Poly National series from Bee Hive Supplies

[itma]

On another thread

beehivesupplies in Gunnislake... proudly manufactured in Cornwall

comes in white... paint any colour you like in a water based paint.
I have painted all of mine a Wimbledon LT&CA green floor paint.
Has stood up to the weather really well, going to get some more in different colours to paint up the paynespollnucs

All made in National standard and 14X12 formats... other types of pollyhives are available !

I've just got a roof and floor from Bee Hive Supplies -- in fact they arrived today.

So why not a thread dedicated to discussing their finer points and quirks?

The roof seems excellent.
Its an easy loose fit (think of a wooden hive roof) over a Payns box.
And the flat inside underside means that it plays nicely with framed coverboards and suchlike. There is plenty 'wrapover'.
It seems plenty strong enough for stacking supers onto during inspections.
It actually feels heavy for poly.

The floor is a bit unusual.
It is distinctly chunky.
It is a Dartington-style with the entrance underneath. Which means there is less beespace under the brood frames than with a standard wooden national floor - don't think of using it with a top-beespace box! But a Payns brood box seems to sit well on it. (Its a two-man job to get a full 14x12 Payns brood unplugged from Payns floor!)
The entrance and the really wide frame around the mesh means that "the drop zone" is much smaller than usual. Varroa counts would need interpretation before comparison with standard floors.
Despite plenty of height being available, the board is close up under the mesh, but the rails have a nice guideslope to steer the (correx) board into the right place when you insert it.
The mesh is stainless and held in place with hot melt glue! (but it shouldn't ever need replacing!)
The (horizontal) entrance reducer/closer seems neat, but I wonder whether prop will be a problem (the slide doesn't seem very strong), and I really doubt that the slide would be much of an obstacle to a sharp-toothed mouse.

The floor & roof package comes with a hive strap and a 500mm square sheet of correx - intended as a coverboard, but I think I can improve on that.


OK, so that's my first impressions.
Over to those who have actually used the things.

 

[For want of a better word]

A good point is that two standard rapid feeders can fit nicely under the roof with a standard super as an eke. I marked the correx quilt on mine with circles to locate and have an arrow with front so they locate easily, a 2" hole saw easily cut a neat hole for the feeder through the correx.
The correx inspection board makes a neat cover when the "hole" is not in use.
The lid is useful as it sits nicely on the ground either way up ! and also I have used the lid over a ****** polly nuc for overwintering ... and successfully got them through!

Will keep you up to date on the propolis front... once I have kept Carniolians in them !

 

[waverider]

I purchased 5 hives from BHS last year whilst currently using cedar hives and 1 P*ynes . I agree with 'Itma's' review. I too has recently noticed the issue with top-bee space in reference to the floor.

Roof is a 'beast' compared to the P*ynes and much easier to place.

I would prefer an entrance block frontage rather than the current design. Thats more a personal preference.

Finally, please do not purchase frames from BHS! They are terrible. Dire uneven cuts throughout. Never used a Stanley knife so much. They must have been manufactured in a Chinese factory for the blind.

 

[itma]

I purchased 5 hives from BHS last year whilst currently using cedar hives and 1 P*ynes . I agree with 'Itma's' review. I too has recently noticed the issue with top-bee space in reference to the floor.

Roof is a 'beast' compared to the P*ynes and much easier to place.
...

The roof is rather impressive. Due for some paint this evening.

Any comments on comparison between the BHS and Payns boxes?

I know the BHS boxes need assembly and now look much more conventional, but how are they in use? Payns have detailing to help stacking with wooden boxes. How does that work with the BHS?
The BHS boxes are rather more expensive than the Payns, and I've never noticed them having a Sale! The bees like the Payns boxes more than I do - but the bees take priority and the boxes are frankly cheap (especially in the Sales).

 

[Luminos]

I bought a BHS poly hive to trial but not yet assembled it.

 

[flemage]

after searching and reading and some more reading. I am defiantly getting my next hive from Cornwall. Seems to have some all round advantages over others.

unfortunately I have to wait to be able to afford it

 

[Swarm]

I bought a BHS poly hive to trial but not yet assembled it.

