Clearer board ... DIY

[Erichalfbee]

These are mine. The first is based on a Canadian clearer board.....got one free and modified it with rhombus escapes......clears in 4 hours....4 escapes, you see ....don't forget to tape off the central hole.
The second (two pictures) is home made and is even faster.
Both seem to be OK left on a day....ie the bees don't find their way back.

 

[Hivemaker.]

If you want quick clearing, shake
.

If you want faster clearing... blow them out with a leaf blower.

 

[pargyle]

In the sales they were a pound and a half each. I have a few more than two now

In my case there are two wrong assumptions .. the first is that I am capable of planning something in advance of whenever/whatever becomes a disaster and the second is the optimistic view that I was ever likely to have a super full that needed clearing !!

I reckon, for once, at the moment, I may be about a week or 10 days ahead of the game but knowing my luck there'll either be a massive flow this week and I won't be ready or the onset of arctic weather will cause them to eat the lot ...

 

[jonnybeegood]

I made this, simple porter bee escapes, i put this on a super full of bees at 10am, at 1pm ghere was only about a dozen bees left in it.

 

[pargyle]

I made this, simple porter bee escapes, i put this on a super full of bees at 10am, at 1pm ghere was only about a dozen bees left in it. View attachment 11846

I know a lot of people use Porter bee escapes but they do have a tendency to block - particularly if you have drones in the hive ... with three of them in your board you at least have the chance of one of them continuing to work but I think there are better options. This is what Polyhive had to say about them:

"If I had the proverbial magic wand this is one of the items I would disappear from the UK beekeeping scene. I say this for two reasons. One is they frankly are a complete faff to get to work, and they work badly at best as drones can jam them not to mention the resetting required. But also because they ruin crown boards with the required holes.

I am very clear in my mind that a clearer board should have no working parts and there are plenty of designs on my site that do work well, and that a crown board should fulfil that function and a very important one it is to, to keep in the warmth that the bees prefer and make taking of the roof simple. "

If it works for you then that's fine by me - but I think you might find more long term reliability if you took the Porters off the board and replaced them with either a Rhombus or make up a labyrinth.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes, they are OK brand new but after that I found them rubbish.

 

[jonnybeegood]

I know a lot of people use Porter bee escapes but they do have a tendency to block - particularly if you have drones in the hive ... with three of them in your board you at least have the chance of one of them continuing to work but I think there are better options. This is what Polyhive had to say about them:

"If I had the proverbial magic wand this is one of the items I would disappear from the UK beekeeping scene. I say this for two reasons. One is they frankly are a complete faff to get to work, and they work badly at best as drones can jam them not to mention the resetting required. But also because they ruin crown boards with the required holes.

I am very clear in my mind that a clearer board should have no working parts and there are plenty of designs on my site that do work well, and that a crown board should fulfil that function and a very important one it is to, to keep in the warmth that the bees prefer and make taking of the roof simple. "

If it works for you then that's fine by me - but I think you might find more long term reliability if you took the Porters off the board and replaced them with either a Rhombus or make up a labyrinth.

If i had drones in the supers theres something wrong & i would sort that first, i used 3 as its quicker for what they cost its nothing, as you say if one blocks theres two left. They took no setting, they went on as they came, worked great & they can be removed easily & patched with a bit of ply. If i have a problem i will change them but i think you could design all sorts of gadgets to do the same job, we have to pick one that works for us & i am happy with this.
I might try another sometime but a full super empty in 3 hours at most aint bad.

 

[pargyle]

If i had drones in the supers theres something wrong & i would sort that first, i used 3 as its quicker for what they cost its nothing, as you say if one blocks theres two left. They took no setting, they went on as they came, worked great & they can be removed easily & patched with a bit of ply. If i have a problem i will change them but i think you could design all sorts of gadgets to do the same job, we have to pick one that works for us & i am happy with this.
I might try another sometime but a full super empty in 3 hours at most aint bad.

You have no drones in the supers ? I don't use queen excluders ... there are always drones in the supers - nothing wrong with that.

