plastic or metal QE?

[Dookie]

I have to buy some new QE for my 4 national hives and have found plastic and metal ones for the same price. Im thinking metal would be easier to clean but i still new at this and don't know.

Any ideas or preference?

Richard

 

[Robbo8916]

I have to buy some new QE for my 4 national hives and have found plastic and metal ones for the same price. Im thinking metal would be easier to clean but i still new at this and don't know.

Any ideas or preference?

Richard

I have plastic ones and I hate them. They ping bees everywhere even when being really careful. I am converting to metal with a wooden frame around this year to give a bit more space.

I also find the plastic ones do a lot of squashing of bees, again even when being really careful.

 

[thenovice]

I have to buy some new QE for my 4 national hives and have found plastic and metal ones for the same price. Im thinking metal would be easier to clean but i still new at this and don't know.

Any ideas or preference?

Richard

I have 3 types. the best ones are the slotted/bar type in metal. I guess you mean the perforated sheet metal ones. I find that this one warps easily if not framed and this could potentially lead to queen escaping to the attic. I tried once to sanitise one with a heat gun. bad idea. it warps and curls if the heat is too high. Plastic ones are ok but get propolised like the metal ones onto the frames if not in a frame with beespace under it. when you remove it, bees ping all over the place.

 

[Millet]

I have 3 types. the best ones are the slotted/bar type in metal. I guess you mean the perforated sheet metal ones. I find that this one warps easily if not framed and this could potentially lead to queen escaping to the attic. I tried once to sanitise one with a heat gun. bad idea. it warps and curls if the heat is too high. Plastic ones are ok but get propolised like the metal ones onto the frames if not in a frame with beespace under it. when you remove it, bees ping all over the place.

I also have 3 types not that i use them as i got sick of seeing dead bees stuck in them, the best one of the three IMO is the framed wire excluder as it is solid and gives a bee space above the top bars.

 

[madasafish]

I am in the process of swapping to welded wire.
My personal experience:
Bees appear to be reluctant to go through plastic ones at start of season#. Gave me swarming issues on two hives.
Mesh wire are springy and can ping when you peel them off. Bees HATE that.
Welded wire? Bees appear to tolerate best and no pings..

#http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-12565.html

 

[simoncav]

Wire QE's are best

I'd just like to add my vote for the wire based QE's. I have poly hives that "fit" together and are normally supplied with horrid plastic QE's that flex and get stuck down onto the frames below.

These hives have no room for wood framed QE's, but you can get non-framed wire QE's from Bee Equipment that are no deeper than the plastic QE's and work well...

 

[Dookie]

Ok then metal it is.

Cheers for the help

 

[Curley]

Throne's are selling plastic QXs with a bee space on one side now. Cost a fiver. Used one at the end of last season and it was fine. Light, cheap(ish) and much less sticking down and pinging off. Worth a thought.

 

[nantmoel]

We prefer metal framed ones - Thornes have had them for £7 in their seconds sale.

 

[REDWOOD]

If you use the slotted metal or plastic types with bottom bee space hives there is no room for the queen to move from frame to frame unless she goes underneath. I will be binning a few plastic ones this year


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[Millet]

If you use the slotted metal or plastic types with bottom bee space hives there is no room for the queen to move from frame to frame unless she goes underneath. I will be binning a few plastic ones this year


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Keep them to cut up for artificial swarms a small strip of Queen excluder can be placed across the entrance for a few days to keep the Queen inside rather than putting a full Queen excluder below the brood box.

 

[colinc]

I've got metal wire with wood surrounds and slotted metal too. Slotted metal are pingy as stated but I find bees stick em to the frames less as there is more space with the wood surround I find the bees build more comb through the metal work.

Still undecided but I lean towards the slotted metal sheet.


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[Paul in Poole]

I dont like the pressed steel ones as the slots have sharp edges on one side which must ware away at the bees wings.

 

[Barbarian]

I was advised to have the excluder such that the slots are at 90* to the top bars.
The idea is that there is less propolis between the two.

 

[Little John]

I have to buy some new QE for my 4 national hives and have found plastic and metal ones for the same price. Im thinking metal would be easier to clean but i still new at this and don't know.

Any ideas or preference?

Richard

Hello Richard - just thought I'd offer you a third option, as it doesn't have to be metal or plastic.

On the Dave Cushman 'queen excluder' webpage, you'll also see some plywood Queen Excluders. Before last year I had no idea whether these worked or not, but during a colony installation last summer when transitioning from DN frames to 14x14, I needed some means of clearing the shorter frames, as the queen kept insisting on laying in them - so I tried a plywood Q/X, and it worked wonderfully. And cost nowt - which is my kind of money ... There's a pic on my 'National-Dadant' webpage: http://heretics-guide.site90.com/beek15a.htm

I wouldn't dream of using such a Q/X to keep queens apart, but for denying her access to a particular box, it works extremely well.
LJ