Omlet fixes arrived...

[oliver90owner]

James,

The post above was noted as simply demonstrating the untruth in the post you made re the beehaus being tested for two years by a whole plethora of experts, beekeepers and others, prior to release to the public. I commend omlette for supplying the mods necessary - but so they should, leaving the testing to the punters instead of doing as you stated they had!

Nothing to do with omlette being damned or otherwise. Just dissemination of the truth.

I just hope nothing major develops as a defect in design. Note that B&Q are reimbursing for 'chocolate tea pot' wind turbines sold which which were never ever going to work properly. Everybody in the 'wind turbine world', except the manufacturers seemed to know they were (mostly) chocolate teapots - I think not!

It simply demonstrated your (cynical?) advertising of a product on this forum, which had clearly not been tested as you stated, to the many people out there who might read this forum, and who know no better. Had you not been trying to push the virtues of the design, you would have retracted at the time, and not repeated it differently in your post above.

It is not a case of the doubter's poo-pooing it at all. It is just that my assessment is rational and not at all coloured by advertising revenue.

No further response on this thread. Please stop digging, the hole is deep enough already.

RAB

 

[JCBrum]

No further response on this thread. Please stop digging, the hole is deep enough already. RAB

Well, apologies RAB, ..... but I can't resist ........

We've got 14x12 Nats in cedar, .....

Maisemore do a basic beehive for £52 ..........

We've got poly Langs from Swienty and others ............

Dartingtons are an accepted published design .......

Do we really need Beehaus ........ at £500 .......... ???

.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Suppose that could apply to just about everything,from packets of biscuits, different makes of car,do we need them all,probably not,we could all use the same identical hives,and all drive round in pink ford fiestas i suppose,and all wear the same identical clothes.
As for fixes, thats always happening with new products,how about mini metro fuel caps leaking,thousands of new one's had to be issued,and just recently bmw wheels,just a couple of minor fixes that could cost somebody thier lives.

 

[JCBrum]

I take your point Hivemaker, but I don't think I will be buying one ..... I don't think the cost justifies the use.

On the car analogy, I sold the Fiesta and kept the Merc, .... But I do like ASDA value 'Rich Tea' biscuits.

.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

James,

The post above was noted as simply demonstrating the untruth in the post you made re the beehaus being tested for two years by a whole plethora of experts, beekeepers and others, prior to release to the public. I commend omlette for supplying the mods necessary - but so they should, leaving the testing to the punters instead of doing as you stated they had!

Nothing to do with omlette being damned or otherwise. Just dissemination of the truth.

I just hope nothing major develops as a defect in design. Note that B&Q are reimbursing for 'chocolate tea pot' wind turbines sold which which were never ever going to work properly. Everybody in the 'wind turbine world', except the manufacturers seemed to know they were (mostly) chocolate teapots - I think not!

It simply demonstrated your (cynical?) advertising of a product on this forum, which had clearly not been tested as you stated, to the many people out there who might read this forum, and who know no better. Had you not been trying to push the virtues of the design, you would have retracted at the time, and not repeated it differently in your post above.

It is not a case of the doubter's poo-pooing it at all. It is just that my assessment is rational and not at all coloured by advertising revenue.

No further response on this thread. Please stop digging, the hole is deep enough already.

RAB

Oliver90owner.

Firslty, where have I stated.

"Tested for two years by a whole plethora of experts, beekeepers and others, prior to release to the public."

I simpley said it had been tested for 2 years. And this information is simplet being relaid from the omlet site. Why dont you read it!


"I just hope nothing major develops as a defect in design."

What Major defect can occour, it is simpley a box!

"It simply demonstrated your (cynical?) advertising of a product on this forum"

I am not advertising it on this forum, simpley noteing my findings in using it, rather than you simpley your theory!

"No further response on this thread"

Good, your reporting is like a stuck record.