Send it to me Luminos, I'll assemble it for you

 

[itma]

...
The (horizontal) entrance reducer/closer seems neat, but I wonder whether prop will be a problem (the slide doesn't seem very strong), and I really doubt that the slide would be much of an obstacle to a sharp-toothed mouse.
...

There's an FAQ on the BHS website regarding mouseguarding.
Don't rely on the slide!

They suggest a standard (Thorn's?) metal mouse guard strip slotted in (flat) above the entrance (photos on their site). The weight of the BB should keep it in place.
Looks a very reasonable way to go.


Painted sludge green, the roof and floor plus Pains boxes actually look almost smart ...


Anyone got any comments on the BHS boxes?

 

[Swarm]

Let's see a photo, itma. I'm wondering if this is an expensive fix to an issue that has much cheaper alternatives.

 

[itma]

Let's see a photo, itma. I'm wondering if this is an expensive fix to an issue that has much cheaper alternatives.

Nothing expensive about the mouseguard solution.
But maybe a fiddle to line up right. I'm thinking a couple of drawing pins as location guides might help the 'one pair of hands' beek.

Guard in position, flat on the floor over the entrance
http://www.beehivesupplies.co.uk/images/Mouse guard 1.jpg
and then with the BB in place
http://www.beehivesupplies.co.uk/images/Mouse guard 2.jpg

 

[Queens59]

I use several of these hives - and love them. However, despite the claims when I bought them I find that you cannot easily use them with wooden hives...I had one that due to shortage of kit I used a poly super on a wooden hive, and it never quite sat properly.

Bees seem to build up well and overwinter fine...but 1 did house mouse damage...it ate under the mouseguard we had put in...first time though.

 

[itma]

...
Bees seem to build up well and overwinter fine...but 1 did house mouse damage...it ate under the mouseguard we had put in...first time though.

How exactly did you guard it, and where was the hive chewed?

 

[Queens59]

We put a piece of metal mouse guard into the entry slot...and he chewed away the entrance floor and snooked under...I have a photograph...but at present cannot upload


Ooops, just realised I got my companies mixed up Sorry ...sorry...sorry...

 

[Swarm]

Not the mouse guard, I meant p a y n e s hive with the BHS roof and floor. It just seems a very expensive fix for a minor issue that can be sorted for much less.
I was just hoping to see a photo of this match up.

 

[itma]

Not the mouse guard, I meant p a y n e s hive with the BHS roof and floor. It just seems a very expensive fix for a minor issue that can be sorted for much less.
I was just hoping to see a photo of this match up.

By the time I've finished painting the floor I expect that Admin will have sorted the upload problem!

And since I was needing an additional 500mm (poly) roof and floor, it seemed like a good opportunity to try out the BHS products.
While the Payns boxes do interoperate with wooden parts, the versatility is for when needs be, rather than a way I'd choose to work.

 

[Swarm]

By the time I've finished painting the floor I expect that Admin will have sorted the upload problem!

And since I was needing an additional 500mm (poly) roof and floor, it seemed like a good opportunity to try out the BHS products.
While the Payns boxes do interoperate with wooden parts, the versatility is for when needs be, rather than a way I'd choose to work.

Cool, look forward to seeing it.

The poly/wood mix is no biggy but looks far better as either/or. The only problem being that a decent excluder is wooden dimensions, I find that the most irritating problem with poly hives.

What I'd like to know about BHS boxes is do the frames sit on rails or just on the poly shelf?

 

[beebopalula]

Cool, look forward to seeing it.

The poly/wood mix is no biggy but looks far better as either/or. The only problem being that a decent excluder is wooden dimensions, I find that the most irritating problem with poly hives.

What I'd like to know about BHS boxes is do the frames sit on rails or just on the poly shelf?

They sit on plastic rails.

 

[Swarm]

Well that sounds like a plus, I find the P@ynes nuc a nightmare when it comes to removing the first frame, as opposed to their hive with metal rails which is great.