What did you do in the 'workshop' today

[Erichalfbee]

I spray with cilit bang and leave out in the rain

 

[Curly green finger's]

Went to B&Q to pick up a 150litre plastic box to disinfect some poly equipment I have. Mixed up 80litres of bleach mixture as per the NBU spec and tried to "sink" a langstroth poly nuc including the roof and floor!
Just for reference to anyone trying this in the future it takes 16 house bricks to get it all under water!!!!

https://www.diy.com/departments/wha...ropylene-xxl-storage-box/5057604457209_BQ.prd

I've been doing something similar but because the main body of the nuc was to big I was spraying with blue magic and then hoseing down /scrubbing with a hard brush, feeders and roofs get left and weighed down for a few days in washing soda and then sprayed with blue magic and then scrubbed.

 

[pargyle]

I've been doing something similar but because the main body of the nuc was to big I was spraying with blue magic and then hoseing down /scrubbing with a hard brush, feeders and roofs get left and weighed down for a few days in washing soda and then sprayed with blue magic and then scrubbed.

You must have very dirty bees .... I rarely clean my poly hives to any great extent ... unless there's disease in the hive (never) or it's got a bit mouldy in storage the bees will sort out most things - cleanest creatures on the planet. Those that do get a clean (I had some from another beekeeper last year) get a blast with Cillit Bang and a hose down - then left to dry, No scrubbing normally required.

 

[Curly green finger's]

You must have very dirty bees .... I rarely clean my poly hives to any great extent ... unless there's disease in the hive (never) or it's got a bit mouldy in storage the bees will sort out most things - cleanest creatures on the planet. Those that do get a clean (I had some from another beekeeper last year) get a blast with Cillit Bang and a hose down - then left to dry, No scrubbing normally required.

Polys in storage and some left out side have gone quite green and black mould in the feeders mainly on older polys.
I have a few with brais comb up in the feeders also so I've cleaned these internally ( main hive body's I don't scrub)
Nowt to do with my bees not being clean!
Do you leave you poly boxes to go green then?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

blue magic no good for sterilisation though - ain't got the right ingredients

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Do you leave you poly boxes to go green then?

mine don't go green - and they're left out all year around

 

[Curly green finger's]

blue magic no good for sterilisation though - ain't got the right ingredients

So what does washing soda?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So what does washing soda?

the conversation was about sterilisation, you need a hypoclorite solution

 

[Curly green finger's]

mine don't go green - and they're left out all year around

Well as always must be a miracle then that yours don't go green.
Wait a minute and your mate will come along with a comment no dowt.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Will I do?
I don’t have anywhere near as many nuc boxes as you, Mark, but the ones I do have are painted and never get mouldy. As for brace comb that gets dealt with straightaway with a quick scrape.

 

[madasafish]

Tested out my steam wax extractor What did you do in the 'workshop' today

after modifying it to seal the roof to box better- using commercial door insulation: the soft rubber tubes used to seal doors. In between shredding a fallen willow's branches, it melted down a total of 12 brood and 9 super frames (all National). All very very old and grubby - just over 1kg of wax which will need further refining. Each batch of 6 frames took approx 30 minutes. to clear. Ideal when it's too cold and dull for my solar extractor. (Steam sealing is key : before I did that it did not work very well.)

Not suitable for commercial use but ideal for a hobbyist.

 

[pargyle]

Polys in storage and some left out side have gone quite green and black mould in the feeders mainly on older polys.
I have a few with brais comb up in the feeders also so I've cleaned these internally ( main hive body's I don't scrub)
Nowt to do with my bees not being clean!
Do you leave you poly boxes to go green then?

Mine don't go green or black, inside or outside - they are stored out of doors .. Mine are Paynes Nucs and I cut the integral feeders out so there's no syrup in the hive body - I feed with a rapid feeder in a Nuc super.

Perhaps yours are going black because there are remains of syrup in there - do you wash the feeders out well before storing ? Sounds a bit like the old adage - a stitch in time saves nine ?

