dense poly

[mexbigshow]

Hi everyone, i have a poly langstroth and i would like to know the best place to buy dense polystyrene so i could make my own supers to add to the hive.

 

[tonybloke]

Hi everyone, i have a poly langstroth and i would like to know the best place to buy dense polystyrene so i could make my own supers to add to the hive.

this question arises each year,
I don't think anyone has found either, a) a supplier of suitable material,
b) that it's financially viable.

 

[mexbigshow]

thanks for the reply tony, i often search the net and come up with nothing, has any body experimented with building materials like kingspan or anything like that, i am a joiner and know a lot of brick layers so getting hold of building materials is easy i just don't want to try it if it isn't any good
regards
chris

 

[tonybloke]

folk have tried 'kingspan' or similar in the past, the bees will chew at any exposed surfaces ( I use it to 'dummy out' boxes, but have to 'gaffer' tape all exposed edges )

 

[Winker]

thanks for the reply tony, i often search the net and come up with nothing, has any body experimented with building materials like kingspan or anything like that, i am a joiner and know a lot of brick layers so getting hold of building materials is easy i just don't want to try it if it isn't any good
regards
chris

kingspan is not dense enough, great insulation, nice and light but way to thick too.

I am a joiner too. I make my hives from 18mm WBP Ply and untreated CLS and a few 32mm screws. Only tools i use are a table saw and a screw gun.

Left untreated the WBP Ply is good for 8 years use. As it only costs £25 for a full sheet of the 18mm ply, I can get 3 full hives out of that. So i leave mine untreated and just remake new ones when the time comes around.

The bees have been happy enough in wooden boxes for years. Its more easyer to repair woodpecker dammage too. Though i gess for insulation you could stick Kingspan (thin it down a bit) to the outside.

The only realy good poly hive IMHO is the Poly Nuc boxes. From what i see beekeeping is full of middle aged blokes who love to potter around with bits off wood. Ploy hives dont allow you to potter really, or no where near as much as wooden wones do. where the fun in that?

 

[RoofTops]

I made a TBH once out of kingspan. I fixed wood along the top edges to support the top bars and it would have worked I think except I used the wrong sort of glue - you need an out door version of something like "No more nails", the one I used was for indoor use only. The edges can be sealed with aluminium tape obtainable from builders' merchants.

However, I wouldn't want to use it for a conventional hive body as I don't think you could joint the corners strongly enough and unless you trimmed the edges with wood it would be too soft for the hive tool.

 

[Poly Hive]

If you want to go the cheap route in poly, make the floor, buy the brood box/s, buy one poly super per intended colony and make the roofs.

Why one poly sup? The bees will go up faster into a poly sup than a timber one, and after that use timber ones as the main hurdle is crossed.

Just make sure the type of poly hive you buy is compatible with normal supers obviously as not all appear to have that facility.

PH

 

[mexbigshow]

thanks for the comments everyone, PH i was also thinking of building extra supers out of ply and simply adding as needed, the only reason i wanted to use poly is purely for winter but i suppose i could take off the ply supers and over winter the bees in the poly bb is this a good idea?

 

[Poly Hive]

Yes.

PH

 

[hedgerow pete]

whay cant you make a sheet that becomes the fitting of the top of the brood and allows you you use wooden supers.

i am thinking sheet of ply with dirty great big hole in it

 

[Poly Hive]

No need Pete. Lang sups fit lang poly and the same should apply to Nat.

PH

 

[Elaine]

I made a TBH once out of kingspan. I fixed wood along the top edges to support the top bars and it would have worked I think except I used the wrong sort of glue - you need an out door version of something like "No more nails", the one I used was for indoor use only. The edges can be sealed with aluminium tape obtainable from builders' merchants.

However, I wouldn't want to use it for a conventional hive body as I don't think you could joint the corners strongly enough and unless you trimmed the edges with wood it would be too soft for the hive tool.

kingspan is a polyurethane foam, use polyester resin to glue it together (as per fibreglass foam car bodyshells) . It needs a primer coat of resin before a glue layer as the first coat will soak in a bit. You can reinforce corners with fibreglass tissue. two coats of resin on the foam gives it a hard plastic surface. The aluminium surface of kingspan may need a coat of resin to protect it from the weather and cleaning chemicals.
The foam cuts well with power wood working tools e.g. chop saws, table saws, routers.
Aluminium foil can be glued to the surface using the resin (try sainsburys sandwich wrap 30p for a roll).