Which poly nuc?

[Cuckmere couple]

Maisemores for me...no problems with them at all,....dont like the Paynes side feeder

 

[Repwoc]

Maisemore polys for me, one thing though which bugs me frames getting braised to the thin roofs.
I'll let you know about the newer ones in due course!

The new Maisie roofs have a largeish space 4.5 cm deep supposedly to allow fondant to be placed onto the frame top bars. This does stop bees getting squashed but looks like a good place for the bees to build wild comb. The feeder is just the same though, ie almost no space above the frames so the bees 'braze' them together.

 

[pargyle]

Abelo

Maisemore and BS also excellent. Could put my finger through the roof of a Paynes.

Not the Paynes nucs I have - but I add one of their supers/ekes on top and I put a slab of kingspan in there. I've never had one of the roofs blow off and I don't need to put a brick on them.

 

[pargyle]

Looking to add some more kit to the arsenal. What's the go to national poly nuc and which to avoid. Looking at maismore on STB, any good? Thanks in advance

See ... what did I tell you ? Bag of worms - the best you can do is either wait until the shows start again and go and have a look or choose one and see if you like it. As long as you are not buying a whole slew of them whatever you buy can be used - or relegated to a bait box.

 

[CaptainCymru]

Wouldnt recommend paradise honey , major design flaw is the locking lip between boxes, you cant clear the bees off it properly so end up crushing alot of them.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

We've 70 Maisemore, 74 BS and 23 Park nuc box's.

By far the best for overwintering nucs is the Park, by being a less dense material they have a higher insulation factor, ive never lost a colony through a winter in one ( 9 years)
Maisemore are good, especially with the deep roof.
Overall though its the BS that gets my vote, there's so many good points that outweigh the odd bad one.

We sold hundred & fifty through our shop since February, compared to seventy two Maisemore which must show a lot of others thinking the same.

 

[GuyNir]

The new Maisie roofs have a largeish space 4.5 cm deep supposedly to allow fondant to be placed onto the frame top bars. This does stop bees getting squashed but looks like a good place for the bees to build wild comb. The feeder is just the same though, ie almost no space above the frames so the bees 'braze' them together.

View attachment 26152

The deep roof should be used with a CB. I use the deep ones only during winter, on top of a home made clear CB.

 

[GuyNir]

Maisemore for me. Really like all the extensions (brood and supers), feeder and detached floor option.

 

[ericbeaumont]

As long as you are not buying a whole slew of them whatever you buy can be used

Yes, play with a few before buying, because commonality of kit leads to clear thinking and working. I've decided to run the Park at two apiaries and the BS at all others.

Cost and availability is fluid: buy BS by the pallet (perhaps through your BKA) and save a few quid; maybe Maisemore and Abelo offer similar discount. Keep an eye on winter sales.

Supply can be variable as boxes need to be cured for six weeks before sale and as I recall, there's only one UK factory that makes them. Currently BS are on back order for June delivery, so buy now. Better still, do it in the winter: at our BKA we had a pallet in late 2020 and the last box was sold recently.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Cost and availability is fluid: buy BS by the pallet (perhaps through your BKA) and save a few quid; maybe Maisemore and Abelo offer similar discount.

Maisemores used to offer a 10% discount if you bought ten or more nucs

 

[ericbeaumont]

ie almost no space above the frames

no bee space (there is only half) between top bars and roof

Reason? None, I imagine, and even less thinking done at the drawing-board stage.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Reason? None, I imagine, and even less thinking done at the drawing-board stage.

Maybe it't the ones who criticise it who haven't done much thinking.
I honestly don't know why people get their knickers in a twist about it - it's a non issue and the boxes work fine, I bet if they had a full beespace the gap would get so braced up with wax you'd never get the lids off. I've had nucs sat there with a colony in from September through until April the following year and the lids come off with little hassle.

 

[Swn58]

We sold hundred & fifty

Now wonder I couldn't buy twenty BS nucs in April!

 

[GuyNir]

Maybe it't the ones who criticise it who haven't done much thinking.
I honestly don't know why people get their knickers in a twist about it - it's a non issue and the boxes work fine, I bet if they had a full beespace the gap would get so braced up with wax you'd never get the lids off. I've had nucs sat there with a colony in from September through until April the following year and the lids come off with little hassle.

Non issue here either.

 

[Boston Bees]

Non issue here either.

Good to hear. But the fact remains that if there are any bees sitting on the top bars when you put a Maisemore nuc feeder on, they will be squashed. Simple physics, the gap is 1 or 2mm, bees are more than this, and I've seen the corpses to prove it. Not great design.

Yes, you can smoke them, put the feeder on gently, etc, but why should we need to when another 3mm of depth on the lip would have sorted it. A shame in what is otherwise an excellent nuc.

However, it's easy to fix. What I sometimes do is put a little screw up into each corner of the feeder lip, sticking out by 2/3mm or so. It keeps the feeder up off the top bars, without compromising the airtight nature much if at all (I don't leave feeders on except when actually feeding, which I don't do much anyway, so there isn't a ventilation concern here). Job done.

Another option which avoids having to lift the feeder up is to use a perspex sheet with a hole in. which I use a lot for fondant feeding anyway - the sheet keeps them off the top bars, and the hole allows them up to the feeder.

 

[user 20297]

Good to hear. But the fact remains that if there are any bees sitting on the top bars when you put a Maisemore nuc feeder on, they will be squashed.

People are very defensive with criticism of equipment when it's something they like or are committed to. (I'm like that with Abelo equipment). You're resourceful in making these things work for you, but they should fulfill basic functions as designed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Good to hear. But the fact remains that if there are any bees sitting on the top bars when you put a Maisemore nuc feeder on, they will be squashed.

Hogwash

 

[Repwoc]

Hogwash

You clearly have much slimmer bees than us then. I have to smoke them down before fitting the (old style) roof or feeder and even then a few wander back up and get squashed.

 

[Bazzer]

Good to hear. But the fact remains that if there are any bees sitting on the top bars when you put a Maisemore nuc feeder on, they will be squashed. Simple physics, the gap is 1 or 2mm, bees are more than this, and I've seen the corpses to prove it. Not great design.

Yes, you can smoke them, put the feeder on gently, etc, but why should we need to when another 3mm of depth on the lip would have sorted it. A shame in what is otherwise an excellent nuc.

However, it's easy to fix. What I sometimes do is put a little screw up into each corner of the feeder lip, sticking out by 2/3mm or so. It keeps the feeder up off the top bars, without compromising the airtight nature much if at all (I don't leave feeders on except when actually feeding, which I don't do much anyway, so there isn't a ventilation concern here). Job done.

Another option which avoids having to lift the feeder up is to use a perspex sheet with a hole in. which I use a lot for fondant feeding anyway - the sheet keeps them off the top bars, and the hole allows them up to the feeder.

I use Maisemore brood extenders on the BS nucs - easy to shave off 3mm from the top-bar lips - sharp box knife and a wooden flat as a guide. Do it more to reduce space at bottom than top but it does mean less problems replacing the feeder etc

 

[oxnatbees]

Yes they can be you have to inspect daily but I have an apiary on my door step, they will swarm off in days but at this time of the year I need queens fast. They requeen when you take one so its a constant supply

Do you requeen the swarm, the left-behind bees, or both?