Poly hive musings.

[Kate Atchley]

I've worked with Paynes nucs, Thornes' Everynuc, Thornes' Stehr nucs and most recently Maismore nucs ... all polystyrene. The Maismore ones have lug supports and bee space and look more or less identical to the new one Prakel was telling us about, aside from it being able to be split into 2 x 3-frames. I like them. Squashing of bees can be avoided.

Paynes' built-in feeders are a pain ('scuse the pun!).

I have top feeders for all nucs now and prefer those, such as Maismore, with two troughs around a covered central slot for bees to come up to feed. I drill one side with several holes about 15mm circumference, as near the centre as possible, so I can place fondant over the brood nest in winter, if necessary. This works very well, the plastic covering of the fondant helping to prevent cooling of air rising from the bees below.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... The Maismore ones have lug supports and bee space and look more or less identical to the new one Prakel was telling us about ....

They look almost alike, Kate, but the Maisiemore ones do not have a bee space above the top bars. I sliced off the lug rises in order to create sufficient space even though I don't like not having them, but I thought that's preferable to putting the roof or feeder down on top of the top bars and squashing bees that I can't see.

I've copied the two images below from their websites. The Maisiemore photo isn't very clear, but you can still see the difference. I think there's only a tiny gap above the top bars in the Maisiemore. I don't think it's not enough.

Kitta

HB nuc.jpg Paynes.jpg

[Kate Atchley]

Umm ... had another look Kitta and I see what you mean.

I invariably run the Maismore nucs with a top feeder and perhaps that allows a little more bee space than with the plastic cover board, though it is not much. Either way, the bees seem to get out of the way fairly effectively if I don't rush.

[Mellifera Crofter]

...Either way, the bees seem to get out of the way fairly effectively if I don't rush.

Yes, I suppose so, Kate - but it bothered me enough to slice off the lug risers! And Maisiemore aren't the only ones. It's the same with the otherwise wonderful Everynuc. I don't understand why the bee space above the top bars is being ignored. Could there be a reason. or was it just sloppy design?
Kitta

[Kate Atchley]

I don't understand why the bee space above the top bars is being ignored. Could there be a reason. or was it just sloppy design?
Kitta

I wonder if the folk who design them assume we won't use cover boards? But if you don't use one the roof gets proposed and becomes a sticky mess. So poor design I guess.

[Poly Hive]

I am beginning to think it is a way round patent law. Why else ignore the good stuff already designed in for bad stuff designed in? So the madness must be driven by £'s. Either that or they are all mad??

Had a long conversation tonight with one of the few proper Be Farmers (as in makes his living purely from bees) and he said forthrightly that given the chance to start over he would go Swienty poly.

PH

[fatshark]

I am beginning to think it is a way round patent law. Why else ignore the good stuff already designed in for bad stuff designed in?

Are we drifting off-topic and now discussing Api-Bioxal?

[Mellifera Crofter]

...
Had a long conversation tonight with one of the few proper Be Farmers (as in makes his living purely from bees) and he said forthrightly that given the chance to start over he would go Swienty poly.

PH

Nationals of Langstroths? I don't know about the Swienty Langstroths, but their Nationals have been botched up with the same sloppy design issue of lack of bee space above the top bars. There's no space between the top bars and the walls above them, or between the to top bars and the roof.
Kitta

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Kate Atchley]

... and I wish Swienty produced a cover board in poly, with bee space of course ... and a deeper-sided roof. The hives are good but damp can find its way in if you use a conventional cover board in the winter (or summer!) gales.

[Poly Hive]

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