 

[BKF Admin]

Note that B&Q are reimbursing for 'chocolate tea pot' wind turbines sold which which were never ever going to work properly. Everybody in the 'wind turbine world', except the manufacturers seemed to know they were (mostly) chocolate teapots - I think not!

Sorry to go slightly off topic:

I picked up the nice glossy leaflet in B&Q a few months back advertising the wind turbin and did chuckle at the time regards the claims they made and thought there could be trouble..

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Sorry to go slightly off topic:

No problem, we can go back to RAB bashing later!


The only (curent and viable) true green energy is nuclear!

PS I am not selling on the part of EDF, EON, BNFL etc etc and I think they might have done more than 2 years R&D, and I am also sure they will have had to do some MINOR mod and fixes over their time: beatdeadhorse5:

 

[Brosville]

Point of information - the ONLY reason nuclear is being used is because of their powerful, rich and effective lobbyists - people have been stupid enough to swallow their advertising for something that is a ludicrously overpriced "product" that won't deliver, is most certainly not "green" in any shape or form, will cost FAR more than advertised, and probably do far more harm than good............ (but what's that got to do with beehauses?.......)

 

[grizzly]

Well having returned to the forum from my brief stint in the foreign legion, i love my cedar hives, i have been keen to try a poly langstroth as it is so cheap, and having looked at the Beehaus, i have to say there are points and uses i find intriguing, such as the double brood in one box and the nice manageable supers (my back still has not recovered from the Jumbo Lang's full of stores).

It seems some fear change and inovation, if you dont like it dont buy it, personally i am keen to see how it goes, i cannot afford one, but maybe in time.

Poly first.

P.S - Pete - did you have fluffy dice in your pink ford fiesta ?

 

[oliver90owner]

Grizzly,

Build youself a Dartington. If you can obtain scrap ply, they are really cheap to make and will last a lot more than long enough to decide if you like them. If you can't get offcuts/second hand ply, they are still far better value than a plastic Dartington IMO.

There is little woodworking skill needed other than cutting to size reasonably accurately and making one long rebate. Use screws, not nails, and the job is much easier.

One of the advantages is the deep frames for the brood - an extra deep-brood for a Langstroth type Dartington would likely be better than standard brood depth but that would be a huge hive! Could you extract that size frame? Questions, questions!

There are a couple of plusses I have seen with the beehaus design, but nothing that cannot be incorporated into the wooden version. There are also negatives too!!!

They do need rather more ground space than a National or Langstroth (possibly more than twice, really, as they have an entrance at each end).

Let's face it you could make half-supers for a National or Langstroth, no problem. Why has nobody done this on a regular basis?, you might ask. Try a pair and see. It is possibly better to reduce the weight by removing frames of honey before lifting off or having a stand beside the hive to be able to 'slide' the super across, rather than having half-size supers.......well that is my experience of Dartington half sized supers - convenient to lift, but a pain to operate.

If I were making half size supers for normal hives I would make them in pairs - 'left and right' - with only a thin wall on the inner joining side as you only need two (not four, as in the Dartington) The thin side could be a rigid, non warping/bending material which would fit together neatly, not like the ply sides of the Dartington design.

Regards, RAB

 

[Tom Bick]

Sorry but just to add one other note to my question will the omlet get more drought through the OMF because of its height off the ground the positioning of the omlet will have to also be important not to close to any fence shed or a garden object that once the wind hits the fence ,shed or obstacle (wheelbarrow?) the wind will be directed upwards and perhaps into the direction of the omlet

 

[oliver90owner]

Tom,

The answer is yes it might. Positioning might be more important but every case may need it's own unique set of conditions to be considered. The issues are more than the wind just blowing under it. As you say, topographical conditions need to be taken into account. That piece of plastic card will not help matters much IMO.

IMO a more robust arrangement needs to be in place.

IMO for most situations the bees would be, as well or, better served without it.

