Poly hive musings.

[steve]

The Swienty Nats are *sadly* bottom bee space. I run them with a plywood crown board with the obvious beespace in it and the roof over that. It's pretty simple really. Not down to Swienty to do that. They just sell the poly.

PH

Do you run any on double brood? That's when the poor design becomes very apparent. I can only assume their supers will also feature the poor design. removing the frame rails gives a TBS option but back to issues like trying to avoid squashing bees under the lugs.

[Kate Atchley]

I run some of mine on double nucs. They work fine and the bees don't seem to propolise the lugs between the brood boxes, so they lift apart easily enough ... but I think my bees collect less propolis than some.

[Mellifera Crofter]

The Swienty Nats are *sadly* bottom bee space. I run them with a plywood crown board with the obvious beespace in it and the roof over that. It's pretty simple really. Not down to Swienty to do that. They just sell the poly.

Yes, I think it is, PH - like in wooden hives where a bee space is included in the walls above the lugs. The old design was ok as far as that was concerned. The lugs lay a bit lower in the box.

I run some of mine on double nucs. They work fine and the bees don't seem to propolise the lugs between the brood boxes, so they lift apart easily enough ... but I think my bees collect less propolis than some.

Oh, Kate, mine had been stuck so tight I couldn't even twist them apart. I had to one by one prize the frames lose from the box above (with a lot of angry bees swirling about). And that happened between two inspections - so, about seven days. I've sliced the lug risers by a couple of millimetres, so they're ok now. (I'm a lug slicer, aren't I.)

Ktta

[Kate Atchley]

Ouch! No wonder you are such an adept lug slicer!! Does it depend when you bought the Swientys I wonder? Mine were bought in 2015 and 2016 from C Wynne Jones.

[Poly Hive]

Virtually all my colonies are on double brood but I don't use the rails, never have.

PH

[Mellifera Crofter]

Ouch! No wonder you are such an adept lug slicer!! Does it depend when you bought the Swientys I wonder? Mine were bought in 2015 and 2016 from C Wynne Jones.

Yes, I think you'd have bought one of the new style Swienties, Kate. If they came with plastic lug risers, then they're the new-style Swienties.
K

[Jon]

I love the Paynes nucs and find the internal feeder really useful. The thin top is the greatest weakness but that's not the end of the world either.

[Poly Hive]

There is actually a very simple way to sort out any bee space issues. B&Q for instance stock a range of mouldings. One of them is a flat 8mm x 25mm from memory. Screwed on top of the brood it makes it top bee space. A trim round the bottom of 8mm and bobs the proverbial.

PH

[Mellifera Crofter]

And with that fix, PH, you lose some of the value of having a poly hive - don't you?

Kitta

[Poly Hive]

Umm no. I really don't think that adding 8mm of wood will make much of a difference if any at all.

PH