Polish Poly Nuc - lots of mini pictures

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Mike a

Drone Bee
Joined
Feb 13, 2010
Messages
1,785
Reaction score
3
Location
Hampshire
Hive Type
Langstroth
Number of Hives
Between 17-20
I bought two mini mating nucs from http://www.lyson.com.pl Poland. I was a little crafty as the english section of the website didn't list these nuc's at the time but using the translate option on my browser I still managed to order two of the nucs for 61.48 PLN + 22% Vat and P&P which came to 150.01PLN or £31.06 at the time I ordered for both of them not each.

For this you get
Poly floor, brood body, divided feeder, roof, 7 mini frames, various entrance blocks, 2x vent covers and poly divider.

Once you have placed your order they send you a bill to be paid before your order is despatched as they do not have an online payment option. I went to the bank and asked them to do a worldpay payment transfer direct which solves the problem of currency and posting a cheque all in one. For some reason though my payment got over-looked and I was told they had a company holiday shut down period which is why it took 5 weeks to get a reply to numerous emails chasing up my order but despite all problems it was worth it.

For a full range of larger pictures goto - http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/mikesbeekeeping/PolishPolyHive2010#

pph06.jpg


pph02.jpg


pph03.jpg


pph04.jpg


pph07.jpg


pph08.jpg


pph09.jpg


phh010.jpg


pph011.jpg


pph012.jpg


pph013.jpg


pph014.jpg


pph015.jpg


pph016.jpg


pph017.jpg


pph018.jpg


pph019.jpg


pph01.jpg


My thoughts
Over all I am impressed with the nuc compared against the other mini mating nucs (Swi-bine and Kieler) I've bought. I guess the burning question is how tough is it ?
It arrived with minor damage, but it is only surface damage (as seen in the pictures) no doubt caused in transit by the various couriers as it was not labelled as fragile but once coated with exterior quality paint it should be very durable.

Being larger in size it will give the owner a greater level of confidence the colony has more room to expand on the half size frames (compared to BS National frame - see frame comparison picture) and in turn the colony is less likely to swarm once the queen has mated. Once the colony covers the three frames the dummy divider can be removed to allow the colony to expand further to use all 7 frames or shock swarmed into the hive/nuc with frames of your choice.

The frame top bars I got will need a small amount of adjustment to fit properly within the nuc as they are slightly too long, but once made up the frames are very good and some one has put some thought in to their design by adding foundation guides on the inside of the side bars. (See picture http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5FtvKw0fcgI/TFaZTt-jQUI/AAAAAAAACkI/ABiobOqoKXQ/s512/pph015.jpg ) it is a little difficult to see but the top bars are 3-4mm too long as the lug isn't seated properly on the frame rest.

I will add some comments to each of the pictures on piscaweb album shortly but overall I would definitely buy more of these instead of the other types of mini mating nucs as I would feel happy to put a small colony in the nuc with all seven frames (no divider) to over winter in.

£31.06 for two of these delivered I think is very good value for money if you don't mind waiting a few weeks.
 
it looks like the one from Thornes there about £35 each.
 
How do you do this>>> translate option on my browser
what browser do you use ?
The price you paid includes P&P, when i spoke to them the price for p&p was more than the total you paid.Did you ask for a P&P quote or just order it all?
thanks
 
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How do you do this>>> translate option on my browser
what browser do you use ?
The price you paid includes P&P, when i spoke to them the price for p&p was more than the total you paid.Did you ask for a P&P quote or just order it all?
thanks

I use google chrome which is very good but not perfect as some websites fail to load properly like Bickerstaffs

Secondly and I am very sorry I mis-quoted on the total cost. I've just double checked and failed to add the P&P of 149.00PLN which is about £31.03 on my original post, but I bought a few other items as well which almost doubled the package size and weight.
 
Hope you don't mind me asking, but what else did you buy?
As i have been going through there Cat that i downloaded and theres a few things i like the look of. There postage price seems a better deal than buying from england as living on the Island we get ripped off by some on postage.
 
