Poly Hive not flush?

[Brigsy]

Hello knowledgeable ones,

I have made a purchase of some Paynes Poly national parts.

I have placed them together this evening and noticed:

The qx doesn't fill the external dimensions but sits within, this seems to be a normal thing?

The thing that worries me is the boxes aren't exactly the same and don't sit flush. Placing two of the supers together there are gaps along long sections with clear daylight, maybe 1 to 1.5 mil?

All of them have a small gap.

Should this be a worry?

Thanks

 

[Brigsy]

On reflection prob 1 mil max.

 

[deanrpwaacs]

Will it pull in with a strap round it ?

 

[Matt77]

I had the same problem. I just went round the bottom of each box with a bit of sandpaper to remove the high spots. I assume it's where they come out of the mould.

 

[Brigsy]

Hmm. Thanks. There are also recessed circles from moulding I presume which goes through to the inside of the boxes. Did you fill these?


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[Brigsy]

And strapping them down has reduced the gap. Thanks.


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[user 6228]

While this was not much of an issue with wood, as the conductance falls (e.g. in polystyrene hives) then the pressure differential between inside and outside increases and so does the potential heat loss through small gaps. The bees will propolise the inside where they can get to the seam. But they may remain places they cant (e.g. ekes) get to . Also you will get uneccessary heat loss because the outside of the gap is not also sealed.
I have spent many an hour chasing heat losses caused by such gaps in insulated bee enclosures.

 

[Matt77]

Hmm. Thanks. There are also recessed circles from moulding I presume which goes through to the inside of the boxes. Did you fill these?

Yep, just filled them.

 

[Hawklord]

Would probably have been best to place them on a flat level surface to see where they were out.

 

[Matt77]

Would probably have been best to place them on a flat level surface to see where they were out.

I did, all 4 corners needed sanding down a touch & there are also little casting marks which sit proud by a few mm on the underside of each box which needed taking off. The bit I filled was also from the mould, they were depressions about the size of a 2p piece & 4 or 5mm deep.

I probably over fuss but I can't cope with stuff being not quite right

 

[Brigsy]

Thanks guys.


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[Swarm]

Use filler on the moulding depressions, they are a big oversight as they are not only on mating faces (not a problem) but also into the bevelled edge. Place another box on top and you will see a gap that could soon be a problem as there is very little poly to stop entry.
The four corners meet but there is a small gap along each face between the corners?
They reckon this is quite normal and should disappear with the weight of a full box, or straps, apparently BHS polys have the same issue. Not the best IMO, I prefer flush boxes to start. You shouldn't have to crunch them down with straps, just be careful not to damage the roof.

 

[Brigsy]

Yes. Thanks. I have contacted them and they say they have never needed to sand parts and that when tied down and full they should be ok.

I can see those moulding gaps as weak points myself. I think I will fill.


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[Millet]

Wood all the way..

 

[Hawklord]

Wood all the way..

Cheap nuc boxes, and good for getting comb drawn -so I'm told. Just bought 5 to try this next year.

 

[Millet]

My main concern with them poly hives is mice or worse still rats chewing there way through them.

 

[BeeJayBee]

To be fair, mice and rats will chew through a wooden hive as if it's butter, if that's what they want to do.

 

[Madge]

Use filler on the moulding depressions, they are a big oversight as they are not only on mating faces (not a problem) but also into the bevelled edge. Place another box on top and you will see a gap that could soon be a problem as there is very little poly to stop entry.
...

Yes, they're weak spots from where the bees can start nibbling to create extra entrances between boxes. That happened with one of my Paynes hives.

 

[Hivemaker.]

To be fair, mice and rats will chew through a wooden hive as if it's butter, if that's what they want to do.

Not as fast as they do with poly hives, which even the wasps bore holes into, unlike the wooden ones from what i see here, and nothing copes too well chewing/boring through the plywood hives, especially woodpeckers.

 

[Jazzygem]

Never tried them myself as only a new bee and I have a wooden langstroff. Wood seems better to me. And if you have chickens ducks etc they seem weirdly interested in pecking at it. I have some poly boxes to catch some rain and the geese demolished them. As nive said before in other posts ..' what works for one doesn't for another but we all end up the same'......

Good luck

Jazzygem