6 frame Poly Nucs - runners needed?

[m100]

Do the poly nucs from P a y n e s need runners fitting and if so how is this done?

 

[Winker]

Do the poly nucs from P a y n e s need runners fitting and if so how is this done?

no they are fine the way they are

 

[Mike a]

It would be nice to have them but I don't think there is enough room or a means of fitting them securely to the poly if your bees like to proplis everything in sight like mine. I tend to use a little smoke and slide my frames once they are resting on the shoulders and provided its done slowly no bees are harmed.

 

[m100]

So it's zero bee space under the lugs and within a few weeks heaps of propolis gluing them down and chunks missing out of the polystyrene?

Would petroleum jelly or similar help?

P.S There appears to be enough physical space for runners given that they are top spaced in the box with a clear 10mm above the lugs (there is nothing additional in the roof)

 

[Poly Hive]

Been running pply nucs and hives for over 20 years and never used a runner yet, and no issues with sticking or for that matter "chunks" coming out.

No paint or vasie either.

Proper poly is pretty tough stuff.

PH

 

[m100]

Polyhive, is that with a totally flat area under the entire frame lug?

 

[Poly Hive]

Yes

PH

 

[gavin]

PH said 'proper' poly though. The Paynes stuff seems softer - I have them side by side with Swienty/Denrosa polys.

 

[johnandyrob]

Same density just not as thick

 

[oliver90owner]

Same density just not as thick

Or maybe the Paradise Farms or Sweinty values are 'minimum' where the others are 'target'. Subtle difference possibly.

My MB polynucs have plastic runners and they are good as they fit my packing (to reduce them to National frame format). Otherwise I am in agreement with PH (but not the twenty years experience with poly!).

RAB

 

[YorkshireBees]

I was told by an experienced beekeeper in my local club to use Vaseline to prevent too much propolis. It doesn't prevent it totally but certainly helps from my experience.

 

[drstitson]

one could always make some runners using plastic tile edging (like used to hold the tray in tho**es economy varroa floors) - provided there was enough beespace above once lugs raised.

 

[oliver90owner]

REMEMBER - if you raise the lugs you need a bee space below them or the bees will fill the gap.

RAB

 

[Hebeegeebee]

In my view the (soft) 6-frame poly is a fair prototype but the large propolis space on the frame lugs is not good which you're stuck with. (That's nearly a joke!). Without a crown board the lid bends before it pings off as it is glued up too. Vasalene would help although I am not keen on using it for such a large surface area. Tells me the design could be better!

 

[m100]

The idea of having to unglue the roof cover doesn't inspire confidence but presumably a 'crown board' could be implemented with a piece of builders plastic sheet as seen in the iwf.de videos.

 

[Gardenbees]

I know the 6-frame nucs are a bit softer than the best poly hives, but I wouldn't bother with runners. I haven't been using runners on mine, and they seem OK despite my propolis-mad Buckfasts coating them liberally. You can gently lever the frames loose without too much trouble. In fact, the treacly coating on the lugs tends to reduce jolting and jarring, as everything has to glide at a sedate pace when moving the frames in and out.

Mine did tend to glue the lids on. Also, I found that bees really liked the broad edges to the lid, and it was hard to avoid squashing them without a huge amount of careful checking and shooing each time. Rather than improvise a crownboard, I have been using a piece of jute sacking over the bars. Partly because of the bees propolising the lid shut, but also because the queen in one nuc insisted on lurking in the roof all the time, wracking my nerves each time I lifted it, and once dropping onto the decking just when I had convinced myself she was elsewhere....

I can recommend jute as a useful cover for any colony that doesn't need a clearer board or feeder hole. It's very easy to deal with, cheap, and can be used as a manipulation cloth and/or a hasty lid for when the bees are feeling lively. There's little risk of squashing bees: you can flop the cloth onto the bars, and they simply climb down out of the way, reducing stressful pheromone tantrums if you need to cover them up quickly.

 

[Mike a]

P*ynes poly nuc
Anyone had issues with comb being built in the feed slot?

 

[m100]

OK a couple of weeks later I can answer my own questions.

They are IMHO unusable without runners if your bees lay down even the smallest amount of propolis.

Fitting six 'fresh' frames with foundation into a nuc for an artificial swarm shouldn't result in two or three dead bees - I'm damn sure it wouldn't if I did it in a national hive with space under the runners - it's impossible to use any finesse in lowering the frame as they are buried down a deep recess.

Unless you have tiny fingers that can grip right at the very tips, the frames are impossible to lift unless you bugger about with a J shaped hive tool (or even a pair of them) on every frame - lifting the frames with thin nitriles on was like going back to the time I used to use thick leather gloves.

The bees also propolised the frames to the lids so I've now fitted a builders plastic sheet crownboard as a temporary measure.

The bees were wax chaining in the feeder so no doubt that will be full of comb in a few days time.

How the hell I get them out of the feeder is anyone's guess! I can't see smoke working at the bottom of that deep chamber.

Just like all plastic queen excluders, its the attention to detail that turns them from bags-o-shite into something that could even be considered a workable design.

I'll use them, but I'm nowhere near as impressed with them as I thought I'd be. If I had the time I'd have preferred to have built a few 14x12 nucs out of 12mm ply.

 

[Poly Hive]

I am sticking with the 5 frame nucs from Swienty. I have tested these over several winters now and am well pleased.

Build your ply by all means but not for over wintering, there poly is superior.

PH

 

[Juststarting]

I am sticking with the 5 frame nucs from Swienty. I have tested these over several winters now and am well pleased.

Build your ply by all means but not for over wintering, there poly is superior.

PH

PH - where do you get the swienty nucs from? Are they national or do you adapt langstroth? I've bought MB langstroth ones and adapted them using kingspan and aluminium sealing tape and these have worked well, but I'm always looking at options.