Welcome to all Omlet Beehaus Members

[tonybloke]

yes, I noticed the lack of mention of the 'commercial' hive !!

 

[oliver90owner]

but so is everyone's

It is really a Dartington, is it not? Materials of construction make little difference to overall general operation of the hive. There are quite a number of Dartingtons out there.

As I keep saying, I like my Dartingtons (or I wouldn't have made a second!), but there are some drawbacks to the system. I don't think I would have made a second (to the copyright dimensions) if standard National supers could not be used on it.

Regards, RAB

 

[Somerford]

The thing about a dartington especially a DLD type is that with dividers and more entrances they obviously make a great nucleus station. That is the one problem with the BeeHaus it doesn't have more optonal entrances, but this may happen in time (or I might get the jigsaw & hole cutter out, bit of plastic pipe, bob's your uncle)

S

 

[Black Comb]

Test post.
A couple of my posts recently haven't appeared.
Just checking if I'm doing it right.

 

[steve1958]

Test post.
A couple of my posts recently haven't appeared.
Just checking if I'm doing it right.

Well I can see it, even if no one else can

 

[JCBrum]

It's that new 'Bermuda Triangular' hive you've got that's causing the trouble.

 

[big]

As an owner of the Omlet Beehaus, many of you will have seen my threads and blog postings of my progression to date. The forum is very interested in hearing about other members (I know many of you have the beehaus) experiences with their new beehaus hive, so it will be great to hear from you.

As well as this dedicated section of the forum, there is also the Blog section to post reports, photographs or even videos of your progression.

Please introduce yourselves and feel free to bounce ideas off me and other members.

And any new members looking to purchase the Omlet Beehaus, this forum is a great place to start your research into bees and Beekeeping.

Jim

Jim.

i have been running an apiary of dartington hives which was the original concept for the Beehaus. i am intrigued to find out if any one has valid experience in useing specific strains of bees that are capable of filling these big boxes. currently iam useing cecropia/buckfast/carnolian/liguistica.

its hard to find the original importers of these strains but possible.

 

[Bcrazy]

I have been following this thread with interest.
Two major issues arise from reading and that is;
One, you are concentrating on new beekeepers to try out these hives. I find this very disturbing as new beekeepers would not be able to tell if there were any pro's and con's regarding the function of the hive. It's down to experienced beekeepers who must keep an open mind when discussing the good and not so good points of the hive.

Secondly, what pre release tests have been carried out on this type of hive? I have tried to find reports on tests that have been carried out in hot, cold, normal damp weather, but so far come up with nothing. Jim or anyone can you guide to to reports? To recommend a prototype hive with no usage information is not really helpful. Yes it's a new toy to play with but it does not have a track record.

I am not against the Beehaus hive, but at the moment its all too new for me to come to a solid conclusion about this product.

By the way has anyone thought about how bees build their nest?
As it's un-natural for bees to expand sideways they expand up wards, so with this and the Dartington you are asking the bees to expand in a way that is not a natural characteristic for them. Just a thought.

Regards;

 

[Hivemaker.]

Bcrazy, they don't have to expand anymore sideways in the behaus than any other hive,11 or 12 frames,then supers are added on top,so no different in this respect.

 

[Bcrazy]

Thank you for that info, as I was under the impression that it took 14 frames in the brood chamber, so my apologies about that comment. Ignorance is not bliss!

Regards;

 

[Hivemaker.]

It is really a modern version of a dartington hive,and is much stronger than poly hives,has good insulation,and does not need painting,so good for those who like synthetic materials.Who knows in future they may make a shorter version,more on the lines of a commercial,perhaps the beecottage,this could then take the place of poly hives in future being much stronger and superior,you could even lightly scorch or steam clean it in cases of disease,where a poly hive would just disintigrate.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

The Omlet hive has been tested over the past 2 years before release to the public by many experienced beekeepers.

Additionally the Omlet hive is been used and feed-back to Omlet via the same and more experienced beekeepers and even some commercial keepers, who are also providing courses for prospective purchasers of the hive, but also general understanding of bees.

