Paynes Poly Hive Hive Stand

[pargyle]

Testing testing ...

I put the stand and the hive with one super under the scales empty and the whole thing weighs in at exactly 40 lbs with no frames. It takes a force of 10lbs applied at the top of the stack to start it leaning and it gets to just about 40 degrees off vertical before gravity starts to take over.

I got really brave and stood on the pallet wood slats as well as on the actual stand ... no give whatsoever - if anything it might be a little over engineered !

My schoolboy physics is a bit rusty but I'm fairly confident that it would need a pretty strong gust to blow it over - although a heavy animal leaning against it (deer or cow sized or vandal) might succeed. As I said earlier - in that type of situation a connection to a ground anchor under the stand in the middle should stop any movement.

 

[Tremyfro]

How rural your garden is! .....deer and cows.....and some vandals too for good measure.
I am sure your hives will be safe..... on these smart stands. All my hives are in the path of the winds we are exposed to. I have hive straps at all times....and we have to hang onto roof and cover boards...for fear they will fly across the Vale! Eventually.....we hope to have hedging and trellis to break the wind a little.
I dream of windless days ...the sun on my back whilst doing a hive inspection....mainly I hang onto my hat...I have given up taking notes....the notepad disappears as soon as you put it down.
The Bee Barn is offering some protection now...which is lovely.
Amazingly.....Long Hive Blue hasn't moved at all....despite the most horrendous gales....so not worried about it tipping over full of bees!
I see you bought wood for your stands. I am going to use some pallet wood and reclaimed wood from our demolished hay barn...OH reckons he can build some hive stands for the winter. I am going to save your plans etc...hope you don't mind a bit of pilfering of ideas!

 

[pargyle]

How rural your garden is! .....deer and cows.....and some vandals too for good measure.

I should be so lucky !! We're about 10 mins brisk walk from the centre of town .. only wildlife we get is urban foxes, the occasional hedgehog and the squirrels and birds we feed. Any prospective vandal would be a very brave soul as our 85lb Labrador who thinks he's a Rottweiler would have their leg off !

My apiary is very sheltered so I don't think I'm going to get a problem where the hives are now ... built more for the future !

I am going to save your plans etc...hope you don't mind a bit of pilfering of ideas!

No problem .. I'll PM you the cutting list which will make it even easier.,

 

[Thymallus]

Testing testing ...

I put the stand and the hive with one super under the.

This is the type of hive stand I prefer, takes 2 hives, horizontals are spaced to hang a frame. Legs swivel and can be folded for easy transport. I make 'em so they can take 2 or longer ones for 3 hives. Can't remember exact costs but pretty cheap and don't require pegging to prevent them blowing over.
Plans available for an extortionate amount of money

 

[pargyle]

This is the type of hive stand I prefer, takes 2 hives, horizontals are spaced to hang a frame. Legs swivel and can be folded for easy transport. I make 'em so they can take 2 or longer ones for 3 hives. Can't remember exact costs but pretty cheap and don't require pegging to prevent them blowing over.
Plans available for an extortionate amount of money

Yes .. pretty standard and works well in many respects. The problem I had was that I dislike the inspection board position on the Paynes poly's. I'm treatment free and part of my regime is daily inspections of any mite drop .. I think the standard inspection tray is too close - close enough (IMO) for a live mite to get back into the hive (and I don't want to grease my inspection board every day).

So .. the stand had to be made the opposite way round to yours so that a deep tray could be created under the hive with the ability to slide the inspection board in and out.

 

[Thymallus]

I'm treatment free and part of my regime is daily inspections of any mite drop ...

Wow that is real agony, daily counts! and with drop counts being notoriously inaccurate for estimating varroa numbers as well.

There is a simple solution to the Paynes slide in thick corrugated board that comes with the floors being too too close, use a thinner one.

 

[pargyle]

Wow that is real agony, daily counts! and with drop counts being notoriously inaccurate for estimating varroa numbers as well.

There is a simple solution to the Paynes slide in thick corrugated board that comes with the floors being too too close, use a thinner one.

Well .. I don't actually COUNT every day any more .. the drop levels are pretty consistent on all my hives .. at present some are not dropping any and others are maximum 4/5 so it's more of a visual - nothing unusual check so no big deal.

I don't just rely on the inspection board ... I check in drone cells regularly and if I see any spikes in the drop onto the board I will do a sugar roll or alcohol wash ... oddly enough, last season, I had a huge drop for about a week in mid season ... checked about 60 bees with a wash and nothing .. cut off a section of drone comb at the bottom of a frame .. 1 mite in about 40 cells. The next week ... all back to normal. So I would agree - mite drop is not the be all and end all.

I'm a non-treater so I have to take a greater interest in what's going on and I like the fact that the inspection board has a large drop under the mesh ... mites can't climb very easily ...

 

[wessexmario]

So .. the stand had to be made the opposite way round to yours so that a deep tray could be created under the hive with the ability to slide the inspection board in and out.

My solution has been to make my floor boxes the depth of a shallow.
Then it doesn't matter what type of stand is used, and plenty of room for a periscope entrance, inspection boards, administering oxalic vapour, oil trays (for SHB when it gets here) and a long drop for the mites.

 

[pargyle]

My solution has been to make my floor boxes the depth of a shallow.
Then it doesn't matter what type of stand is used, and plenty of room for a periscope entrance, inspection boards, administering oxalic vapour, oil trays (for SHB when it gets here) and a long drop for the mites.

That's a good idea .. and one that I would certainly use if I wasn't using Paynes polys which come with their own floor ... It's not worth trying to buy just the bits of a polyhive you really like as, by the time you've done, it costs nearly as much for half a hive as it does for the whole caboodle !

 

[Millet]

So complicated but so very easy..just saying..tad owld however..

 

[pargyle]

So complicated but so very easy..just saying..tad owld however..

Yes ... its is an old thread - you've inadvertently resurrected it from the link I put in this one ,,, No harm done. Some good ideas in there.

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=699159#post699159

It was a good thread though ... worth resurrecting.

I'm still making and using these stands, they have lasted well and the clear sadolin I finished them with has kept them in good order all these years wthout any additional treatment. Only other things I've done is put some copper tape around the legs to stop the slugs climbing up and add some screw eyes to each side so I can weigh the hives.