I think I've seen a National conversion of one of these ... with an integral feeder at the end perhaps? Presumably the other forum, possibly by Polyhive?
Painting these sculpted boxes is a real pain ... the "HVLP spray turbine system" (damn that sounds impressive) is undoubtedly the way to go.
MB do a divider for these to make a double three frame nuc. These might be well enough insulated to get one through the winter
Yeah Gavin - you can probably tell from my recent postings how keen I am on the commercial operations at this moment in time!
Fatshark - I think I'll try to mod them without an internal feeder to be honest. Just about to cut all of the built in feeders out of my Paynes nucs so don't want to go down that road again. I wonder if I'll have to make my own divider as I think I'll be filling the space with wood/ply where the slot for the divider is placed.
HVLP stuff bought to spray Nitrocellulose lacquer if that gives anyone a clue.
Here is the link ... not an MB nuc after all.
Mind your fingers butchering those Paynes boxes. I did all mine using a Stanley knife, a bread knife, some sort of broken off thin saw blade I found in the bottom of the tool chest, about 230ml of blood and some foul language. But they're much better for it.
Brilliant! I knew PH would be the one to have done this!
Made a start on one of them tonight before the midgies chased me inside. Managed to saw down flush with the two ends - just have to get rid of the material in the middle now and make a wooden filler for the gap in the frame rest area
Anyone ever tried a hot wire to slice through polystyrene of Paynes density? I could imagine a mini-cheese slice thing on a long handle with a car battery and leads warming it up, the one you thought about using for oxalic but thought better of it. And yes, I know .... wire cheese slicer .... how very Dundee!
(Cue that sketch with the waggly fingers under the chin ....... )
I cut a large slice off the removed feeder wall and glued that in the gap in the frame rest area - waste not want not. Also easy to sand or cut back to leave it flush. If you use Megagrip or similar glue it fills some of the inevitable small gaps.Originally Posted by drumgerry
Pleased to see you still have sufficient fingers to type ...
One hopes the magnanimity of contributors will extend to condoning my asking (again), why it is deemed necessary to remove the integral feeder. Is it possible to sell the salvaged material at a profit ?Being impoverished that would be quite attactive - I'd buy a dozen or more.
Last edited by Dark Bee; 13-06-2013 at 08:55 AM.
Why? Dead bees Dark Bee that's why!
Poly hive musings.
I'm bound to lose more than fatshark's 200-odd ml of blood and maybe a finger or three, so am quite likely to persist with them as they are.
The current model comes with not just the QX but a piece of plastic to shut off the feeder if required. Which I'll lose of course. I added sand to the paint for the feeder walls, and have decided that to be bee safe the feeder needs liquid, not fondant, and a good covering of polystyrene scraps. Keep the fondant for overhead feeding with an eke, bought or bodged.
Brace comb in the feeder has happened but not often - had about 10 of these in operation at one time but I suppose the conditions have been poor for the bees and in a good year it may be more of a problem. Unless you seal off the feeder before it happens.
At the moment we have spare full boxes (though they are filling fast) so the policy of moving colonies up to full boxes (Swienty for the association ones) when they're on 6 frames suits me.
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I'm looking forward to receiving my first 3 Paynes polynucs soon so finding this discussion very useful! Hope they turn up today as I've 2 nucs to go to Lismore on Tuesday which are currently in full size boxes with dummies!
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