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[jenkinsbrynmair]

4" roof or deeper 8" roof???

deep every time - the cedar ones weigh next to nothing anyway. the deeper roofs mean you can permanently fix 40 0r 50mm of celotex insulation into the roof and still have plenty of overhang to stop the roof blowing off or to put on a feeder without needing an eke

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I will comment on cheap bee jackets (not suits.. I have never worn or needed one).

I bought one in cotton in 2010 from Cornwall Honey Bee Supplies (or something like that).
Despite being male, I can sew so I have mended it (mainly cuffs, re-elasticated it and had new veil on the hood (it's a fencing type..). It is in camo.

Initial cost: £35. New veil £35. Plus cotton and odd bits of elastic.

Still going strong.

I modded it to have velcro closing on pockets.. Veil never touches face.

So if you do not want to spend too much money initially, you can start cheap and then buy dear later.. IF you are careful..(Visit Beetradex next March and try them on in flesh before buying is my advice - Covid allowing)

(But I am a mean Scot)

I began with a cheap suit. It was fine for the purposes but I soon tired of hopping about in the training apiary car park putting it on or taking it off. I now have a Lyson Jacket with round veil from Abelo (mine was £49 if I recall correctly). Easy to put on/off. Worn with el cheapo ASDA Jeans (£7) and marigold type gloves plus a pair of separate wrist cuffs to stop inquisitive bees penetrating the wrist joint. I've handled bees from hell in this set up without undue difficulty.

 

[North End Bees]

deep every time - the cedar ones weigh next to nothing anyway. the deeper roofs mean you can permanently fix 40 0r 50mm of celotex insulation into the roof and still have plenty of overhang to stop the roof blowing off or to put on a feeder without needing an eke

I suppose it depends on where you put your insulation. I don't directly insulate the roof, I have mine above the crownboard in an eke. Copied these on here .

No problem to sit contact feeders in a super with a crownboard on top. Do you rest the roof directly on your feeders?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I suppose it depends on where you put your insulation. I don't directly insulate the roof, I have mine above the crownboard in an eke. Copied these on here .

No problem to sit contact feeders in a super with a crownboard on top. Do you rest the roof directly on your feeders?

there you go - two uses of an eke which can be avoided. all my roofs are fitted with insulation which, when on the hive sits directly on the crownboard so need for an eke the insulation stays on throughout the year. The roof also sits directly on the feeder - no need for ekes or supers.

 

[North End Bees]

there you go - two uses of an eke which can be avoided. all my roofs are fitted with insulation which, when on the hive sits directly on the crownboard so need for an eke the insulation stays on throughout the year. The roof also sits directly on the feeder - no need for ekes or supers.

Horses for courses. My eke/crownboards are all in one and are reversible if needed, eg to accommodate winter fondant. They stay on all year.
I have no problem with putting a spare super around a contact feeder, and actually prefer it to balancing the roof directly on top.
Each to their own.

 

[Nick Lang]

My first bees were an overwintered nuc of Buckfast type with a very prolific queen. Within weeks I had to recover my first swarm. Bloody good experience but I'm always up for personal challenges whereas some people don't react in the same way.

What did you do with the swarm after you recovered it???

 

[Apple]

What did you do with the swarm after you recovered it???

Kept it
Nurtured and fed it well
All winter long.....
Then
In the Spring
Kissed them all good bye
As the swarmed
Away
Away into the deep blue yonder

 

[Apple]

One of these would be useful!

eBay item number:
123797739426

Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.

Chons da

 

[North End Bees]

Kept it
Nurtured and fed it well
All winter long.....
Then
In the Spring
Kissed them all good bye
As the swarmed
Away
Away into the deep blue yonder

Didn't realise you had a poetic streak!

 

[North End Bees]

One of these would be useful!

eBay item number:
123797739426

Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing.

Chons da

Would be more useful without that bar joining the 2 hooks. Then it would be suitable for all hive types, not just nationals.

 

[user 819]

Nick I over winter with Abelo poly broods as they are all 99.99% compatible with my BS Nat wooden kit, insulated poly carb CB is used with my wooden roofs.
In spring /summer all wooden is used eventually and the poly is given a once over before being ready for reuse in the late summer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

One of these would be useful!

eBay item number:
123797739426

For what?

 

[bontbee]

Cedar Nationals brood/ supers and ( avoid) 14 x 12, should be the same footprint, as are the OSB ~ Rose method boxes... and all accept the same sized frames......Best advice I would give a beginner hivewise is...Don't go near Flow Hives!!

