ugcheleuce
Field Bee
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2013
- Messages
- 669
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Apeldoorn, Netherlands
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 7-10
G'day everyone
I'm a beginner beekeeper and I wanted to put all my beekeeping stuff together in one place, so I got myself a foldable grocery crate from the local grocery store. When I placed one frame in it, I realised that the crate is almost the perfect size for the frame. So I wondered whether it would be feasible to turn the crate into e.g. a brood box.
I've attached my preliminary idea in a PDF, to this post. I may have made some mistakes with the measurements etc, and perhaps this is the silliest idea you've ever heard of, but I would still like to hear about your thoughts.
For the sake of some conversation on-forum, here are the questions that I ask at the end of the PDF itself:
1. Would it be okay for me to use stationery/packaging grade styrofoam inside the bee hive? Won't the bees nibble take the styrofoam apart? With what can I treat the styrofoam to protect it from the bees?
2. Can I get away with using 8 mm hardboard for the lid and/or tray, or must I go for something thicker? Obviously the board would be painted against rain damage.
3. Would there be sufficient insulation in this box? Keep in mind that the only thing between the bees and the cold (if you don't warp the hive for the winter) would be 20 mm of styrofoam plus about 5 mm of newspaper/cardboard, plus a thin layer of hard plastic.
4. What effect would it have on the crate's ability carry weight if I cut a hole in the crate bottom? Normally the crate is strong enough to carry groceries that weigh a tonne if you have to carry it from the car to the kitchen.
5. Given that the handles of the box are on the short sides, wouldn't it be better to use make the flying holes on the long sides? That would also mean warm build.
6. How would you deal with the large space between frames in stacked boxes? The space between frames in the bottom box and top box would be 16 mm – the bees would fill it with wax. One solution may be to partially cover each box's frames with a sheet of plastic, but that would mean that the bees would have to walk around the plastic and it would interfere with varroa control, since not all mites would fall all the way to the tray at the bottom. Another solution, which would not interfere with varroa control, may be to attach strips of wood to the tops (or bottoms) of the frames so that the frames reach the correct height.
7. Do you think garden hose pipe would give the bees enough room to enter and exit the hive, or would a garden hose be too narrow for two bees to pass each other? What else can I use from the hole in the plastic to the space inside the hive, to prevent the bees from entering the spaces between the inner wall and the outer plastic crate wall? Or should I just cut a long slit at the bottom in the same way that an ordinary hive would have?
Thanks
Samuel
I'm a beginner beekeeper and I wanted to put all my beekeeping stuff together in one place, so I got myself a foldable grocery crate from the local grocery store. When I placed one frame in it, I realised that the crate is almost the perfect size for the frame. So I wondered whether it would be feasible to turn the crate into e.g. a brood box.
I've attached my preliminary idea in a PDF, to this post. I may have made some mistakes with the measurements etc, and perhaps this is the silliest idea you've ever heard of, but I would still like to hear about your thoughts.
For the sake of some conversation on-forum, here are the questions that I ask at the end of the PDF itself:
1. Would it be okay for me to use stationery/packaging grade styrofoam inside the bee hive? Won't the bees nibble take the styrofoam apart? With what can I treat the styrofoam to protect it from the bees?
2. Can I get away with using 8 mm hardboard for the lid and/or tray, or must I go for something thicker? Obviously the board would be painted against rain damage.
3. Would there be sufficient insulation in this box? Keep in mind that the only thing between the bees and the cold (if you don't warp the hive for the winter) would be 20 mm of styrofoam plus about 5 mm of newspaper/cardboard, plus a thin layer of hard plastic.
4. What effect would it have on the crate's ability carry weight if I cut a hole in the crate bottom? Normally the crate is strong enough to carry groceries that weigh a tonne if you have to carry it from the car to the kitchen.
5. Given that the handles of the box are on the short sides, wouldn't it be better to use make the flying holes on the long sides? That would also mean warm build.
6. How would you deal with the large space between frames in stacked boxes? The space between frames in the bottom box and top box would be 16 mm – the bees would fill it with wax. One solution may be to partially cover each box's frames with a sheet of plastic, but that would mean that the bees would have to walk around the plastic and it would interfere with varroa control, since not all mites would fall all the way to the tray at the bottom. Another solution, which would not interfere with varroa control, may be to attach strips of wood to the tops (or bottoms) of the frames so that the frames reach the correct height.
7. Do you think garden hose pipe would give the bees enough room to enter and exit the hive, or would a garden hose be too narrow for two bees to pass each other? What else can I use from the hole in the plastic to the space inside the hive, to prevent the bees from entering the spaces between the inner wall and the outer plastic crate wall? Or should I just cut a long slit at the bottom in the same way that an ordinary hive would have?
Thanks
Samuel
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