Plastic Nuc boxes

[MikeT]

I have one wooden national nuc box, and would like to try a plastic one. Any suggestions of what to go for.

Mike

 

[bee ginnner]

The panes poly nucs seem to work well, the bottom doesn't come off which is often an advantage.
However th*rnes are cheaper and look fine.

 

[dexter's shed]

I'll second the above type poly nuc, have four of them, brilliant for starting swarms off in,


https://youtu.be/O4sS_Gc529E

 

[For want of a better word]

Paynes seem to have got it right with their polly nuc.... do not forget to stick a pin in the windmill excluder or it may spin and lock the bees in... out!

Yeghes da

 

[itma]

I have Paynes nucs. Five thus far.
And more than five 14x12 ekes.
I'm going to be getting at least one secondary brood box + QX and a couple of their top feeders.

Until last year, they had the field almost to themselves.
They are certainly OK and popular. However not everyone thinks they are perfect!

The roof is (daftly) thinner than the walls. Extra top insulation (inside a poly eke) is well worthwhile for overwintering.
The integral side feeder is a bit controversial. Personally, I'm in the tribe of those who think the best thing to do with it is to block it off and try and pretend that it isn't there!
I've fitted frame rails to some of my ekes, but I really can't decide whether this is a good idea or not. Loses the good top beespace to gain freer movement of frames.
It lacks an alighting board or other feature to prevent bees accidentally flying under the hive. I've used a strip of foam for swarm gathering, and continually intend coming up with something better ...

A "map pin" is ideal for locking the rotating entrance disc in whatever position you want at the time.

With the feeder blocked off, I've found it to be a useful 'skep' for swarm collection, but have only last year realised that the entrance QX setting is useful for swarm collection - after you have got Q inside! I leave the swarm in the nuc to establish on the frames I add after gathering up the bees. No "running in" or similar adventures!


I had hoped that Maisemore's new nuc (without the feeder and with kinda frame rails) would be a better bet, but unfortunately it sounds as though the beespace isn't (yet) right. And the only coverboard provided is the included non-optional top feeder.
Thornes 14x12 is expensive and didn't make me want to convert to their boxes.
The Park has noticeably softer poly, a shallow feeder requiring the nuc to be very level, castellations and (langstroth) versatility I don't need. The removable floor would be useful, if designed differently! The floor is solid
Hence I'm going to investigate what games I can play with the new Paynes nuc 'accessories'.

 

[jonnybeegood]

I have Paynes nucs. Five thus far.
And more than five 14x12 ekes.
I'm going to be getting at least one secondary brood box + QX and a couple of their top feeders.

Until last year, they had the field almost to themselves.
They are certainly OK and popular. However not everyone thinks they are perfect!

The roof is (daftly) thinner than the walls. Extra top insulation (inside a poly eke) is well worthwhile for overwintering.
The integral side feeder is a bit controversial. Personally, I'm in the tribe of those who think the best thing to do with it is to block it off and try and pretend that it isn't there!
I've fitted frame rails to some of my ekes, but I really can't decide whether this is a good idea or not. Loses the good top beespace to gain freer movement of frames.
It lacks an alighting board or other feature to prevent bees accidentally flying under the hive. I've used a strip of foam for swarm gathering, and continually intend coming up with something better ...

A "map pin" is ideal for locking the rotating entrance disc in whatever position you want at the time.

With the feeder blocked off, I've found it to be a useful 'skep' for swarm collection, but have only last year realised that the entrance QX setting is useful for swarm collection - after you have got Q inside! I leave the swarm in the nuc to establish on the frames I add after gathering up the bees. No "running in" or similar adventures!


I had hoped that Maisemore's new nuc (without the feeder and with kinda frame rails) would be a better bet, but unfortunately it sounds as though the beespace isn't (yet) right. And the only coverboard provided is the included non-optional top feeder.
Thornes 14x12 is expensive and didn't make me want to convert to their boxes.
The Park has noticeably softer poly, a shallow feeder requiring the nuc to be very level, castellations and (langstroth) versatility I don't need. The removable floor would be useful, if designed differently! The floor is solid
Hence I'm going to investigate what games I can play with the new Paynes nuc 'accessories'.

