Hive straps, am I missing something?

[madasafish]

Thanks, looks like a few options then including the Thornes sale and Spanset (I've found the lightweight straps in one of their catalogues but It would have to be an association purchase as I'll never use 40!).

I've had a couple of hive stands sink and tilt in the soft fen soil so I hadn't considered extra weights - maybe if I redesign the hive stands ......

Slates are good.

[The Drone Ranger]

Lidl or Aldi get them in a few times a year in packs of 4 or 5
Wmfd if you cut a ply sheet into 4" squares and put them under the legs of your hive stand they won't sink in

Sent from my LIFETAB_S1034X using Tapatalk

[Wmfd]

Thanks, are the Lidl and Aldi ones better than the cheap Chinese versions? It's hard to tell what is going to last.

Surface area seems to be the thing - I'll look through the scrap wood pile and also a pile of tiles I have behind the garage. Either route should also make the stands last longer.

[prakel]

Another alternative (if, for the time being, it's only a handful of hives) would be to look at the various metal hive clips which permanently fasten to the boxes. There are various types such as the old lock-slides -which I'm sure could be sourced with a little effort far cheaper than Thorne's do them. Then there are the various wire spring type versions.

It might also require a method of securing the floor to the stand and also the use of a reasonably deep roof (but nothing as deep as the nine inch ones which came to us from a certain Wiltshire bee farmer when he was considering downsizing in his early eighties!).

No useful experience of any of them but I'm sure that they'd do the same job well enough.

[mbc]

I'm? I'm what? ... can someone check that mbc hasn't been wrenched from the keyboard by that mighty wind ... ?

Ah sorry. I was tapping at my phone with fat fingers while balancing a cup of hot coffee. I'm pleased to report I got round over two dozen sites with no further mishaps. I slept much better that night than the previous one.

A good option for nuc straps are mann lake's ones at about 50p a pop, I've got one for most of my paynes nucs now.

http://www.mannlake.co.uk/beekeeping...ct/NB-400.html

[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks, are the Lidl and Aldi ones better than the cheap Chinese versions? It's hard to tell what is going to last.

They are usually £9.99 for 4 very long strong ratchet straps
I got stuck with the tractor in mud and used a ratchet strap on each rear wheel to secure a plank to them and drove out ok

[gavin]

The only ones I've had trouble with were the cheapo yellow light Thornes ones (rotted in the sunshine) and a B&Q one with black-painted ratchet (it rusted solid in about 2 years). All the orange strapped ones have been fine, and some were cheap-ish Chinese types. Some bought in Lidl for £2.50 a couple of years ago were fine.

Great suggestion for cheap Paynes nuc (and MiniPlus) straps, thanks mbc.

[madasafish]

I have also bought Aldi ones - 4 for £9.99. Still in use after two years in sun - no degradation seen.. (but not much sun in 2015 here!)

[SDM]

Thanks, are the Lidl and Aldi ones better than the cheap Chinese versions? It's hard to tell what is going to last.

Surface area seems to be the thing - I'll look through the scrap wood pile and also a pile of tiles I have behind the garage. Either route should also make the stands last longer.

I wrapped the feet of my stands in roof flashing. It won't stop them sinking but it'll stop them rotting from the foot up. Dip in bitcbumen and wrap.

[madasafish]

I wrapped the feet of my stands in roof flashing. It won't stop them sinking but it'll stop them rotting from the foot up. Dip in bitcbumen and wrap.

I place my newly built stand legs in small plastic bowls and add Creosote substitute and old oil. Leave to soak for a week.
Then remove bowl and leave to stand on old newspaper for two weeks..so the surplus drains away.