The Beehaus - 2 years down the line.

[Hivemaker.]

Is that really what they call a nuc,not enough bees to cover one frame,in fact i have more bees in many of my kieler mini mating nucs,and more brood.

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Expert in action....

 

[jimbeekeeper]

So, Jimbeekeeper and others, you've had 2 winters and 2 summers with the beehaus. Time enough to give us a full verdict methinks. Pros and cons.
.

Just back from Holiday, so catching up



No real pros or cons, its all what you want not what the bees want...they dont care what box they are in, if they dont like it they wont go there.

Like I am trying poly nucs this year, would I buy any more...no.

Would I get another beehaus, no. Will I still use it though? Yes. It is great for rapid expansion to a full 22 frames, which I have converted to std national size, only because all my other hives are this frame size.


My view has always been with Omlet that they cracked (Pun) the Hen house perfectly with the Omlet and Eglue, and the concept of the beehaus could have transferred to the beehaus IF they had chosen a more traditional beehive design ie British National.

 

[rae]

My view has always been with Omlet that they cracked (Pun) the Hen house perfectly with the Omlet and Eglue, and the concept of the beehaus could have transferred to the beehaus IF they had chosen a more traditional beehive design ie British National.

The problem is marketing and cost of production. A National sized "plastic" hive would cost about the same to make and deliver as the Dartington sized one. Sure, a bit more on raw materials, but you still need to make the same basic parts. So how do you market it? You have a Nat wooden or poly that is identical...but half or quarter the price. So you make a Dartington - you can't buy one from Thornes or similar, so no ability to compare, and it is TWO HIVES IN ONE ....extra value.

 

[PaleoPerson]

Mine has sat empty all year and still is, it seems swarms don't like them.

With the number of swarms I collected from compost bins this year, perhaps if you filled it with compost, it would be an effective bait hive.

Bait Hive (foundation and lemongrass) = 0
Compost/dust bins full of compost or water = 4

 

[DanBee]

So you make a Dartington - you can't buy one from Th**nes or similar, so no ability to compare, and it is TWO HIVES IN ONE ....extra value.

Really? At £465 for a 'two in one' hive or two cedar Nationals at £195 - £240 each? The latter can be split and moved seperately if required, the former cannot. Non-cedar Nationals would be cheaper still, probably £60 less per hive, so three for the price of one BeeHaus. Difficult to champion the BeeHaus as the "good value" option on that basis...

You are right about the cost of a plastic hive - look at the Apimaye, which is a lot more sophisticated than the BeeHaus: single hive with 2-3 supers is in the region of £300 - £400 list price.

 

[vonclatt]

Dartingtons, for sale on Ebay... brand new £180, I wonder if Robin is aware of these?..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SELF-ASSE...Bee_Keeping&hash=item3f0c4fb7b1#ht_1166wt_905

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Spot the similarity?

Problem is this only costs £54, beehaus is nearly 10 times that.

Why? Because then can, not because it costs that much.

 

[alanf]

Dartingtons, for sale on Ebay... brand new £180, I wonder if Robin is aware of these?..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SELF-ASSE...Bee_Keeping&hash=item3f0c4fb7b1#ht_1166wt_905

Very interesting, they do look like a 'Dartington', and they could be good way of trying out that design if you were experimentally inclined.

However, the seller makes no claim that they are 'Dartingtons', just 'Long' hives. Skating close, but if the maker claims they are based on a mix of traditional features and adaptations of his own then it's unlikely to be cost effective suing. Plus bad publicity to drive a small backyard producer out of business.

 

[victor meldrew]

Very interesting, they do look like a 'Dartington', and they could be good way of trying out that design if you were experimentally inclined.

However, the seller makes no claim that they are 'Dartingtons', just 'Long' hives. Skating close, but if the maker claims they are based on a mix of traditional features and adaptations of his own then it's unlikely to be cost effective suing. Plus bad publicity to drive a small backyard producer out of business.

Dartingtons use 14x 12 frames I think?
The hive advertised uses dn1s !
Maybe enough of a difference to get around any possible patent by Robin?
VM

 

[oliver90owner]

He says the supers take DN1's. That would be a little different in the main body, looking at the pics.

It looks like a Dartington long deep hive to me.

I have the two (I made) and one with deeps in both supers and main body.

It is likely the entry that will be a sticking point for the copyright. Robin may be getting a small fee for the license - Stamfordham used to supply kits. After all, £180 seems a good price for the seller.

There are quite a lot of pieces to cut, but there is nothing really special about any of those individual pieces - only the top bars (rebates) and the super bottom bars (chamfered) are non-cuboid shapes. No extras, like the Dartington cutting lists show, either.

RAB

 

[vonclatt]

I agree Oliver, there were a lot of cuts !!!

And of course there are a number of variants on the Dartington, some that are shorter (15 or even 10 frame) for moving onto heather and the like, some that are longer (25 frame) for queen rearing and a monster 30 frame unit to keep 2 permanent colonies, one at either end sharing the central frames and supers for honey production. All hives can be built to any frame size you like with some minor alterations to the plans (after all your building it) but conventionally they are fitted with 14"x12" frames.

Being a new beekeeper, I liked the idea of the Beehaus, and even considered buying one. In the end I built one, and glad I did, the bees like it, I like it and my neighbours like it (cos it minimises the urge to swarm).

Cost me around £90 and a couple of weekends in the garage with a circular saw and a hammer.

Building another one, this time I'm gonna paint it.....errr.....red!...lol

 

[jimbeekeeper]

patent by Robin?
VM

Very easy to get round any patent

 

[drstitson]

i think the fleabay seller is confusing his frames - he says deeps for the body and DN1s for the supers but clearly from the picture the brood box looks like it takes 12" deep frames so all in all seems to be a standard dartington LDH.

 

[IanDouglas]

Dartington

The Beehaus is a modified Dartington cast in plastic. Omlet made a donation to Buzzworks, Robin's community bee garden, to obtain the rights.

I have a Dartington running next to a Beehaus. The Beehaus was certainly a lot easier to assemble and the parts are lighter so it's a bit easier to work with, although the weight wasn't really a problem before.

 

[Toffeesmum]

Lol