I have 8 paynes nucs, 3 in use as 14x12's i dont mind the feeder, its easy to fill when needed, cant reslly see a problem with it, if the screw is tight enough in the entrance disc theres no need for a pin. You could even put a bolt ghrough so you could nip it up rather than the screw. My only gripe is the perspex crown board is cut too small, it wastes time having to line it up properly before fitting the roof, for the sake of 1/2" extra width it seems a silly mistake.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I like the Paynes poly nucs, especially the integrated feeder, only a couple of things i dislike, both of which are easily fixed, one is too thin a roof, the other is too big a mesh floor with a large recess.

 

[Nige.Coll]

I have the paynes nucs with a feeder but I have removed the feeder and made them 8 frame nucs. If you want a 6 frame add dummy boards. At 8 frames they can hold more stores for winter and expand more before being moved into a full sized hive. Each to their own.
I know some who make a hole on the feeder with heated copper pipe so they can empty it without having to turn it upside down ( hard when it's full of bees ) . A cork seals the hole.
The addons for those nucs is now quite a good range.
I made ply crownboards for mine and used draught excluder to seal the gap. The thin plastic ones aren't much use. The 14x12 extentions are very useful for feeding etc.
I'm happy with them.

 

[mbc]

I like the Paynes poly nucs, especially the integrated feeder, only a couple of things i dislike, both of which are easily fixed, one is too thin a roof, the other is too big a mesh floor with a large recess.

 

[alanf]

I got a couple of Paynes to try. Didn't like the feeders, hard to empty or clean if not using it as feeder, losable blocking piece/QX which doesn't stop stray bees if the cover is off; easier to tape the whole cavity off. Clear cover on the frame top gets propolised but good for a peek. Now hacked to 8 frame lightweight boxes at which they are useful as a step up from a 5, or down from 11 frame box.

I saw a Thornes/Stehr shop soiled polynuc in the sale so I have it to try this season. So far looks fine, I like the frame runners over the plain shelf and the list price is cheaper than Paynes or Maisemore although any feeder is extra.

I have seen the Maisemore and looks OK, like the feeder included in the price but likely to get propolised (and the lid) which at least Paynes supply a cover board to avoid.

You pays your money and makes your choice. They're actually all decent products at a reasonable price. As a nuc box, they don't stack so no need to standardise on any particular model, get whatever takes your fancy or has the best offer at the time.

 

[drstitson]

as per others - like the paynes ones apart from the thin roof. I have heavy deep wooden roofs with 50mm kingspan inside for winter use.

 

[itma]

... i dont mind the feeder, its easy to fill when needed, cant reslly see a problem with it,

Vision!
It is a pain to clean out. Especially if they ever try to build comb in there.
While one can refill the integral feeder with bees in the hive, doing anything else with the feeder is basically impossible while the hive is in use with bees. Removing drowned bees from the feeder would be hygienic, but the difficulty of that wouldn't bother those who wouldn't bother.
Oh, and then there's the need to paint the inside of the thing to guard against the thing potentially leaking and attracting wasps and robbers ...
Using another feeder, almost any other feeder, is a better option.

if the screw is tight enough in the entrance disc theres no need for a pin. You could even put a bolt ghrough so you could nip it up rather than the screw.

No.
Because expanded polystyrene fairly quickly distorts under load (the technical term is "creep") you'd have to continually retighten the screw.
Much simpler and more reliable to just use a pin and make sure it stays exactly where you want it. Then you can even confidently reduce the entrance when your nuc colony needs additional protection from wasps or robbers. And obviously, putting the pin through one of the tiny holes in the vent section allows you to hold the disc in a very precise position.
Better to just use a pin anyway (regardless of how much you have screwed the thing up) than wait to be converted by one accidentally closing.

Despite what some seem to consider the massive effort required to pin the disc, I do like the disc entrance much better than the original version's entrance, where there was always the question when shifting the hive of whether you had bunged it up adequately ...

 

[itma]

... As a nuc box, they don't stack so no need to standardise on any particular model, get whatever takes your fancy or has the best offer at the time.

Eh?