If you take the time to read the Omlet site and forum in relation to the more established Poultry housing Omlet started life with, you will note Omlet are a very proactive company, which quickly learn and change the design from either their development team (yes they do have one, how many other hive manufactures do) or via feedback from users of the product.

A good example in the hen houses was the conversion from wooden roosting bars to plastic, this was driven by the Omlet forum.

 

[oliver90owner]

jimbeekeeper

many experienced beekeepers.

Please quantify the 'many' and qualify the word 'experienced'.

Or are you including Dartington owners here?

If unable to provide the facts, please retract.

I have noticed that some forum members refer to 'many' as more than one (ie two or three). I would be thinking nearer a hundred. I don't think of myself as highly experienced after nearly ten years of beekeeping - still a awful lot to learn.

Again, I will reiterate, I like my Dartingtons but at the cost of nearly half a grand that plastic version is just too d*amned expensive unless there are many advantages.

Regards, RAB

 

[Somerford]

I suppose many refers to the guys who are prepared to give it a go who also appear on this forum, I consider myself experienced, having 18 years experience, as does Jim. The Omlet chap, James in particular, is a beekeeper who has not 'just' started, and while he doesn't have 20 years experience, I would say that a newbeek approaching the subject from a different tangent is a breath of fresh air.

I think that any beek who thinks he/she knows everything is probably ready to stop beekeeping or write a book about it.

Yes, the beehaus is more expensive than most hives, but to use the analogy, so are BMWs, Mercs & Audis. It doesn't stop people buying them !

 

[jimbeekeeper]

at the cost of nearly half a grand that plastic version is just too d*amned expensive

That is your personal opnion, to many £500 is nothing! To others it is a lot, but they just like the hive.

The cost of the hive is irrelevant in this dicussion...end of!

 

[Rosti]

The cost of the hive is irrelevant in this dicussion...end of!

Jim, I can't agree with your comment, any more than I agree with o90o's.

Cost is always relevant, but it is whether someone regards the item as value at that cost. For me I wld not consider an Omlet.
a) I'm a skin flint
b) I like tinkering with wood
c) I'm also anal! I couldn't abide a mix of materials e.g. a wooden miller on a plastic omlet! sleepless nights!

I think whether omlet suits is more to do with life style, image and whether you are a user or a builder. R

 

[oliver90owner]

So lets get this right? Over the past two years (before release to the public) there have been three? Even the omlet forum says somewhere the project was only started in the last two years IIRC. I am not including Steve, Jim or anyone else that might have got a subsidised or purchased unit for marketing/advertising/evaluation/etc since the release to the public.

That might be Johannes (the one with 7 frames in a 5 frame box?), James from omlette and Robin Dartington? Any other names and any better time scale? Lets not be stretching the truth too far...or just not being truthful.

Facts are much preferable to fantasy.

RAB

 

[BKF Admin]

I purchased an Eglu and a Cube a few years back because it was easy to power wash and because of the mold shape reduced the incidence of red mite.
My wife likes them because they are "aesthetically pleasing".

I am still not sold on the Beehaus though...

 

[m100]

Was it someone on the development team that 'accidentally' fitted seven frames in the super in the space allocated for five?

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Cost is always relevant, but it is whether someone regards the item as value at R

Rosti you have put your words better than mine! Your statement above is more what I was aiming to. Mine was blunt for specific reasons!

Oliver90, you obviously have a bee in your bonnet over this! The word "many" can mean 2 or more.

As you have posted MANY times (it least twice in your words) it is just a dartington (or wells) hive in plastic, so (and as stated by you, they have been around for a while, so nothing new.

So why the bee in your bonnet about how much research has been done, how log it was used before sale to the public etc?

How much R&D was done before the National hive was made???

As I stated before Omlet are proactive in their work, and this is shown by the quick reply to some mod parts for the hive.

I am sure there will be MANY more mods to come next year, but if people can not learn from their mistakes or more the point accept that things can be done better and bring out a MOD, that is wrong, but to work on them is progressive...like the Omlet team.