I was an early experimenter with poly hives. The Paynes one can sit on a National floor but in order to use a National roof you need to put a wooden super on the top first. I have sold my Paynes hive now. Good design in some parts, poor in others (too soft, no handles, that HUGE floor). My MB / Paradise hive is now only used as an overwintering hive. I have two brood boxes and when used separately one fits on a National floor with a WBC eke in between (!) I have made a plywood crown board with ahole so I can use a feeder. (Not particularly inventive but the manufacturers failed to supply one!). I have a slightly over-sized ply and celotex roof that works on a wooden National too. The bee-slaughter strip for the top bars to fit on is simply stupid I assume that it was actually designed for this hive ? and there are bee space issues with the design. I will probably flog mine at some point. I am not doing a very good selling job for it am I?
I am wary of spending money on more polyhives unless I can see them for myself first so apart from the initial purchases I have spent nothing more on the poly's. (And I don't like the floppy plastic crown boards. They are not good to clean and as they flop onto the top bars it means that there is no bee space (propolis ahoy!).
At the association auction this year an Abello hive didn't even get a bid!
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