Stand height

[bob23]

Hi there, first post here
I'm collecting my first hives on Sunday and want to build a stand for them tomorrow. Is about 18" the right sort of height for the stand? I realise it's down to personal preference and everybody is slightly different but I'm just looking for a ball park figure to get a head start
If it helps I'm 5'10" and they're Smith's hives
Thanks in advance
Bob

 

[pargyle]

You need to set the stand at a height where you can comfortably lift the brood frames out of the brood box and inspect them ... which is very dependent (like everything in beekeeping) upon your personal circumstances and preferences. You are just a bit shorter than me, I work 14 x 12's and my stands are about 18" off the ground - it works for me and I can comfortably lift full supers up to about four supers (which in my location is about the most they get to without me spinning them out).

My stands are a bit different to most but they are good for me and my apiary.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/125609724@N03/albums/72157651752848654

 

[Sutty]

I'd go lower, maybe 6-9", this is because you will have multiple boxes on there and the extra height can be a nuisance, whereas a single brood box can be easily examined on a 6" stand, a double brood plus 3 supers needs as little height as you can get away with.

 

[Newbeeneil]

Knee height for me.

 

[Paulypaul]

I go knee height.
Most important advice I can give you: the higher you go, expect more undershooting, and clustering under the OMF.
Can be counteracted by puting a board in front of the gap at the front of the stand. If you want to avoid an ant ladder, nail/ screw some board in from of the gap at the front, leaving a short gap to the floor.

 

[Ambler]

Make it as comfortabe for you as possible, the bees don't care. If you are happy spending 20 minutes bent over to pull frames from a brood box over an 18inch stand, that's great. If you'd like the top of the brood box to be a further foot up, make the stand taller.
In my experience, my back always aches after going down to the bees; if you avoid bending over to inspect the brood boxes, you'll be lifting supers down from on high before you start the inspection.
But an 18inch stand should be fine as a start, you can always put bricks under the legs in the future if you feel it is too low.

 

[Superlativesoul]

Make it as comfortabe for you as possible, the bees don't care. If you are happy spending 20 minutes bent over to pull frames from a brood box over an 18inch stand, that's great. If you'd like the top of the brood box to be a further foot up, make the stand taller.
In my experience, my back always aches after going down to the bees; if you avoid bending over to inspect the brood boxes, you'll be lifting supers down from on high before you start the inspection.
But an 18inch stand should be fine as a start, you can always put bricks under the legs in the future if you feel it is too low.

Or saw them down if too high
John

 

[Paulypaul]

Or saw them down if too high
John

His knees?

 

[fian]

As all this was already solved in a technical version (for architecture) by Le Corbusier and his "Modulor".
The blue line begins with the height of a person with their hand stretched and raised vertically (2.26m). It is divided or multiplied successively by the golden number.
The red line begins in the middle of the previous one, which coincides with the height of the navel.
And as the colleagues on the blue line have pointed out, the height of the knees drops to 0.53m (20.8") while the red line is a little lower (coincides with the sitting posture) it drops to 0.43m (almost 17").

 

[rolande]

As all this was already solved in a technical version (for architecture) by Le Corbusier and his "Modulor".
The blue line begins with the height of a person with their hand stretched and raised vertically (2.26m). It is divided or multiplied successively by the golden number.
The red line begins in the middle of the previous one, which coincides with the height of the navel.
And as the colleagues on the blue line have pointed out, the height of the knees drops to 0.53m (20.8") while the red line is a little lower (coincides with the sitting posture) it drops to 0.43m (almost 17").

That'll be the answer to practical beekeeping then

 

[philipm]

Always make mine a bit higher so that I can trim the legs when they go rotten at the bottom.Another factor to consider is if the stand is too high there is more chance of it blowing over if its stormy.I never go more than two supers before extracting my back can cope with the effort.

 

[madasafish]

30cms

 

[enrico]

Knee height but twice the length front to back so that when you take a box off the top you can stand it on the extra length at the back. Saves bending with the heavy honey boxes you take on and off

 

[blackcloud]

I don't think you'll ever get a universal ideal.
You need it at least 18" to save your back.
But once you are on double brood with three supers you quickly begin to regret it.
How about a low stand with a spare BB on top that you can remove peak peak season?

 

[simonwig]

Hi
If you visit The Apiarist's blog (@fatshark) he has a design using scaffold jack legs which are adjustable, which means you can (fairly) easily make them higher or lower depending on how they suit you, your ground and your height.
I've made them using 3" X 3" fence posts as the main bearers and find them great. The ultimate hive stand?
Simon

 

[rolande]

My preference for many years has been to put the hives on the ground (rested on a couple bits of 2x3 is good) and then to kneel down to inspect them. Easy on the back although some will be precluded from doing so by bad knees.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is about 18" the right sort of height for the stand?

Yes, I'm 5'11" with chronic lower back issues, all my stands are around 18" high and I can work around them for hours without any issues.
By the way, most of the hives are run as Demaree's by the middle of the season and I can handle quite a few supers on them before it gets a bit awkward

 

[Curly green finger's]

My preference for many years has been to put the hives on the ground (rested on a couple bits of 2x3 is good) and then to kneel down to inspect them. Easy on the back although some will be precluded from doing so by bad knees.

I’m like you I spend a lot of time on my knees only using one or two pallets and single sleepers as stands once you go double brood /demaree and supers added it’s the right hight for me to inspect .
I like to have autumn winter colony’s of the ground more where I can .

 

[Antipodes]

I've seen thousands of hives here and never seen any on a purpose made hive stand. As per Rolande above (#16) ...on a bit of timber or as per Curly (#18) ..... on free pallets (heat treated only for safety) and here the pallets generally end up on the tip.... in perfectly good condition. Get them before they go there. No need to spend any money at all or use more resources. Yep Curly, two or more on top of each other if you want more height. Brilliant.

 

[pargyle]

The SMit

Knee height but twice the length front to back so that when you take a box off the top you can stand it on the extra length at the back. Saves bending with the heavy honey boxes you take on and offView attachment 37826

That's interesting but surely stretching over the platform at the back is creating some really bad lifting posture ? Plus, if you are putting supers with bees in front of you and bending over them - depends how well behaved your bees are.

If I had room in my apiary I would have double width stands or an empty stand alongside the occupied one - I can see one like that at the end of your row of hives.