Porter bee escape board when to insert it ?

[Curly green fingers]

Hi , I've been advised by my mentor to insert the porter bee board in the morning . I wanted to no what other beeks do ?
Cheers mark.

 

[badger65]

Are you trying to clear supers to allow honey extraction?

 

[drex]

If you are talking about inserting a crown board with Porter escapes in, to clear bees from the supers prior to extraction, it probably needs to be in for at 24 hours, before you remove your supers.
I do not use them, as they are so slow and inefficient, often leaving lots of bees in supers. Make sure the prongs are set right distance apart ( Google Dave Cushman) who does give the measurement . - I would guess about 5 mm.
I use rhombus cleaners - usually work in a few hours.

 

[Curly green fingers]

Yes ive two supers of two hives to extract. I've both boards drex the one with a triangle on that's the one I'm to use. Put it on in the morning then check it at 12 o clock three hours later. I've borrowed an extractor from the association.. I've extracted one already but I just transferred the frames into another box 21 lb from this super.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I wanted to no what other beeks do ?
Cheers mark.

Throw the porters in the bin and make a decent clearer board.

 

[enrico]

Throw the porters in the bin and make a decent clearer board.

Doesn't matter when you put them in. The supers are ready when most of the bees have gone!
E

 

[Poly Hive]

I will say yet again the porters are a total waste of time and worse make for holes in the crown boards which should be solid to avoid heat loss. Who makes massive holes in their roofs?

Once upon a time I had a photo of a travelling screen which had been left on a colony I bought as a CB and guess what it was propolised solid. If the bees wanted to have top ventilation there was their chance but no they blocked it up.

Drones will block porters as bonny as you like and you will often find drones above the excluder so go for the rhombus but buy one and cut it in half and put the halves in opposite corners of the clearer board and paint the edge of the clearer a distinctive colour so you can look at a number of hives and spot the one that got over looked.

PH

 

[alfazer]

I don't use porter escapes at all, but what they really for anyway and why are they often part of a standard beehive kit?
Are they just to release trapped bees from above crownboard /under roof. Is that their basic purpose?

 

[enrico]

I don't use porter escapes at all, but what they really for anyway and why are they often part of a standard beehive kit?
Are they just to release trapped bees from above crownboard /under roof. Is that their basic purpose?

They have worked well for me for years.. if you keep them clean they work well. I usually put an eek under them and have no problem. However I have changed to a homemade affair now which works well too!

 

[Curly green fingers]

Thanks everyone on checking I've both a rhombus and porter bee crown board. So for my own experience I'm going to use both its got to be easier than removing each frame and having to brush/shake bees of . I hope the weather is better tomorrow as I've got to inspect all hives to. Fingers crossed I've got two mated queens !
Thanks again. Mark.

 

[Poly Hive]

Where on earth does an eke come into play?

To clear supers. Remove full supers. Place empty supers (as in supers of empty combs) on top of excluder, place clearer board (right way round) put full supers on top and retire.

Return next day to remove full supers.

My only other way is post heather and clear directly into the brood boxes as any prospect of honey is past.

It's that simple. Honestly.

PH

 

[Beefriendly]

They have worked well for me for years.. if you keep them clean they work well.

Worked fine for me as well, particularly the ones with plastic springs...those metal ones were awful. ...used them until I found the rhombus ones were quicker and easier to set up. Used to do exactly as you did Enrico add an eke underneath to give them some space to clear into. Now I simply make an eke with board and rhombus clearer attached to it, if that make sense . Non of this nonsense of cutting them in half and making 2 holes. Keep it simple.

 

[enrico]

I use an eke because for some reason they seem to clear the super quicker. Not saying you need one but works for me!
E

 

[Curly green fingers]

I was going to ask about the eke but I was thinking it was for extra space. I can also see why poly would split the rhombus more than one exit clear quicker would a 12mm eke suffice ? Or I've got an inch one?

 

[Swarm]

Two inches would be better.

 

[Millet]

I was going to ask about the eke but I was thinking it was for extra space. I can also see why poly would split the rhombus more than one exit clear quicker would a 12mm eke suffice ? Or I've got an inch one?

It makes no difference if you split the rhombas you have two exits whatever you decide to do, I have them but I have never used them because I do not need too, when the supers are capped and ready to go it takes around 20 seconds to brush the bees of.

 

[Poly Hive]

20 seconds to brush 8 combs? REALLY?

PH

 

[Curly green fingers]

It makes no difference if you split the rhombas you have two exits whatever you decide to do, I have them but I have never used them because I do not need too, when the supers are capped and ready to go it takes around 20 seconds to brush the bees of.

i suppose using clearing boards its less invasive. the bees dont notice so much .
i did it that way steve but i had my girls knocking at the front door, the weather
is crap tomorrow 14 c breezy and cloud with a few showers. no full inspections but im still extracting one way or tuther.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have rims about 20mm deep on all clearer boards (some a little more) tried rhombus escapes split in two and just the off the shelf single one in the middle doesn't make muck difference what size the hole is either.
I just prefer the boards with the two half rhombus on the isdes

 

[ShinySideUp]

I'm hoping to take two supers off two hives tomorrow. I haven't done it the following way before but it seems logical to me: I shall lift off the two supers on each hive, place a new super over QE with undrawn foundation frames in (I want them to draw new comb), put crown board on with porter bee escapes (worked well last year), put full supers on top, then come back the day after and remove full supers to extraction point.

Before the above I shall do an inspection and make sure they have stores in the brood box (I have 14 x 12 frames so there should be enough there).

Whatever they manage to put in the new, undrawn super will be theirs for the winter when I will put it underneath as I did last year. I shall also begin Apiguard.

This is my plan for good or ill as it is time I started thinking for myself now and create my own husbandry methods.