Chons da

Sorry if I've read this wrong but, maybe to clarify, OSBs have the same footprint as a BS national, but the frames are not BS size - they're approx midway between BS deep and shallow. And the box take 12 frames, unless they've changed things since I bought one - and found that an OSB box is heavier than a BS deep!

 

[Swarm]

Not sure about this, Steve. Stated (at one time) on the Abelo website that the changes to the new box were external. Website info. has been edited since then, but I can't see any physical internal changes to the boxes.

I was thinking the newly designed hand hold. Swienty lost a lot of 'meat' in their redesign, I'm assuming Abelo have gone the same route by losing poly for a better grip, it's almost like saying the thickness of the poly doesn't matter.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I was thinking the newly designed hand hold. Swienty lost a lot of 'meat' in their redesign, I'm assuming Abelo have gone the same route by losing poly for a better grip, it's almost like saying the thickness of the poly doesn't matter.

Yes, I thought again and you had it right: deeper handhold = thinner wall.

At least wall insulation isn't the most valuable: a thin roof would be a disaster.

 

[pargyle]

For what?

Hanging your smoker on of course .... you would think with your experience you would know that !

 

[North End Bees]

Hanging your smoker on of course .... you would think with your experience you would know that !

Well I've got similar hangers (without the brace). Use them every time. Or should I just put the frames down in the grass? Or tuck them under my arm??

 

[pargyle]

Well I've got similar hangers (without the brace). Use them every time. Or should I just put the frames down in the grass? Or tuck them under my arm??

If you have a dummy board in your hive there's no real need to put the frames you are inspecting anywhere .. take the dummy board out - shake what few bees there are on it off - lean it up somewhere convenient ... you can then move the next frame along, lift out, check and replace.

I don't like frames outside of the hive for any length of time and I certainly don't like frames covered in bees on a frame hanger outside the hive - recipe for a disaster. Keep frames above the hive and you know where the queen is going to drop if she falls off and with a dummy board you are not going to roll bees as you take it out ... OK - the end frames may be stores but squashing bees as you prise out the first one is going to upset them and I have, on occasions, found a queen on a frame of stores.

When you get to the end of the inspection all the frames are together at one end of the box .. use your hive tool to push them all back in one movement (that way you don't squash any bees) and replace the dummy at the end ... job done.

I'm sure as an experienced keeper you know most of this but it's the Beginners section and some newbies might not appreciate the benefits of a dummy board.

Unless you have castellations rather than runners in your brood box ... I know there's a few eccentrics who use castellations in their brood boxes but I think their place is in the supers - you could still use a dummy board but it rather defeats their use with castellations.

 

[North End Bees]

If you have a dummy board in your hive there's no real need to put the frames you are inspecting anywhere .. take the dummy board out - shake what few bees there are on it off - lean it up somewhere convenient ... you can then move the next frame along, lift out, check and replace.

I don't like frames outside of the hive for any length of time and I certainly don't like frames covered in bees on a frame hanger outside the hive - recipe for a disaster. Keep frames above the hive and you know where the queen is going to drop if she falls off and with a dummy board you are not going to roll bees as you take it out ... OK - the end frames may be stores but squashing bees as you prise out the first one is going to upset them and I have, on occasions, found a queen on a frame of stores.

When you get to the end of the inspection all the frames are together at one end of the box .. use your hive tool to push them all back in one movement (that way you don't squash any bees) and replace the dummy at the end ... job done.

I'm sure as an experienced keeper you know most of this but it's the Beginners section and some newbies might not appreciate the benefits of a dummy board.

Unless you have castellations rather than runners in your brood box ... I know there's a few eccentrics who use castellations in their brood boxes but I think their place is in the supers - you could still use a dummy board but it rather defeats their use with castellations.

All very good advice. But my way is also perfectly good.
I do use dummies but the space they give is minimal so I also take out the first frame (almost always stores). Frames are warm way, hangers go on front of hive above the entrance. Any bees that fall off (unlikely) will fall onto the landing board.

 

[pargyle]

All very good advice. But my way is also perfectly good.
I do use dummies but the space they give is minimal so I also take out the first frame (almost always stores). Frames are warm way, hangers go on front of hive above the entrance. Any bees that fall off (unlikely) will fall onto the landing board.

Still think my way is better .... sorry ... frames hanging on the outside of a hive ,... not perfectly good.