What type of nuc?

[danro]

Hi all

I currently use Langstroth hives but I'm planning on making some nuc boxes, possible for sale next year..

should I be making National boxes - to appeal to the masses or Langstroth to fit in with my exiting kit?
Would a Langstroth nuc be worth less than a National because of it's less popular size?

Your opinions are greatly received
Danny

 

[Poly Hive]

Langstroth nucs are rare. I would buy yourself some poly nucs for them and enjoy the experience.

I have 6 from Swienty.

Plus another 20 odd Nats from the same vendor.

And am I happy with them? Oh yes.... very much so.

PH

 

[drstitson]

if it were me i'd stick with LS - make some nice 6 frame nucs plus some cheapo 5 frame nat ones. then you can set up your nucs for sale with starter LS frames and remainder national with frame converters. move the national frames over to the nat nucs once colony has got going. Use left over LS frames to start process again or unite to form a couple of full sized LS colonies.

 

[oliver90owner]

I'm with both Poly Hive and drstitson. You can convert or use Langstroth nucs for National frames, but not the other way round!

I have several M*odern Beekping 6 frame Langstroth Jumbo poly nucs, converted for National frames and am very pleased with them. It would not take long to remove the conversion parts to return to Langstroth format, if ever I had the need to do that.

Regards, RAB

 

[drstitson]

anyone ever tried making a half LS: half national dartington type Long hive? just run the colony in the middle and expand in whatever direction you need!

 

[Steve Dyer]

I'm with both Poly Hive and drstitson. You can convert or use Langstroth nucs for National frames, but not the other way round!

I have several M*odern Beekping 6 frame Langstroth Jumbo poly nucs, converted for National frames and am very pleased with them. It would not take long to remove the conversion parts to return to Langstroth format, if ever I had the need to do that.

Regards, RAB

Danny,

Hmm, I don't know if you watch "The Apprentice", but I don't imagine that being in the boardroom explaining to Lord Sugar that you decided your team should use Langstroth equipment when 90% of the market buys National would be a particularly comfortable experience

If you want to be a hobby beekeeper use anything you like. If you want to sell (anything!) long-term in the market place then study the market, find the demand, do the sums and buy the kit that achieves your target profitability. The tenets of business are not altered by bees or beekeepers!

Steve

 

[sandysman]

Poly nuc

At our local bee keeping meeting on Tuesday several people were singing the praises of a six frame National polystyrene nuc. You can buy them from Paynes or from the Honey Pot at Markeaton Park Craft Village Derby.(Tel 0133220893 mob 07703 711009) They have a mesh floor and an integral feeder. I know the Honey Pot sell pieces of queen excluder for .50p to fit in the hive and floats for the feeder for a similar price. The only negative comment mentioned was that they do need Vaseline applying on them as the bees like to stick the roof to the body. One guy was saying how well he had done over the winter by using them. I think we are going to buy one this weekend. Costs around £27.00.
Hope this is helpful.

Hi all

I currently use Langstroth hives but I'm planning on making some nuc boxes, possible for sale next year..

should I be making National boxes - to appeal to the masses or Langstroth to fit in with my exiting kit?
Would a Langstroth nuc be worth less than a National because of it's less popular size?

Your opinions are greatly received
Danny

 

[danro]

Danny,

Hmm, I don't know if you watch "The Apprentice", but I don't imagine that being in the boardroom explaining to Lord Sugar that you decided your team should use Langstroth equipment when 90% of the market buys National would be a particularly comfortable experience

If you want to be a hobby beekeeper use anything you like. If you want to sell (anything!) long-term in the market place then study the market, find the demand, do the sums and buy the kit that achieves your target profitability. The tenets of business are not altered by bees or beekeepers!

Steve

Steve
Nice reply... I know... I'm fired!

But m'Lord, all the kit I'm using at the mo was given to one of the 3 people in our "little bee syndicate" so has cost us nowt and allowed us to get started.

I'm particularly handy with wood etc so planned on making some more kit.
It then occurred to me a Langstroth Nuc may be less desirable than a National.

However, If I were to do as suggested by drstitson and RAB I get the best of both worlds!

Thanks everyone! A cracking solution..