If I blank off, partly or fully, underneath my Dartingtons, or even my Nationals (which are on higher than most stands) I use something a little more robust than a piece of flappy card, loosely fitted. Of course with a wooden hive that is easy to arrange.

I have a grooves below my OMFs on the Nationals, into which I can slide a sheet of ply or other material, and I simply screwed a couple of support battens onto my Dartingtons and can slide a piece of ply under the OMF from the front entrance right to the rear. I can use two or more pieces if I so desire but I generally use the single board I use when doing Thymol varroah treatment (oh! I wonder how one is expected to retain apiguard or thymol or formic treatments, for varroah etc, in the beehaus with that loose fitting, flappy piece of card).

Regards, RAB

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Tom, Speaking as somone that actualy has a beehaus, I have my national hives on OMF at the same hight as the beehaus.

So they both have the same floor area (half the beehaus) and same hight, so in theory they should be the same.

But who are we to know as meer beekeepers! hence the comparison trial between the beehaus and national....I will update my blog as time progresses.

And as for potentail of blowing over, this unit is heavyer than two nationals.

 

[PaleoPerson]

Not owning a beehaus nor intending to (get that in first). One thing that struck me as useful in the current windy conditions was the ability to stake the hive to the ground, with the legs designed with a metal cross bar, you could very easily put some big 'U Pegs' in place to help secure to the ground.

 

[jezd]

Not owning a beehaus nor intending to (get that in first). One thing that struck me as useful in the current windy conditions was the ability to stake the hive to the ground, with the legs designed with a metal cross bar, you could very easily put some big 'U Pegs' in place to help secure to the ground.

the legs are not fold away type, they are bolted on to the hive and you would need three people to attempt to remove and lower the hive if it had bees in - the other point is they maybe heavier, but they are also top heavy and that makes them more unstable (imho). These hives are not meant to be moved or lowered/raised - trust me.

 

[PaleoPerson]

the legs are not fold away type, they are bolted on to the hive and you would need three people to attempt to remove and lower the hive if it had bees in - the other point is they maybe heavier, but they are also top heavy and that makes them more unstable (imho). These hives are not meant to be moved or lowered/raised - trust me.

The point I was making was with reference to the weather. 100MPH recorded at the Needles yesterday. A good gust to the side of the hive may be enough to push it over. I thought some 'U pegs' over the bottom part of the prame and hammered in the ground would 'secure it' (i.e. assist in it not getting blown over) as the centre of gravity on these things do seem higher than other hive types (as you acknowledge seem unstable).

see http://www.goal-posts.net/content/upegtypeanchor for the type of peg I am talking about.

Just a passing thought

 

[jezd]

I agree, its on my list in fact tent pegs I have already...

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Jedz thats a fair point about the top heavy-ness of the hive, even if it is heavyer than the equivalent 2 hives, but why is it any different from two hives sat on a hive stand of similar hight?

Also the spread of the legs (oh her misses) is quite wide and IMHO quite stable.

If I did not have bees it in I would do an angle-of-dangles test to see what angle it tips over at (simlulated with an = wight to = bees/frames/honey etc)

I see another Omlet "add-on" coming along! But rather than just pegs which are only good for grass/soil, a water filled weight system would allow the addtion of mass to lower the COG.

 

[oliver90owner]

PaleoPerson,

Sand bags. Obtainable easily from some abandoned road works sites on occasions. Work on any surface. Easily removeable. Use the sand when the bags decompose.

Regards, RAB

 

[m100]

a water filled weight system would allow the addtion of mass to lower the COG.

A "Hive Stability System ™©®" has got to be worth another 100 quid on the purchase price of an Omlet™©® Beehaus ™©®

Maybe a few sessions in a wind tunnel would have optimised the Omlet™©® Beehaus ™©® for British Weather™©® conditions, maybe they already have, after all two years testing by an extensive team of experience bee keepers ought to be enough to iron out all inherent defects