Seems to me that by getting bigger mating nuc's you are deafeating the whole object of having mini mating nuc box's in the first place, and would be just as well to use normal five frame nuc box's in the first place.....the idea is to get the queens mated and remove her as fast as poss, and get the next one mated and so on,not to build them up and leave in the mating nuc's....also to be economical in bee's in the first place by only needing a cupful....they won't swarm from a mini nuc if you keep the bee numbers down, which is simple.
 
I thought they had 2 entrances so you get 2 mating boxes from 1 with a devider.
Have i got this wrong
 
Seems to me that by getting bigger mating nuc's you are deafeating the whole object of having mini mating nuc box's in the first place, and would be just as well to use normal five frame nuc box's in the first place.....the idea is to get the queens mated and remove her as fast as poss, and get the next one mated and so on,not to build them up and leave in the mating nuc's....also to be economical in bee's in the first place by only needing a cupful....they won't swarm from a mini nuc if you keep the bee numbers down, which is simple.

I fully agree HW and they can be used as you suggest as a 3 frame nuc with the divider fitted for those who want to use them for quick turn round mating nucs (although to start with they would need more than a single cup of bees), but unlike the swi-bine and kielers they can be used to allow a single mini colony to expand if left with a mated queen.
 
Hi Mike, yes i can see the point of that......i also use two frame nuc's for mating queens.....they hold two bs brood frames....one of food,one with small area of brood and bee's.....can be used to mate a succession of queens....or allowed to build up....and at the end of the season the mated queens can be removed from a few, and then the full size brood frames are all simply put into a full size brood box(united) with one of the spare queens.....these then make up quite strong colonys to over winter and use for production the following season. If they start to get too strong during the season and you want to weaken...then remove a frame of brood and bee's minus queen from three of them, and make up a five frame nuc add food frames and queen.
These box's only cost about £5 to make, even if you have to buy the materials,and about 10/ 15 mins to knock up,they work well,and are the correct size frames in the first place. But i like the small mini nuc's for the economy in the number of bee's needed,especially early in the season.
 
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Hi Mike
How are you supposed to foundation the frames as they are complete, cut down BS foundation or just a starter strip, o/k for a few queens but sorry I prefer the kielers, and have some second storeys coming to hopefully help them over winter
 
Hi Mike
How are you supposed to foundation the frames as they are complete, cut down BS foundation or just a starter strip, o/k for a few queens but sorry I prefer the kielers, and have some second storeys coming to hopefully help them over winter


Hi Kev
If you look at the larger version of this picture
pph07.jpg


via picsa link (first post) and click on the picture to see it full size you can see the frame is only partly made up with only one top bar. I would cut the foundation to the correct width and approx depth (although a starter strip could be simply clamped between the top bars, I would opt for full depth foundation) and clamp it between the two top bars and then fit one of the side bars and set the foundation in the guides, fit the lower bar and finally the other side bar. I guess it may need three hands but suspect it gets easier each time but once done it should be good for at least 2 seasons.

Queen rearing for some is a well oiled business like operation, sadly I'm not always able to get to my apiary as often as required for rearing and mating queen after queen in the same mating nuc in a season, so for me this size nuc gives the flexibly of a few extra days worth of space for the queen to lay in as the frames are nearly half sized bs nationals it will reduce the chances of absconding or swarming if I can't get to my out-apiaries as often as normally required.
 
Polish Website

I think I told you on the original thread that there is a difference in range of goods offered by Lyson between their Polish website and the English language version eg there is currently an offer of 6 Poly hives for the price of 5 so it's probably worth looking at the Polish site to compare the range of goods on sale and if interested in something that you see use the Google translator to check it out.

If in doubt you could PM me with a hyperlink and I'll have a look for you.
 
Update

I made a mistake with the info I stated on my original post. The nuc is supplied with 6 frames not 7. I am very sorry I should of checked thoroughly before posting.
 
Mike a

How long did it take for them to confirm ypur order please ?
 
Bank Charges

Mike,

As a matter of interest, could you share with us how Lyson expect to be paid ?

I ask because a bank to bank transfer carries substantial fees.
 
piccy link doesnt seem to work for me
 
I have also bought from lyson, bank cost £10.00
 

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