Danny

 

[harveyzone]

At our local bee keeping meeting on Tuesday several people were singing the praises of a six frame National polystyrene nuc. You can buy them from Paynes or from the Honey Pot at Markeaton Park Craft Village Derby.(Tel 0133220893 mob 07703 711009) They have a mesh floor and an integral feeder.

I was tempted with these, but I am a little put off by the way the feeder works on the 14x12 version. There seems to be no way of inserting or removing a door to block access to the feeder without taking the eke off, and presumably you cannot fill it above the join either.

 

[Poly Hive]

Forget Sugar... what does he know about beekeeping?

Langstroth have a fair following (rightly so) in the UK and whilst Nat nucs are relatively easy to source finding Lang is not so easy so there is a market, or so I firmly believe which is why I invested in my Langstroth nucs.

I might add that I had my arm off at the shoulder when I mentioned this earlier in the year and the two I had ready were snapped up.

PH

 

[Hivemaker.]

One guy was saying how well he had done over the winter by using them. I think we are going to buy one this weekend. Costs around £27.00.
Hope this is helpful.

Who was selling these early enough to be able to use them over the last winter?

 

[drstitson]

just what i was thinking - the wpf/paynes ones only appeared late spring. must be some confusion re the 3 in 1 nucs.

re the original question - also nothing to stop you keeping your LS setup, raising queens in a bank of mini nucs and then adding these to nat nucs made up of bees shaken from your hives. once all ok, frames drawn and brood present - voila.

 

[Steve Dyer]

Forget Sugar... what does he know about beekeeping?

Langstroth have a fair following (rightly so) in the UK and whilst Nat nucs are relatively easy to source finding Lang is not so easy so there is a market, or so I firmly believe which is why I invested in my Langstroth nucs.

PH

My point was that if you want to run a business apply business metrics. If the market you decide to attack is a Langstroth market then use Langstroth stuff, If it's a National market use National stuff. There might even be a business reason to use Langstroth stuff for a National market, but it doesn't on the face of it seem a sensible option.

Lord Sugar, I expect, knows nothing about beekeeping, he's a businessman, and it was a business question.

Steve

 

[Hivemaker.]

should I be making National boxes - to appeal to the masses or Langstroth to fit in with my exiting kit?
Would a Langstroth nuc be worth less than a National because of it's less popular size?

Best option is to do both, and price will be whatever you make it.
I use my tried and tested 9mm plywood nuc box's for overwintering with very rarely any losses at all.

 

[Poly Hive]

No need to belabour matters Steve we all know what this issue is/was.

back to the bees.... I needed to move a queen out of Lang to Nat this week, or rather the move will be next week as I shook a substantial amount of bees out of the Lang into the Nat nuc and they will be settled down for the unite next week.

There is flexibility in the system if you but have a think about it.

One aspect that has been over looked in the poly nuc situation is having detachable floors which makes for even greater flexibility. I may run a couple through the saw yet.

PH

 

[drstitson]

PH - i know you don't like the design of the MB polys but the detachable floor is one advantage!

 

[Alabamaeee]

PH.

As you have a good knowledge of poly hives I wondered if the following is possible.

Convert an LS poly nuc to use commercial frames?

The reason is I am thinking about overwintering a new mated queen in a nuc, and next year either hiving into a commercial BB or a 14 X 12 Nat poly hive.

As I have only commercial hives I need to make up a nuc from them.
Poly hives are attractive for their weight and overwintering properties, but I don't see any commercial BB's any time soon

My long term plan is (I think) to move away from commercial, and use poly 14 X 12 Nats if I can't get poly commercial BB's.

Hope that all makes sense

 

[drstitson]

"Convert an LS poly nuc to use commercial frames?"

it is possible - just modify what Rab did with his MB ones. OR make up your own frame converters like MB sell but with narrower side pieces.

 

[sandysman]

The ones we saw were both with and without the eke. A small piece of excluder fits at the side of the integral feeder to prevent the queen going in. One of the guys used it without placing the excluder on and without syrup. The result was that they built comb inside the feeder area and the queen did lay in it. Not seen it being used with an independent feeder and an eke though.

 

[sandysman]

Not sure of the answer to that as our nearest supplier, "The Honey Pot" has only just started to sell them I think.