BS Honey Bees New Poly Hive - Best in Class?

[GuyNir]

Looks impressive...

 

[deemann1]

Looks like they have gone and done it ,great looking kit

 

[local_beekeeper]

Poor imitation of Abelo hive.
Price over £150

 

[Ian123]

Looks good if they had put 2 silicone bungs into the feeder like the Nucs you could do away with the crown board totally. Oh and if you use it as a twin nuc don’t use it to cover the other half like this guy did, in Nucs you quite often find her majesty on there

 

[Ian123]

Poor imitation of Abelo hive.
Price over £150

Really why’s it an imitation. I would suggest it’s rather streamlined in comparison. Being realistic though I hope it doesn’t imitate Abelo in the fact they leak

 

[Angry_Mob]

I was looking forward to this and first impressions are good.

Looks like a serious alternative to the Abelo v1; better for the fact that it doesn't have those silly holes in the brood box and the crown board looks particularly useful.

Pros
Actually is national standard
Plastic mating faces
Handles on four sides
Great feeder design
14x12 version as well
UK made

Cons
Lower density than Abelo - may not be as durable?
The channels between the runners and hive body aren't hard plastic, may take hive tool damage?
Pricing - from the BS website looks like its priced higher than the Abelo at £130 for one super opposed to £125 for the Abelo which comes with two.



The hexagon shaped feet on the floor is a neat touch.

I'd prefer a Swienty style floor or even a proper underfloor would be good rather than having more little fiddly plastic entrance things.

TBS would have been nice as well but I suppose BBS keeps it proper national standard.

Some may like a landing board, not a deal beaker for myself.

It's not a telescopic roof, it's a deep roof.

 

[local_beekeeper]

Really why’s it an imitation. I would suggest it’s rather streamlined in comparison. Being realistic though I hope it doesn’t imitate Abelo in the fact they leak

You sound like you’re not familiar with Abelo hives.
I've never had any problems but if they leak in your opinion then BS Honey will have a problem.....

 

[user 819]

My Abelo's don't leak/let in water.

 

[simonforeman]

For standard national with no super £108 looks a good price. Could then use wooden supers on in summer.

Questions I have would be...

Does the poly roof fit on a wooden super ? Looks like it would.

There are divider slots in the super but no mention on video or website of longer metal divider board to use the super when split into nucs.

Think I will stick with my £25 home made 2 in 1 hive from 3rds for now. This is a world exclusive

 

[Boston Bees]

The divided box looks like it would be a pain to manage. As soon as you lift that lid off there is a risk of fighting, or even the queen running over the lip I guess. With such a thin divider I also wonder whether it would be completely sealed off from the smells of the other half.

If I want to split a hive into two nucs, I think I would prefer just to do just that - just move the box to one side and put the frames in two Maisemore (say) poly nucs, which can be set so they touch each other, giving 6cm of poly on one side of each nuc. You can then inspect each of them without any risk of disturbing the other side. You can get 6 frames in each rather than 5. And you can increase the height of one of the nucs, if it needs it, without increasing the height of the other.

But as a standalone box, ignoring the 2-in-1 ability, it looks solid enough, with a good solid crownboard, and good density of poly. Whether it would be better than an Abelo is another question.

 

[Boston Bees]

Does the poly roof fit on a wooden super ?

Yes.

 

[Boston Bees]

As an aside, I note that Paynes have increased the density of their hives to 120g/l, up from 100g/l. I haven't seen any announcement of this, but the product descriptions have changed.

So Abelo and BS appear to have pushed the market to higher densities.

Sadly Paynes also seem to have increased their price to match!

 

[Ian123]

You sound like you’re not familiar with Abelo hives.
I've never had any problems but if they leak in your opinion then BS Honey will have a problem.....

Lol it appears I may be more familiar than you. If you care to use the search facility you’ll find a number of threads regarding the leaking issue! It does depend what model you have, there’s now 3 in production and that in itself could be seen as an issue. I did ask why you said it was an poor imitation though. For me and I’ve had polys for nearly 20 years it looks like a more streamlined hive with less silly not needed bits, although not totally sure about the dividers but at least they improved the divider itself. As above I’d like to confirm the roof fits wood but the chap says it’s totally compatible. It really would be great if 1 company could corner the poly market with a decent design but like wooden hives I doubt that possible. Ian

 

[GuyNir]

Don’t see this as imitation at all. The new Abelo is TBS, which reduces your compatibility options and locks you in a bit.
The BS Honey looks to me like a solid option, (potentially) market leading, with extra added features - all at a comparable price.

 

[local_beekeeper]

Don’t see this as imitation at all. The new Abelo is TBS, which reduces your compatibility options and locks you in a bit.
The BS Honey looks to me like a solid option, (potentially) market leading, with extra added features - all at a comparable price.

Maybe It's just me

https://beekeeping.co.uk/products/p...KMp5rtU8ONAgBgVN-K6jrz9I838jsU4RoCQzEQAvD_BwE

 

[Apple]

I have tried and tested various "double" hives over the years, possibly the BS split nuc has it place ( Have a dozen of them) and also the Abelo original double mating nucs... which have the "hard plastic" mating surfaces, which works...... but they are nucs, specifically designed for mating......

I just can not see any advantage in a double full hive?

I think if I was starting over ( and I am far too old to do that) I would be looking at Langstroth Polly of some description.

Chons da

 

[Gunner]

Looks like a serious alternative to the Abelo v1; better for the fact that it doesn't have those silly holes in the brood box and the crown board looks particularly useful.

I find the holes in the Abelo brood boxes very useful as they act as an entrance when you do a vertical split. Saves having to construct or purchase a snelgrove board.

 

[Ian123]

The divided box looks like it would be a pain to manage. As soon as you lift that lid off there is a risk of fighting, or even the queen running over the lip I guess. With such a thin divider I also wonder whether it would be completely sealed off from the smells of the other half.

If I want to split a hive into two nucs, I think I would prefer just to do just that - just move the box to one side and put the frames in two Maisemore (say) poly nucs, which can be set so they touch each other, giving 6cm of poly on one side of each nuc. You can then inspect each of them without any risk of disturbing the other side. You can get 6 frames in each rather than 5. And you can increase the height of one of the nucs, if it needs it, without increasing the height of the other.

Twin boxes can work well I’ve had plenty I’ll post some pics later just to prove there’s very little exclusive in beekeeping! I think I nicked the idea from the original Ted Hooper book and would bet he got it from another! Queens don’t run over the divide and bees don’t fight. For the simple reason there’s a crown board on each, even if you had both sides open I’ve certainly not had an issue whilst inspecting. A thin divide is no issue as long as it’s sealed and in fact could be a bonus! I’ve never found the need to add boxes to a nuc. If they need more space they go into a hive. Cost wise there great those boxes cost him £25. Two polys will set you back about £80. I found the biggest draw back with them was just transferring 1 half and not being able to knock the bees in I think I have a couple of improvements for Simon though. Ian

 

[user 20297]

I find the holes in the Abelo brood boxes very useful as they act as an entrance when you do a vertical split.

It always puzzles me that the optional featues of the Abelo, which you don't have to use, seem to cause people such angst.

I've had worse leakage problems with a creaky, old wooden box than with the very precisely constructed Abelos.

 

[Ian123]

I just can not see any advantage in a double full hive?

Chons da

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