See-through covers

I have seen a few comments about these cover boards, and quite enjoy being able to see what the bees get up to without disturbing them. The ones that come with the hives are flimsy though.

Does anybody know where I can buy some? I know it's readily available in custom dimensions and various thicknesses , but would preferably want ones with a bit of bee space built in as almost all my hives have the top bars flush with the top of the box.

Why not make your own. You can buy polycarbonate cut to size; there are varying thicknesses and lots of cheapish sources on the internet. Then add a frame of strip wood. PC is ok to drill and screw through.

Most of the companies selling hives and hive parts sell glass or polycarbonate crown boards (they call them "quilts").

Erichalfbee said:

Why not make your own. You can buy polycarbonate cut to size; there are varying thicknesses and lots of cheapish sources on the internet. Then add a frame of strip wood. PC is ok to drill and screw through.

Click to expand...

Thanks, will try to get it done! Was just trying to save a bit of time. Bees all summer, rugby all winter, with a bit of an overlap every season. Work and family in between........no wonder retired people say they don't know how they ever had time for work.

Suppose the upside is they are built like you want them.

The cheapest i found was from a guy on ebay, they are not too bad quality, i've bought 4 of them up to now. You can find it by typing in

NATIONAL BEEHIVE BEEKEEPING GLASS CROWN BOARD

It is polycarbonate not glass though.

Roola said:

The cheapest i found was from a guy on ebay, they are not too bad quality, i've bought 4 of them up to now. You can find it by typing in

NATIONAL BEEHIVE BEEKEEPING GLASS CROWN BOARD

It is polycarbonate not glass though.

Click to expand...

Cheers, have been in touch with the guy to see if he could do Langstroth ones.

Bosleeu said:

I have seen a few comments about these cover boards, and quite enjoy being able to see what the bees get up to without disturbing them. The ones that come with the hives are flimsy though.

Does anybody know where I can buy some? I know it's readily available in custom dimensions and various thicknesses , but would preferably want ones with a bit of bee space built in as almost all my hives have the top bars flush with the top of the box.

Click to expand...

Most suppliers offer them at about £18 (national).

The phrase "almost all" your hives and bars flush with the sides makes me wonder about your awareness of top and bottom beespace.
Standard National is flush top (bottom beespace), Langstroth isn't.
For a top beespace hive, a flat unframed sheet suffices.

I have made up some from 4mm polycarbonate twinwall sheeting with a 10x18mm stripwood frame for my national 14x12s. Works out under £7 each with greenhouse aluminium tape sealing the edges of the twinwall sheeting.
Bees seem happy with them, and I can see the state of the top super.

itma said:

Most suppliers offer them at about £18 (national).

The phrase "almost all" your hives and bars flush with the sides makes me wonder about your awareness of top and bottom beespace.
Standard National is flush top (bottom beespace), Langstroth isn't.
For a top beespace hive, a flat unframed sheet suffices.

I have made up some from 4mm polycarbonate twinwall sheeting with a 10x18mm stripwood frame for my national 14x12s. Works out under £7 each with greenhouse aluminium tape sealing the edges of the twinwall sheeting.
Bees seem happy with them, and I can see the state of the top super.

Click to expand...

Thanks Itma. I suspect I know what it is, but you never know I suppose. Agree with you on Nationals (although P@ynes polynucs seem to be top bee space) , but in my Langstroth Beeboxes from M@dern B@@keeping the frames are definitely flush with the top of the boxes, similar to Nationals. The clear sheet that comes with it rests on the frames as well as the box.

Then I have some mini-hives from Swienty that takes 6 frames about half the size of a Standard National. The bees love them and you would be surprised how much honey a little colony can make in two of those boxes through the season. They appear to have top bee space , and as you say a clear sheet over the top box will do.



I found a site where you can order the sheets in exact measurements quite cheaply, and should be able to add the frames quite easily. Do you glue or screw the frames on?

May also order on eB@y if the guy gives me a good price on a job lot. His seem to come with a feeding hole that may be handy.

Many thanks to all for your advice.

Bosleeu said:

Thanks Itma. I suspect I know what it is, but you never know I suppose. Agree with you on Nationals (although P@ynes polynucs seem to be top bee space) , but in my Langstroth Beeboxes from M@dern B@@keeping the frames are definitely flush with the top of the boxes, similar to Nationals. The clear sheet that comes with it rests on the frames as well as the box.
…

Click to expand...

The Paynes National polynuc is indeed top beespace - until you add the rails that it lacks!
The British Standard for the National specified bottom beespace. It ain't a matter of agreeing - top beespace is unquestionably non-standard. (Whether or not it might be a good idea, its not 'standard'.) And incidentally the poly Nationals from Modern Beekeeping are non-standard top beespace!
There never has been any official standardisation of Langstroth's champagne boxes. However, top beespace is the norm. And most Langstroth users wouldn't dream of using bottom beespace. I don't know what's up with your Beeboxes, but I suspect that you may have fallen foul of another of the Langstroth variations - specifically the thickness (height in the hive) of the topbars …
Such chaotic non-standardisation is just one of the the things that puts me off Langstroth.


ADDED LATER

These frames have a top bar which is the same thickness all along its length. This gives great strength but it does lift the frame up, reducing the top bee space, although this is countered by a corresponding increase in bottom space. They can be mixed with conventional frames with thin lugs but some beekeepers may prefer to keep them separate. This type of frame design is now very common in some European countries.
Please note these hives are known in the rest of the World as Medium or 3/4 Langstroth. In the UK they are known as Dadant Shallow or MD Shallow. If buying foundation in the UK ensure you buy this size. The frames are 6.25 inches deep.

Click to expand...

http://www.----------------.co.uk/item/42/ls-medium-wood-frames---50-pack Modern beekeeping "Medium Langstroth frames 50 pack"


Oh, and my cheapo framed twinwall coverboards - frame woodglued together (using a plastic QX as my template). After the glue has set, the was frame glued to the plastic with Lidl's special 'hard plastic adhesive', then some staples through the plastic into the wood, and then the greenhouse aluminium tape round all the edges. Not rugged, but cheap, light, transparent and strong enough!

itma said:

The Paynes National polynuc is indeed top beespace - until you add the rails that it lacks!
The British Standard for the National specified bottom beespace. It ain't a matter of agreeing - top beespace is unquestionably non-standard. (Whether or not it might be a good idea, its not 'standard'.) And incidentally the poly Nationals from Modern Beekeeping are non-standard top beespace!
There never has been any official standardisation of Langstroth's champagne boxes. However, top beespace is the norm. And most Langstroth users wouldn't dream of using bottom beespace. I don't know what's up with your Beeboxes, but I suspect that you may have fallen foul of another of the Langstroth variations - specifically the thickness (height in the hive) of the topbars …
Such chaotic non-standardisation is just one of the the things that puts me off Langstroth.

Click to expand...

Yeah everybody seems to make them like they want.

The top bars of my Langstroth are very thin/shallow (plastic) so it is definitely the box and not the frames that make it bottom beespace . It's the only Langstroth hives I have had so it's all I know. I do like the hives very much.