Wiring Langstroth Frame

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ENZO

House Bee
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Messages
139
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Location
Jersey C.I.
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
16
Hello Everyone,
I hope someone could offer me advise, I am in the process if wiring some Langstroth Frames, I have got the eyelets but the frames I got from Thornes have sidebars that are not drilled, Is this normal? it's no problem to drill the side bars but how many horizontal wires do you run on a standard deep langstroth frame?

Nobody over here uses Langstroth's so I have nothing to compare with, in my books, all I see are wired foundation not frames.

Many Thanks, Enzo
 
Hi

Yes this is a problem, I have taken to getting my frames overseas.

I am running mediums so It's just 2 holes each side. I have seen the same set up on full sized lang frames.

I have tried 4 holes on full size lang when I used to have them, but this may be over kill.

Hope this helps.
 
My Langstroth deeps are a mix of 3 and 4 wires. In some parts of the world it's common to extract from deeps so perhaps that's why 4 wires are used for extra strength?
 
All we use are Langstroth deeps. We wire them with one wire at the top and one at the bottom and the third going down the middle on the opposite side. These hold up to extracting.
 
Two horizontal wires is sufficent for both shallow and deep frames if the top and bottom bars have a deep groove. Frames like this thus give four points of support for the foundation, top, two middle wires and then at the bottom.

If the frames do not have grooves you will get away with it for shallow frames although the foundation will not be held very securely. For deep frames I would recommend four horizontal wires.

If you use an odd number of wires and want to heat the wire electrically the ends of the wires you need to connect to will be at opposite ends of the frame and this makes it awkward. It is much easier if the terminals are both on the same side.

The alternative to horizontal wires are vertical wires. For this you need one piece bottom bars and the advanatage is the wires are shorter and therefore more tolerant of being a bit slack.
 
.
When you wire langstroth, give a 10 mm high gap between lower frame bar.

If the foundation is fills the frame, it will swell in warm hive and the lower part of comb will make a wave.

You just cut with carpet knife the heap of foundations.

If I ask foundation seller to make me such wax sheets, he cuts them in my size.
 
Another thing is that leave a 2 inch gap in 2 brood foundations.
Bees can make drones there. If they have not proper place they howeven put drone cells here and there. That makes a little bit harm when I lift frames upp.

That drone gap helps a lot to keep combs in order.


If you have something wrong in the comb, you may take a piece off and repair the site with piece of foundation.
 
Use a thick wire. A thin wire splits the wood easier and you must use eylets.
with thick wire eylets are not needed.
 
I wired my Lang deeps with eyelets and four horizontal runs of wire, plus used pre wired foundation, so yes belts and braces but then they stood up to Heather needling and extracting.

PH
 
very informative, wiring frames is just not explained enough in books and without this information I am sure a lot of mishaps would have been made in the learning process.

Thank you to everyone, Enzo.
 
Nice link Plumber.

Never seen narrow crown staples used before - 2 on top ?
 

A stylish system but very unpractical

When you put vertical nails in frame and nails take later rost, they loosen. When I transport full honey frames the nails loosen and the frame became higher. --- Or I lift honey box which is clued with burr.

The frame must be nailed through upright frame shoulders.
Eylets are not needed.

A cheap electrict nailer is handy.

.
 
Clue + nail

Polyurethane clue is good to put sticks together. It makes foam and hardens in 10 minutes.

- Take a punch of vertical frame to your twist. Put clue in several sticks inside shoulders. Put sticks together. They will be in right angle if parts are good.

When clue is hardener hit nails through shoulders and add 2 nails where you fasten the wire.

Well done frames last over 20 years. Cut old combs off and clean frame wood.
 
I'm impressed with the acreage of floor space that he seems to have available.

I don't understand why there are four contacts on his electric stick. I would have expected two, and personally touched the contacts outboard of the frame rather than on the wax.

A stop bar one end of the frame and an off centre lever cam at the other might be a faster way of flexing a deep frame sidebar to improve the wire tension.

On National supers with only two wires, I improve the tension of the wire at the point of embedding by twisting, with long nosed pliers, the wire that runs along the sidebar. It expands during embedding and I take up that slack with a resulting good tension as the wire cools and contracts.

If you crimp a cold wire it will take out the slack, but it won't put any tension into the wire that a good tug with a pair of pliers might not have done in the first place.
 
.
When you put the foundation air temperature should be 24C. Then foundation is soft and it freely lays on wires. The more wires the more difficulties to get them embedded into wax. 2 wires are easy in this meaning.
 
A stop bar one end of the frame and an off centre lever cam at the other might be a faster way of flexing a deep frame sidebar to improve the wire tension.

Cheers guys,

Any of that eccentric/off center lever arrangements were not working for me - just found it easiest with the sash clamps :)

Rob
 

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