roller works quite well. A bit more pressure going over the letters and the sponge just moulds round it.

Come on load the the brush up do a couple of extra strokes