The Paynes National/14x12 polynuc is specifically designed to be stacked (the 'feet' are located by the detailing on the roof), though I personally don't do that when there are bees in them.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I have read on here of some with leaking feeders, but not come across any problems myself with a single one of them leaking, even with thin syrup, and none of them are painted, inside or out, not had any problems with comb being built in the feeder section either, or of bees drowning in the feeder.

 

[itma]

I have read on here of some with leaking feeders, but not come across any problems myself with a single one of them leaking, even with thin syrup, and none of them are painted, inside or out, ...

It might even be that that particular problem is now in the past.

A little over a year ago, Paynes changed their moulding pressure and/or material. You may remember that the 'old' roof wouldn't fit over the new-material hive boxes - because the new boxes expand by the odd few mm after moulding ("creep" again!)
The newer ones felt slightly heavier and were slightly bluer in colour (when new and unpainted).
I could well believe that the 'new material' (denser) nucs don't suffer from seepage in the way that many of the older ones did if not painted.


Do they still include the "recommendation" on the A6 sized instruction leaflet that the inside of the feeder "should" be painted?

 

[alanf]

Eh?

The Paynes National/14x12 polynuc is specifically designed to be stacked (the 'feet' are located by the detailing on the roof), though I personally don't do that when there are bees in them.

When used as a nuc box, they don't stack to give the same problems you might get using the poly hive components of different manufacturers together. Clearer?

Paynes have introduced extensions to add additional boxes, but is that still a nuc, or a narrow lightweight hive?

 

[dexter's shed]

I have the paynes nucs with a feeder but I have removed the feeder and made them 8 frame nucs..

brilliant idea, I'll try that on one of mine, I use them in my bee vac so should be good for that too, I've never had a problem with the front disk working loose mine are screwed in good and tight and never have to be adjusted,

 

[jonnybeegood]

Vision!
It is a pain to clean out. Especially if they ever try to build comb in there.
While one can refill the integral feeder with bees in the hive, doing anything else with the feeder is basically impossible while the hive is in use with bees. Removing drowned bees from the feeder would be hygienic, but the difficulty of that wouldn't bother those who wouldn't bother.
Oh, and then there's the need to paint the inside of the thing to guard against the thing potentially leaking and attracting wasps and robbers ...
Using another feeder, almost any other feeder, is a better option.

No.
Because expanded polystyrene fairly quickly distorts under load (the technical term is "creep") you'd have to continually retighten the screw.
Much simpler and more reliable to just use a pin and make sure it stays exactly where you want it. Then you can even confidently reduce the entrance when your nuc colony needs additional protection from wasps or robbers. And obviously, putting the pin through one of the tiny holes in the vent section allows you to hold the disc in a very precise position.
Better to just use a pin anyway (regardless of how much you have screwed the thing up) than wait to be converted by one accidentally closing.

Despite what some seem to consider the massive effort required to pin the disc, I do like the disc entrance much better than the original version's entrance, where there was always the question when shifting the hive of whether you had bunged it up adequately ...

I clean out dead bees i just use a long flat piece of wood to do it, i dont get many dead ones in it anyway. Maybe because i fill it slowly so they have time to move out of the way. I havdnt had brace comb built either, maybe because i use the insert rather than having the larger gap, & they shouldnt need painted inside, they dont leak? & as the disc is hardly ever moved why should it work loose,m? None of mjne have, as i say put a bolt through then you can keep nipping it up if need be.

 

[Jimmy]

I have some Paynes polynucs, a few Thornes/Stehr polynucs and have just got a couple of new Maisemore nucs.
A few drowned bees in the Paynes feeder, otherwise no problems.
Only slight issue with the Thornes nuc is that they are not as easy to carry as smooth sides. I bought the top feeders for these. Very conveniently for me they take 5kg sugar made up as 2:1 syrup.
I was very happy with my as yet unused new Maisemore nucs until I read the Wbka convention thread. If the top bee space gets sorted (or turns out not to be an issue), I think they combine the best features (IMHO) of each.

 

[Jed D]

Mike T.

I've got Paynes & Thornes poly nucs here , if you want to try before you buy , come borrow one.
As many forum Members have pointed out , there are a few minor issues with them ' but there are ways around these.
I find it easier to use 5 frames, plus a dummy board in the paynes 6 frame nuc. seems to make for easier inspections.

I haven't used the thornes nucs yet , as I bought these in their winter sale.