As I said in my post, if the Porter bee escapes work for you then that's fine - I'm not looking for an argument. I was merely pointing out the disadvantages of using them and I think you will find that a lot of people think the same. It seems JBG that you take everything as a personal affront (from the tone of your post) so my advice is to continue swimming against the tide but be aware of the potential problems you may face ...

 

[itma]

... This is what Polyhive had to say about them:

"...
I am very clear in my mind that a clearer board should have no working parts and ... "

Moving parts.

Bees really try to do something about moving parts to stop them moving!

The idea is to make something that works, without relying on moving parts.
Which is why rhombus, 6-way, and labyrinth-type designs work more reliably.

 

[jonnybeegood]

You have no drones in the supers ? I don't use queen excluders ... there are always drones in the supers - nothing wrong with that.

As I said in my post, if the Porter bee escapes work for you then that's fine - I'm not looking for an argument. I was merely pointing out the disadvantages of using them and I think you will find that a lot of people think the same. It seems JBG that you take everything as a personal affront (from the tone of your post) so my advice is to continue swimming against the tide but be aware of the potential problems you may face ...

I use Queen excluders so i dont have drones in my supers which is why theres a problem if there is.
I dont know how you can read my tone from a post but there was no harm meant in it so aside from putting lots of smiley faces in my posts i cant alter the tone. There are far worse tones on other peoples posts.
I will swim against the tide though i am sure there are thousands of people using the same type as me, theyre mentioned in all the bee books so cant be that wrong. As i said i may change them but for now they are working, clearly you dont have a choice having Drones in your supers so i see why you dont use them.

 

[Hivemaker.]

If i had drones in the supers theres something wrong & i would sort that first,

Some beekeepers that use queen excluders and porter bee escapes put the clearer board on first, then a queen excluder, making sure the holes are clear, then the supers to be cleared, the excluder prevents any drones that may be in the supers from blocking the porter bee escapes.

 

[itma]

Some beekeepers that use queen excluders and porter bee escapes put the clearer board on first, then a queen excluder, then the supers to be cleared, the excluder prevents any drones that may be in the supers from blocking the porter bee escapes.

The more beekeepers the more variations.


Having cleared the super(s), I remove them in the evening (to minimise help' from the bees as I take plural supers indoors) and in order to avoid the hassle of doing anything unnecessary in the half-dark, I put the coverboard (no holes natch) over the clearer and leave the clearer in place until the next day, when with smoker lit, the hives can be opened.

 

[Finman]

The more beekeepers the more variations.
.

It is strange if a beekeeper does not get honey crop from his hive.

 

[REDWOOD]

Utilise the equipment you have, if you have a feeder board with a centre hole, attach a rhombus escape to the bottom using drawing or map pins, place on top of a shallow eke and there you have it.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Having cleared the super(s)............ leave the clearer in place until the next day, when with smoker lit, the hives can be opened.

Yes, always lots of bees under the clearer board. The deeper it is the more bees!

 

[wessexmario]

I built a 'vortex' escape as described on the Dave Cushman site, every time I've used it it works a treat, it will empty a super in just an hour or two.

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/vortexescape.html

ps. Since I made mine I see that Roger Patterson has added his own square version to the bottom of that page.
I wouldn't use the square version as drawn/photographed, as it doesn't have the original triangular design feature of diverting incoming bees back to the exits.
If you want to make the square version, then follow the topology of the triangle version, as he admits, the square version as shown won't be as efficient.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Phil

Here's mine that I made last year; similar to Wessexmario's suggestion. I've only used it once and it seemed to work well. Made with plywood, stripwood and #8 mesh. I forget where I found the design.

CVB

 

[pargyle]

I built a 'vortex' escape as described on the Dave Cushman site, every time I've used it it works a treat, it will empty a super in just an hour or two.

l
t.

Did you use the three CD's as well ? I see from Dave Cushman's narrative that it says they should be screwed on 'shiny side outwards' but the photo of the finished article shows them with the shiny side facing inwards ...

I can see the logic of using them to cover the corners but which way up is correct ?

 

[Obee1]

It says on cushmans site to have shiny side down so bees can't grip on to it and cluster at corners. The photo on the site shows one that was not made by cushman but found on t'internet.