That's what I wanted to do, but the new design is so full of flaws that I'm not sure what to do now - but it seems that you're happy with them.Originally Posted by Poly Hive
Kitta
That's what I wanted to do, but the new design is so full of flaws that I'm not sure what to do now - but it seems that you're happy with them.
Kitta
Me too Kitta. Too many disadvantages to the Swienty and the Paynes although admittedly fewer with the former. Not seeing how much I'm gaining by body swerving cedar but as it is and for the forseeable future I'll be having a mix of all three.
I bought 15 of the old style Swienty brood boxes from C Wynne Jones in November so I will report back on those when I have them in use.
Sorry for the delay Kitta but what "flaws" are you referring to please? If it is the ten frames thing well some claim to get 11 in but tbh I run double broods so it makes no odds to me.
On another point, say a roof costs £10? How much ply can you buy for that? I have a local timber merchant and he sells off odd bits for £2 or £3 k? My saw at the moment cost £100 and works to a point. My good one is in storage but seesh I miss it. So my timber roofs fit my polys and have deep sides and at leat 2" of insulation. That works nicely. I would suggest coating with a fibreglass resin mix....
PH
No, not the ten-frame thing, PH - that doesn't bother me at all. I just meant flaws with the new design.
The old design had only two flaws: no lug raise, and no varroa tray. (On an association visit to MM's heather apairies I could see that those two points do not bother him - but they bothered me.)
First the new boxes: They added lug rests, but they're so high that the frames' lugs touch the box above them, and the bees then propolise the frames tightly to the box above. It gave me quite a shock the first time I lifted a box and all the frames from below lifted with the box. The bees were very annoyed as well. Smearing the box sides and frame lugs with Vaseline does not help much either.
They've now discontinued the roof because it was really ridiculous. It had a tiny little lip - no overhang as in the previous design. The hives they now sell are an aesthetic mismatch with new boxes and floor, but the old roof - but that does not affect management, of course.
The floor: They've added varroa trays but I find them difficult to insert or pull out. They're very, very tight-fitting. I'm not keen on the entrance either. The floor slopes up towards the entrance so that the box creates a kind of canopy above the bees entering the hive. I find that kind of entrance difficult to close up with foam or sponges for moving. The old floor and entrance was so much easier (apart from not having a varroa tray).
Of all my quibbles, it's the lug-rest issue that bothers me most. If I buy another hive, then I might remove them altogether, or try to lower them somehow.
Kitta
Last edited by Mellifera Crofter; 06-01-2015 at 04:48 PM.
Interesting. I haven't found the spacing to be out? The hive is bottom bee space so there should'nt be an issue. I started bees with a BBS National and when I met in with poly Lang two years later it was a revelation. I changed all my kit to TBS and never looked back as it is much faster to work. Now I am stuffed with BBS and detest it but that's the way they are made and as I sell bees I am pretty much forced to use Nationals.My honest preference is for Poly Lang. Nor do varroa trays. If I want to do a check I put a plywood sheet under the floor. I haven't done that for some years as I routinely check my drone brood. I haven't seen a mite for some 6 years now since I began using Oxalic, which was applied this year a few days ago in the hard frost we had.
I noted somewhere on this thread the old disease chestnut. The answer is here, 11 up from the bottom of the pdf list. http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?pageid=167
PH
Are you using the new Swienties, PH? I've attached photos I used on the other forum. Left is the new design, on the right is the old design. You can see that in the new design, with the lug rests in place, the frames are level with the rim, and as there is no lug recess in the box above, they get propolised to the box above. That does not happen with the old design (but there aren't any raised lug rests either). (The grey stuff in the photo of the old design (on the right) is my wool insulation in an eke in use - I did not have a free box available to photograph.)
Kitta
Swienty, new design.jpg Swienty, old design.jpg
Hi Kitta
Thanks for the pictures. I have used the local association's old design Swienty Poly Nationals (and a couple of Smiths, which are different of course) for a few years now. The frames in the Nationals are completely flush with the top edge of the box as far as I recall, and I have also had that issue with two brood boxes being glued together rather effectively around the frame lugs when there are no intervening boards to give a gap. They do indeed have no space under the box to give a gap above the frame lugs. But your picture is very clear so I don't understand why your box is like that and perhaps I had best go and have another look!
G.
Yes, please, Gavin. That will be interesting. Perhaps somebody has improvised a raised lug rest on your association old-style Swienties - or are you the only one in charge?
Kitta
MC, are these Swienty (new and old) bottom bee space?
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