Pressed steel? QE

[Hachi]

I acquired one of these last year. It came as part of a kit and I was not impressed with it having listened to other BC members who thought bee's damaged themselves when passing thro' it.

Has anyone got/use's/used one, what do you think? Are they ok to use?

 

[Black Comb]

Keep for an emergency.
Buy a wire one, they are kinder to the bees and easier to use. Also, they don't bend.

 

[Beeline]

They are useful when storing drawn super or brood frames over winter. One laid above and one below a stack of boxes - they provide ventilation whilst providing a first line of defense against vermin.

 

[Hachi]

They are useful when storing drawn super or brood frames over winter. One laid above and one below a stack of boxes - they provide ventilation whilst providing a first line of defense against vermin.

Now that's a good idea Ta

 

[itma]

They are cheap. Which might be why they are on so many association apiary hives.

A rigid wire type is much nicer for you to work with.
And that means you can be gentler on the bees.
For a standard (bottom beespace) national, get one with a frame to give beespace beneath the qx (above the frame top bars). Makes fitting and removing the thing no bother at all.
/ just don't twist it as you take it off - the frame corners are the weak point!

 

[psafloyd]

They are useful when storing drawn super or brood frames over winter. One laid above and one below a stack of boxes - they provide ventilation whilst providing a first line of defense against vermin.

Not wax moth, mind.

 

[Travelator]

They are cheap. Which might be why they are on so many association apiary hives.

A rigid wire type is much nicer for you to work with.
And that means you can be gentler on the bees.
For a standard (bottom beespace) national, get one with a frame to give beespace beneath the qx (above the frame top bars). Makes fitting and removing the thing no bother at all.
/ just don't twist it as you take it off - the frame corners are the weak point!

Be careful! I ordered a QE with beespace below the wire frame from a well known supplier and they incorrectly supplied one with the beespace above the wires.

 

[psafloyd]

Keep for an emergency.
Buy a wire one, they are kinder to the bees and easier to use. Also, they don't bend.

Or put a wooden rim on it to stop it bending.

 

[mbc]

Be careful! I ordered a QE with beespace below the wire frame from a well known supplier and they incorrectly supplied one with the beespace above the wires.

Thats nothing, they sent me one which was upside down !

 

[yeogi75]

Thats nothing, they sent me one which was upside down !

reading this I checked mine, and all mine are back to front

 

[yeogi75]

if they have Sharpe edges, can they not be sanded down or de burred

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Be very careful they don't send you one with the slots warm way if you run cold way, It's a b$gger to sort out, had to turn the whole hive around

 

[TOBY-3652]

Be very careful they don't send you one with the slots warm way if you run cold way, It's a bugger to sort out, had to turn the whole hive around

 

[Hachi]

..... and so it begins...

 

[Luminos]

Keep for an emergency.
Buy a wire one, they are kinder to the bees and easier to use. Also, they don't bend.

Slotted ones work, but wire ones are better.
I keep the slotted ones for spares.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

..... and so it begins...

well, it seems to be Dusty's night off - someone has to deputise for the master

 

[Hawklord]

if they have Sharpe edges, can they not be sanded down or de burred

Lady in red?

 

[chrismcd]

Well I like them.

They are easy to clean and you can "peel" them off minimising disturbance.

 

[VEG]

I have them on some of my hives and have no problems with them

 

[Little John]

if they have Sharpe edges, can they not be sanded down or de burred

I've got a couple - kept for Demaree-ing and similar purposes, where they're only in place for a relatively short time.

The problem with your suggestion (which I have considered myself several times) is that there are an awful lot of edges to be deburred. It might take a couple of hours to do the job properly - because just running a flap-disk (say) quickly over the surface will probably fold some of the burrs over from vertical to horizontal, where they would do even more damage ! So then you'd need to remove those burrs too ...

When I worked in industry, I remember on occasion using a purpose made de-burring tool which was sourced from RS: it was not unlike a small screwdriver which had a cranked shaft made from hardened steel with cutting edges formed such that when this tool was 'stirred' around a burred hole, the burrs simply fell off. Now one of those would be ideal for this task, except for the fact that there are so many holes to be treated like this.

On balance, I'd say that making a wire excluder from s/s TIG rods would be far quicker, and cheaper than anything the usual suppliers have to offer. Well, except for the plastic jobs of course.

LJ