 

[user 20297]

Well as always must be a miracle then that yours don't go green.
Wait a minute and your mate will come along with a comment no dowt.

Mark, you obviously have either a special type of polystyrene or a rare form of green algae, previously unknown to science. I have normal algae growing on the repurposed storage locker from my my motorhome,, which is obviously located next to my beehives. If I had some polystyrene nucs, the algae would obviously know not to shift places and colonise them.

 

[Newbeeneil]

the conversation was about sterilisation, you need a hypoclorite solution

Yes the equipment is some I picked up and am thoroughly sterilising prior to sale in an auction. What is interesting is that the NBU only say the hypochlorite solution is for AFB they seem to recommend Vircon S for EFB.
I'm going to give them all a good bleaching then spray with Vircon S to cover all bases.

 

[Boston Bees]

What is interesting is that the NBU only say the hypochlorite solution is for AFB

My impression is that they don't mean that bleach doesn't work on EFB (I'm pretty sure a strong enough bleach solution kills anything). They mention it working on AFB, and I suspect their implication is that if it works on that, it works on everything else including EFB.

I think their point on Virkon is that it ONLY works on EFB, not AFB. They are warning you not to rely on it alone. Their implication is, I think, that there is no point using Virkon when you can just use bleach and cover all bases at once, hence " Brood boxes, supers and other beekeeping equipment can be effectively sterilised using disinfectants containing hypochlorite." ( National Bee Unit Hive Cleaning and Sterilisation pamphlet)

As such, using both bleach and Virkon feels like serious overkill, which isn't great for your pocket or the environment?

 

[Newbeeneil]

My impression is that they don't mean that bleach doesn't work on EFB (I'm pretty sure a strong enough bleach solution kills anything). They mention it working on AFB, and I suspect their implication is that if it works on that, it works on everything else including EFB.

I think their point on Virkon is that it ONLY works on EFB, not AFB. They are warning you not to rely on it alone. Their implication is, I think, that there is no point using Virkon when you can just use bleach and cover all bases at once, hence " Brood boxes, supers and other beekeeping equipment can be effectively sterilised using disinfectants containing hypochlorite." ( National Bee Unit Hive Cleaning and Sterilisation pamphlet)

As such, using both bleach and Virkon feels like serious overkill, which isn't great for your pocket or the environment?

I am actually on the same page as you on this but it is very "woolly" on the website. I recently emailed the NBU regarding using Vircon S on potential EFB infected equipment and how it should be applied. They didn't know who put the bit about Vircon into the item or how it should be used on boxes. They said they would get back to me but I'm still awaiting a reply.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think their point on Virkon is that it ONLY works on EFB, not AFB.

 

[Antipodes]

Just wondering what folk think about using inspection boards as inner covers for poly nucs? There's space.View attachment 30577

This is what almost everyone here does (those with migratory lids on their hives), me included, but not necessarily with corflute and not an inspection board as we tend not to use mesh floors either. We don't use a crown board with migratory lids and so the lids go straight on top of the box. Looking at the yellow sheet, we have slightly more space at the sides, but that looks fine. The only time the bees will put anything above it is on a good flow when they are totally out of room (too long between inspections).

 

[Curly green finger's]

This is what almost everyone here does (those with migratory lids on their hives), me included, but not necessarily with corflute and not an inspection board as we tend not to use mesh floors either. We don't use a crown board with migratory lids and so the lids go straight on top of the box. Looking at the yellow sheet, we have slightly more space at the sides, but that looks fine. The only time the bees will put anything above it is on a good flow when they are totally out of room (too long between inspections).

Thanks for the comment I will probably just use some dpc polythene or tarp or whatever I can find around the place.
Painting these apidea up and I have set up some individual stands out in a coppice I'll take a few photos when they are in use later in the season here are my apidea

Im using 5 different colours

 

[Curly green finger's]

I think I need to organise this a bit more
All the comb is behind all the new boxes