Space for fondant in poly

[Monsieur Abeille]

I've been pondering for a while how best to introduce fondant if necessary to my paines polys mid winter. They are bottom space, so no space to speak of between the top of the frames and the clear plastic crownboard. I could roll out the fondant really thin and have a sticky crownboard; try to stuff it between the frames; remove the crownboard and go armed with a chisel in spring, or just stuff it inside the entrance (though I doubt they would go down there if it gets cold). Dont want to go adding supers or ekes (even if available) as I think the vain space would be undesirable

Thoughts?

BTW, just been on their site and very glad to see they have redesigned the feeders, the old style didnt fare well in comparison with my ashforth and maisemore flavours.

 

[drstitson]

easy answer - remove the bottom and dividers out of your old style feeder and use as an eke - with a suitable piece of kingspan to sit on top of the fondant.
buy a new style feeder for next year.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

easy answer - remove the bottom and dividers out of your old style feeder and use as an eke - with a suitable piece of kingspan to sit on top of the fondant.
buy a new style feeder for next year.

Yup good idea, might well do that

 

[fatshark]

Or build a small wooden eke with a 'stepped edge' that allows the lid to fit and overlaps the raised lip on the box. If you make them 50mm in height you can easily then cut a piece of Kingspan to fit. A hole in the Kingspan will accommodate a clear tray containing fondant. This solution worked well last winter. The fondant can be replaced without disturbance (there's a plastic sheet between the top of the frames and the Kingspan) and - although a little inelegant - they can be knocked up for a couple of quid; quite a saving over the P**nes issue.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Looks good fatshark, if a little beyond my DIY skills. Presumably the plastic crown board was cut to allow access to the fondant.

Also occured I could just invert my old feeder having levelled/removed the raised centre part and blocking off the central passageway.

OR if I'm going to buy a new style one anyway, just use that inverted.

 

[Poly Hive]

No need to go complex. KISS

Murray uses upturned feeders, so do I and also empty supers work well.

Poly supers this is. The bees are fine with the space as they are warm still with the insulation over head.

I have ekes made from insulation for the nucs, and same same.

PH

 

[user 6228]

No need to go complex. KISS

Murray uses upturned feeders, so do I and also empty supers work well.

Poly supers this is. The bees are fine with the space as they are warm still with the insulation over head.

I have ekes made from insulation for the nucs, and same same.

PH

its a lot more complex than you might think ...

 

[Goodwood]

I have cut down a p....ns 14x12 BB ordered by mistake into a number of fondant deep ekes.
I have used these on the stronger colonies
For the colonies with emptyish combs at the periphery I have removed two frames and replaced with T...ns plastic frame feeders and shoved them full of fondant....thereby reducung the size of the BB and having a means of introducing the fondant without using an eke.

 

[itma]

I've been pondering for a while how best to introduce fondant if necessary to my paines polys mid winter. ... Dont want to go adding supers or ekes (even if available) as I think the vain space would be undesirable ...

Firstly, are these hives or nucs?

If hives
- there is no need for the 'stepped edge' illustrated above
- I'd suggest using a (poly) super *but* with a 'proper' feeder board *and* insulation. No need to give the bees any extra space to heat.
By 'proper feeder board', I mean something with beespace beneath, an openable/closeable hole (or holes), and sufficient rigidity to support whatever feeding arangement.
I don't like the coversheet resting directly on the frame topbars. Access to any feed hole is going to be restricted.
If you supply the fondant in a *clear* plastic tub over the feedhole(s), you can see whether or not it needs replacing without (re)moving it.
And if you cut Kingspan (or equivalent) to fill the super, but leave a cutout for your fondant tub(s), you should ensure maximum snugness for your bees. If your feeder board is framed above, then a good detail is to rebate the bottom edges of the insulation so it sits down onto the board, rather than several mm 'up' on the frame.

But if a Pains nuc
- buy their eke in the sale (unless you fancy making that stepped edge) as I think it will provide better insulation than the wood. Its £7-50 I'm happy to pay.
- and again a better inner cover with a feeder hole would be an improvement, and an adjunct to the eke

 

[drstitson]

crazy IMHO - if fondant is needed it's needed properly. by that i mean 4-6kg in a go (ie 1/3-1/2 a block) for a full sized hive. i apply that rolled out slightly inside an eke. for a pains poly eke you could chuck on 4kg.

I'm now sat here wondering how much it'd cost ITLD in labour (and takeaways - sorry carry-oots!*) to produce enough of the hobbyist tinkerer fondant feeding setups for his hives!

* much as i love pakora and pink sauce a) i don't think i could eat enough and b) usually comes in bags rather than tubs.

 

[itma]

My perspective is possibly skewed by having easy access to the hives ... and never having had to add a whole lot of fondant ...

But sure, for a fit and forget solution, tossing on a lot of fondant in one go, and leaving them to it is the way to go.
And for that a nuc-eke, or for a hive an eke, super or upturned (standard - not P's Mk1) feeder is going to provide lots of fondant capacity.

 

[fatshark]

crazy IMHO - if fondant is needed it's needed properly. by that i mean 4-6kg in a go (ie 1/3-1/2 a block) for a full sized hive. i apply that rolled out slightly inside an eke. for a pains poly eke you could chuck on 4kg.

Without the Kingspan you could comfortably get 4-6kg if needed ... the fastfood container has less, obviously, but sufficient for a nuc.

I'm now sat here wondering how much it'd cost ITLD in labour (and takeaways - sorry carry-oots!*) to produce enough of the hobbyist tinkerer fondant feeding setups for his hives!

But time isn't an issue for the hobbyist ... and the P*y*es poly ekes were an exorbitant £13 when I needed these last winter.

* as a student in Dundee I used to get takeaways from the "Kerry Oot" chinese restaurant at the bottom end of the Perth Road ... plastic cutlery was an additional 5p if I remember correctly ...

 

[blackie]

correct me if wrong i am going to over winter 2 poly nucs with ekes on do i just put the fondant direct on top of the bars if so doesnt the fondant fall between frames?

 

[drstitson]

no.