top bar hive

[yeogi75]

i was thinking of drilling a hole throu the follower board puttin a couple of clips to hold it, and attaching a small platform to the end of the tube for the bees to land on, a platform across the bottom sounds better to put small bucket on .winter project

 

[yeogi75]

more pics slowly getting there

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

i was thinking of drilling a hole throu the follower board puttin a couple of clips to hold it, and attaching a small platform to the end of the tube for the bees to land on, a platform across the bottom sounds better to put small bucket on .winter project

I think the problem with this idea is that the feeding area is too small ( one or two bees at a time ) and you are making extra work for yourself. A £4 entrance feeder placed on the mesh floor and the feeder part poked under the follower board will allow you to feed 1.8 kg of syrup to a lot of bees. No woodwork involved and pretty cheap.
cheers

 

[yeogi75]

the mesh would not hold the weight but still could allways make follwer board and put bracket on reverse to hold weight some more pics in my album

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Yes that would work, or you could put a piece of wood slightly smaller than the width of the hive under the feeders and that would support them.
The advantage of making the feeder independent of the follower board, either by poking it through or under the board, is that the board stays in place while you take the feeder out to top it up. So you do not disturb the bees while feeding them, as this smaller type of feeder will need topping up every couple of days.

I used heavier steel mesh than the garden plastic mesh recommended by Phil Chandler so that I could place things onto the floor. Got it from Thor***.

 

[yeogi75]

thanks i've diecided to go along the lines of steel gause,
to take the weight of feeder,
and tuck it under the follower board and acess from back to not disturb the bees,
and not release heat does that sound better
also would it be better to put bottom board on all winter or just when frosts and cold wind arrive thanks

 

[tonybloke]

make a frame feeder, simples*

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Bottom boards are personal preference really, some use them, others do not.
Bees are pretty resilient and the British winters hardly exist nowerdays so you might opt for only using it when really bad weather as the heat will remain trapped in the hive anyway. Probably windy days (especially with my coastal location) are the time I would use them as eddies under the box might disturb the hive.

Having looked at your photos, your hive looks really good. There are two non essential things you might consider, 1) a little landing board underneath each entrance 2) some beginners add a strip of wood down each side of the top of the hive at the level of the ends of the top bars, running from each end board to the other end board. This stops you knocking the top bars when replacing the lid, especially if it is a heavy one. Then then even my fabric covered 4 footer is a pretty bulky thing to move around.

 

[madasafish]

make a frame feeder, simples*

Even I can.

 

[madasafish]

Bottom boards are personal preference really, some use them, others do not.
Bees are pretty resilient and the British winters hardly exist nowerdays so you might opt for only using it when really bad weather as the heat will remain trapped in the hive anyway. Probably windy days (especially with my coastal location) are the time I would use them as eddies under the box might disturb the hive.
.

Botttom boards essential in more northerly climes ... in my view.

 

[yeogi75]

Bottom boards are personal preference really, some use them, others do not.
Bees are pretty resilient and the British winters hardly exist nowerdays so you might opt for only using it when really bad weather as the heat will remain trapped in the hive anyway. Probably windy days (especially with my coastal location) are the time I would use them as eddies under the box might disturb the hive.

Having looked at your photos, your hive looks really good. There are two non essential things you might consider, 1) a little landing board underneath each entrance 2) some beginners add a strip of wood down each side of the top of the hive at the level of the ends of the top bars, running from each end board to the other end board. This stops you knocking the top bars when replacing the lid, especially if it is a heavy one. Then then even my fabric covered 4 footer is a pretty bulky thing to move around.

i did wonder how to keep my top bars in place when closeing the top, as i have no plans just studded the vidios on youtube and copyed them mostly usa

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

if you are careful and experienced then, you can get the lid on easily, if you are cack-handed and inexperienced with a heavy lid like me then you can easily knock the whole lot into the bottom of the hive.

But likewise if you decide to hinge the lid, this will not be so much of a problem.

 

[TBRNoTB]

I have seen a 'platform' supported on the sloping sides.
Hole in the platform, standard rapid or contact feeder on top.

For my KTBH I made a frame feeder, the back is shaped like a follower with a straight sided box attached. The box had a slot at the top to allow access, inside is a perforated piece of wood which floats on the syrup. The feeder is the depth of three top bars with a large covered hole which allows topping up of the feed with minimal disturbance of the bees. Over the last two seasons I have had no problems no drowned bees and all feed taken. During construction I sealed the insides of the 'tank' with bees wax.

 

[yeogi75]

For my KTBH I made a frame feeder, the back is shaped like a follower with a straight sided box attached. The box had a slot at the top to allow access, inside is a perforated piece of wood which floats on the syrup. The feeder is the depth of three top bars with a large covered hole which allows topping up of the feed with minimal disturbance of the bees. Over the last two seasons I have had no problems no drowned bees and all feed taken. During construction I sealed the insides of the 'tank' with bees wax.

sounds a good idea, have you any pictures to show, and would you be happy at me copying for my self

 

[madasafish]

Single frame feeder.

Simple single frame feeder.. Just add top bars to make wider.. I have a 3 bar one as well..

 

[yeogi75]

thanks for the pics, that will help as i was wondering how a piece of wood would follow the liquid down and not stick to the side when it gets to the narrow part, again thanks

 

[BuddhaBee]

Top Bar Hive Beekeeper

First post. Set up top bar hive last May. Ordered Bee Thinking's cedar hive but this hive has a few issues that require construction tweaking, in my view. I'm going to try my hand at making this adjustments in a neighbor's woodshop.

On the whole, having been exposed to Langstroth hives in my beekeeping course, I find the top bar hive much easier to work with. I don't know if I'll feel differently this spring when I will harvest honey for the first time, and will have to crush comb -- maybe to harvest the honey.

Has anyone else noticed their bees moving through the hive box? My girls were set up at the left most edge of the hive, and they have moved themselves into the middle of the hive box. The right third of the hive is used for sugar feeding, for now. The girls build brood comb and then abandon it as they continue inching toward the right end of the hive. They've left behind some lovely comb, and I will use it for a nuc, or in the split planned for next spring.

Just endlessly curious about these fascinating creatures

 

[BuddhaBee]

Thanks! This is one of the issues I have been struggling with -- how to create a hollow form feeder to fit the TBH design. For this winter, since my TBH has a roof with a bit of space, I'm going to lay fondant on newspaper on the bars once it's too cold for the girls to feed on heavy syrup. What do you have on the end of this feeder frame? The bottom end?
fine mesh screening? What's the drip feed like at the bottom of the frame?

 

[yeogi75]

hi buddahbee
have you got a follower board in, which restricts the bees to one end, then move the follower board along as they require the extra room

 

[madasafish]

Thanks! This is one of the issues I have been struggling with -- how to create a hollow form feeder to fit the TBH design. For this winter, since my TBH has a roof with a bit of space, I'm going to lay fondant on newspaper on the bars once it's too cold for the girls to feed on heavy syrup. What do you have on the end of this feeder frame? The bottom end?
fine mesh screening? What's the drip feed like at the bottom of the frame?

The entrance to the feeder is under the attached top bar.. see the gap...in Photo #1

I have a perspex viewer in one side of a hive and you can see the bee cluster at this time of year...