Hefting WBC

[Monbees]

Does anyone have advice on how to heft a WBC hive please?

 

[SteveG]

Warm day later today, possible to take a look how stores are. If good replace lifts, roof etc and heft or feed and do similar when feed taken. will give you better idea of the weight needed in winter when lifts, etc can't be removed.

 

[plain_hunt]

I heft my WBCs in exactly the same way I heft my nationals, by picking the back or side up, whichever I can get to easiest. If I do it before I feed, and after I’ve finished, I’ve got a good idea how heavy it is.

 

[Monbees]

I heft my WBCs in exactly the same way I heft my nationals, by picking the back or side up, whichever I can get to easiest. If I do it before I feed, and after I’ve finished, I’ve got a good idea how heavy it is.

So you take all the lifts and roof off?

 

[plain_hunt]

So you take all the lifts and roof off?

No, I just lift a side, whichever I can get to. It doesn’t take long to get used to the weight change, particularly if you have more than one to compare it to.

 

[Monbees]

No, I just lift a side, whichever I can get to. It doesn’t take long to get used to the weight change, particularly if you have more than one to compare it to.

So you mean you lift one side of the stand, with everything on top of it?

 

[pargyle]

So you mean you lift one side of the stand, with everything on top of it?

They are a bit heavy to heft with the lifts in place but the alternative is to take the lifts off and just heft the floor and the brood box(es). Also, hefting from the stand at near ground level is the recipe for a bad back !

Personally, I'd screw an eye bolt into each side of the stand and hook a luggage scale to that on a strap so that you are lifting at a comfortable height. You only have to get each side a little off the ground and check the weight each side on the luggage scale, add the two weights together and keep a note of how the weight goes down. If you have some idea of the basic weight without stores you have a record that will allow you to monitor their progress on stores as winter goes on.

 

[Monbees]

Personally, I'd screw an eye bolt into each side of the stand and hook a luggage scale to that on a strap so that you are lifting at a comfortable height. You only have to get each side a little off the ground and check the weight each side on the luggage scale, add the two weights together and keep a note of how the weight goes down. If you have some idea of the basic weight without stores you have a record that will allow you to monitor their progress on stores as winter goes on.

The eye bolt idea is good, I shall give it a go.

 

[Speybee]

They are a bit heavy to heft with the lifts in place but the alternative is to take the lifts off and just heft the floor and the brood box(es). Also, hefting from the stand at near ground level is the recipe for a bad back !

Personally, I'd screw an eye bolt into each side of the stand and hook a luggage scale to that on a strap so that you are lifting at a comfortable height. You only have to get each side a little off the ground and check the weight each side on the luggage scale, add the two weights together and keep a note of how the weight goes down. If you have some idea of the basic weight without stores you have a record that will allow you to monitor their progress on stores as winter goes on.

Sounds very sensible, but I don’t have the strength in my arms for it now.
So I will continue with the fondant rolled over the entire top of the brood nest. But this year I’m going to try something new for me and that is covering top of the rolled fondant with a sheet of flat parchment paper, then the polycarbonate crown board, then insulation then roof.
Every month I will quickly nip off the roof and insulation and see through the parchment paper/ poly carbonate crown board to see how much of an area of rolled fondant remains, and add more if needed.

 

[elainemary]

Does anyone have advice on how to heft a WBC hive please?

Hi I have WBCs. I take the roof and lifts off leaving the lower lift which is the porch. I do this as I’ve got different designs of WBCs with different weights, so it’s then easier to heft and judge one hive vs another. I then heft the 2 sides as sometimes stores can be unbalanced. Another thing i do is set up an empty wbc in the garage with brood box and frames and an empty super and frames inside, so except for the bees weight, it gives you a feel for the weight of an empty hive for comparison.