Poly Hive.....

[GavB]

Just received my Langstroth Jumbo paradise honey bee box and nuc box today..a couple of things missing from the box but hopefully they'll follow soon enough. The company (MB) i've had it off have been really helpful in all honesty....defo would buy again and first impressions of the hive it appears solid/good quality.

Just wondered are people glueing them together or just pushing together and leaving, it be fair they do feel firm/secure without glue..

Im going give them a paint this weekend hopefully....(any tips welcome)

Also thinking about making a hive stand if anyone can point me in the right direction with height or any free plans (not over thinking it or are they not worth bothering with?)

Cheers for any help!!!

 

[colinc]

Most use breeze blocks and railway sleepers or similar if you want pretty wood then the Dave Cushman site has plans for everything you could want. Don’t make hive stands tall, they get top heavy with a big hive and you need a ladder.


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[MuswellMetro]

i always say to beginner that the top of the brood box should be knuckle height so my stands are 18" high and my wife's stands are 6" hive

 

[Millet]

i always say to beginner that the top of the brood box should be knuckle height so my stands are 18" high and my wife's stands are 6" hive

My way of thought on this is just below
knee height to the floor.

 

[colinc]

I’m 6’1” and run double nationals and the 6” stands I have are a much more comfortable height than the 18” ones once the hives are supered up. I would (if I didn’t have the stands already) go slightly higher than the 6” though.


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[Poly Hive]

Some glue and some don't. I don't.

If you do then an exterior wood glue works well.

Paint the outsides only and not the load bearing surfaces. The bees will coat the insides with propolis anyway.

Enjoy.

PH

 

[For want of a better word]

One thing if nothing else.... strap them down!

Yeghes da

 

[Poly Hive]

None of mine are strapped and never have been. What is the need?

A simple brick on the roof works both as a weight and a message.

PH

 

[user 6228]

None of mine are strapped and never have been. What is the need?

A simple brick on the roof works both as a weight and a message.

PH

can need something that weighs more than a standard house brick in some conditions,

 

[madasafish]

None of mine are strapped and never have been. What is the need?

A simple brick on the roof works both as a weight and a message.

PH

One autumn I had a 4 foot long TBH blown over (complete with bees- the bees survived). A gust from the North went up a small rise, down into our garden, opened the hinged roof - which had rope straps to prevent it opening above the vertical- and then lifted the hive and tipped it over . It weighed about 80-100kgs. The same gale brought down several trees locally.

After that I strap everything except sheltered polynucs - which are slated and bricked... And I leave them strapped all year..

 

[B+.]

Some glue and some don't. I don't.

I don't glue mine either. It is important to squeeze them tight together though (clamps help) so you don't have little gaps around the joints. My Paradise Honey boxes have opened up a bit over the years but they are easy pushed back together.
In theory, you can replace sections (due to woodpecker damage, etc) if they aren't glued together.
I've heard that PVA glue works well too

 

[Millet]

None of mine are strapped and never have been. What is the need?

A simple brick on the roof works both as a weight and a message.

PH

Some nugget pushed one of mine of the paving stone it was stood on several months ago, it was like the leaning tower of Pisa, i had 4 bricks on top which where holding a waterproof cover down over the celotex cosy, all the bricks slid of onto the floor but the ratchet strap held it all together nice and tight, it may well have fallen apart if it was not for the strap.

 

[Millet]

Just received my Langstroth Jumbo paradise honey bee box and nuc box today..a couple of things missing from the box but hopefully they'll follow soon enough. The company (MB) i've had it off have been really helpful in all honesty....defo would buy again and first impressions of the hive it appears solid/good quality.

Just wondered are people glueing them together or just pushing together and leaving, it be fair they do feel firm/secure without glue..

Im going give them a paint this weekend hopefully....(any tips welcome)

Also thinking about making a hive stand if anyone can point me in the right direction with height or any free plans (not over thinking it or are they not worth bothering with?)

Cheers for any help!!!

Is this any good to you i have knocked a few up over the past couple of years and they are still going strong, they are ok for 3/4 hives but if you start expanding you would be better of with a different design, these are for National hives so you may have to alter the measurements a little to suit different size boxes.

 

[madasafish]

I glue using external (waterproof) PVA glue. Better safe than sorry when you drop it full of bees and it splits apart...

 

[Poly Hive]

Why would you have a cosy over a poly hive?

PH

 

[Millet]

Why would you have a cosy over a poly hive?

PH

Thee did nae say it was a Poly hive..

 

[GavB]

Poly Build!

Well managed to get them both together, actually got a sweat on! surprising how much force some of the pieces took to push together especially the plastic that supports the frames. I did sit on them at one point to get them together!

The entrance reducer on the hive was abit of a pain and took some bending to get the doors to slide freely on the runner. Also the nuc frame supports are not a perfect fit and required some diy.

The brood box was more difficult to get together than the supers, not sure of the reason for this probably due to size/give in material, batches or something but was no real problem.

Pleased with the quality and surprised at the strength of the polystyrene taking my weight and a beating with a wood block and hammer!

Next job ill buy some masking tape and paint...kids want pokemon hives but think ill opt for dark blue or green!

I was abit annoyed when I unpacked the hive and my partner asked where the hive was and thought id paid 150 notes for a box of packaging, also the fact that she made me move them to the garage from the living room as she wasn't convinced they'd make good coffee tables!

 

[Kenson]

They are great aren't they? So easy. So warm.

Maisemore show "Copydex" as their "Repair glue".

But I do make my own stands, and I'll describe how:

Go to Local Hardware (Wickes, B&Q, other stores are available), buy 3 lengths (2.4m) 63x38 "CLS" timber, it's the stuff used for internal walls in modern houses. Some 60mm Woodscrews, 4 x 100mm Bolts (with nuts)

Cut one in half (front and back of stand), measure hive front-back (probably ~540mm)

Cut one in 3, 4 or 5 equal bits

Make a "ladder" by screwing the 3, 4 or 5 cut lengths in between the "Front and Back", equally spaced with one a each end.

Cut the remaining CLS into 4 x 60mm "legs", bolt legs inside outer ends of "Ladder", about 80mm if I remember rightly, the legs then fold out and bear on the end pieces. This gives a 50mm height, which seems comfortable. (Saw off "sticky up corner bits).

The legs can be folded back under for transport or storage. CLS can be painted.

It's not my "original design" as such, Maisemore have something just as good or better, as I am sure many do. But for me it was a double hive stand for under a tenner, which is ideal.

K

 

[Hebeegeebee]

To answer the OP, The MB/Paradise hive I bought when they first came out, I glued with exterior wood glue. However I painted it first so I didn't need to mask around the plastic bits. Unfortunately the MB National hives were not spaced correctly so I will not be using any more. Shame really.