Contact feeders are rubbish!

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dolbz

New Bee
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Bath, UK
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So...should I get a frame feeder or a rapid feeder to replace the contact feeder that came with my budget kit?
 
So...should I get a frame feeder or a rapid feeder to replace the contact feeder that came with my budget kit?

depends on what and how you need to feed

in spring i prefer frames feeders in NUCs but in autumn i use a 2ltr rapid feeder, but thats a bit small if you have several hives to visit ( you may need to top it up twice a week) the advantage being you need not disturb the brood in wet or cold weather

also a jumbo rapid feeder is often used or miller etc, but then the syrup can go mouldy unless you add some essential oil or hivemaker thymol mix
 
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Mine work fine.

Oh mine 'works' in that it feeds the bees.

A few reasons why I think it's rubbish...

It's inevitable you're going to lose some syrup. So there is a choice between turning it upside down over the grass and risking robbing or over the hive which means you'll have a nice pool of syrup on the top side of your crown board where the bees can't get to it as the feeder covers the hole.

Mine requires not just one super to sit around it, but two. I think the bees might lose quite a bit of heat because of that.

When the bees have nearly finished the syrup there must be a point where the vacuum cannot be maintained and some syrup drips down through the hive and presumably onto the floor. More risk of robbing and maybe some drowned bees.

Don't know if this one is common but my bees decided to build a small amount of brace comb from the top of a frame to the gauze on the feeder which blocked some of the holes.
 
I struggled with them at first but now use for nucs.

Fill them as near to the top as you can and make sure that you have "clicked" the top to body all the way round.

I carry a curry or margarine container and tip it over this. You always get a little spill but if you count to 3 it stops. Then move it to the crownboard.

You can then take away and wash the marg container to ensure robbers are not encouraged.


For full hives I use an Ashworth or a jumbo rapid.
 
depends on what and how you need to feed

in spring i prefer frames feeders in NUCs but in autumn i use a 2ltr rapid feeder, but thats a bit small if you have several hives to visit ( you may need to top it up twice a week) the advantage being you need not disturb the brood in wet or cold weather

also a jumbo rapid feeder is often used or miller etc, but then the syrup can go mouldy unless you add some essential oil or hivemaker thymol mix

Thanks for the suggestions MM. I'm thinking of winter feeding at the moment so maybe I should go for a rapid feeder.

I don't want to be spending money on the big feeders at the moment. I'm able to visit my solitary hive to top up a little feeder. Maybe I can rethink that when I end up with more :biggrinjester:
 
Thanks for the suggestions MM. I'm thinking of winter feeding at the moment so maybe I should go for a rapid feeder.

I don't want to be spending money on the big feeders at the moment. I'm able to visit my solitary hive to top up a little feeder. Maybe I can rethink that when I end up with more :biggrinjester:

the two litre rapid feeders are of two type, the standard one £hornes sell , these require a super to house them and the other is a low squat type that Park Bees sell, this sits under the roof but hold a little less than 2 litres, i have both
 
When the bees have nearly finished the syrup there must be a point where the vacuum cannot be maintained and some syrup drips down through the hive and presumably onto the floor. More risk of robbing and maybe some drowned bees..

Exactly right.

And the gauze gets propolized.

Never had a problem with an Ashforth.
 
MM,

Which one do you prefer and why?

Regards, RAB

on park bees ones but you cant get 2ltre in,more like one and a half

you have to leave a bit of half inch gap from rim, if you overfill then as you put the roof on it slop overs as they are very wide at about 400mm diameter ( wave effect slops it over)

also by saying fits under the roof, the roof sits flat on the top of the feeder so does not seal on the crown board that means any slops is accessable to bees or wasps via the under the roof

its a very nice idea park bees has come up with but:biggrinjester: a bit like his non vented polystrene 14x12 nucs with biult in feeder not quite there, but i would not throw them away

you cannot use them with a pitched roof either, i have some of Tom Bicks pitched roofs ( for that Cottage look the wife likes) so i bought a £hornes one for theme

really think now i would go the £hornes or similar even though the super void looses more heat from the bees, i just put a slab of polystryne on top of them
 
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the two litre rapid feeders are of two type, the standard one £hornes sell , these require a super to house them and the other is a low squat type that Park Bees sell, this sits under the roof but hold a little less than 2 litres, i have both

Do you have a picture of the park bees feeders?
 
Do you have a picture of the park bees feeders?

my 2ltrs are up at the apiarty, only have a one litre

the pictere shows a 2litre thornes and a 1litre park bees

the 2ltre park bees one is the same height but is about 350-400 mm in diameter ( covers both feed holes if you centre over the middle hole on a thorne porter escape crown board
 
I like the idea of those 2ltr especially as they dont need an empty super as well.
Thanks for the pics.
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it they wont go up into a feeder if its cold, I guess if you're 'topping up' a hungry hive, but they will take from a contact feeder?
 
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but as I understand it they wont go up into a feeder if its cold, I guess if you're 'topping up' a hungry hive, but they will take from a contact feeder?

The idea is to make sure they have taken enough feed before it gets too cold. If it is very cold they wont feed from either contact or rapid feeder.
 
The idea is to make sure they have taken enough feed before it gets too cold. If it is very cold they wont feed from either contact or rapid feeder.

look under my picture of the park bees feeder, 60kg of tate and lyle, all will be fed to my hives starting oct when the api guard is off
 
Would I be right in thinking that a rapid feeder would be more suceptable to wasp infiltration than a contact feeder, as the area of access is greater?

Currently using a contact (quite happily) but I like the sound of the rapid, especially the Parks version
 
I sit a contact feeder inside a super. The feeder sits on a couple of 1 inch blocks of wood, so any spill is accessible and no robbing can take place.
 

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