solid floors

[parkranger]

Bought some old, but little used, kit which includes National hives with solid floors. Does anyone still use them or has everyone moved to open mesh floors?.

 

[enrico]

I use them in emergencies.....worth keeping.
E

 

[For want of a better word]

I still use them..... amazing wild life safari if you look at debris under a macro microscope.. bits of bee.. varroa that have had carapace bitten into,, varroa with legs chopped off.. chopped up larvae.. pseudo scorpions..... all the stuff you miss with OMF

 

[kighill]

Best to sterilise them and use when treating for varroa. Also handy to have in the first few days of hiving a swarm before changing to Varroa floors.

 

[BeeNice]

I think swarms prefer them, I have had open hives and 2 swarms have moved into the solid floor hives. Handy to have around.

 

[Bob Bee]

I use them to overwinter a few colonies in windy locations, last year the 3 with solid floors overwintered stronger than all my other OMF colonies, obviously other factors as well, but interesting. I use them in the summer for my bait hives, they definitely do better than the OMF's for this purpose. I also use them for small nukes of bees, when I don't have a Nuke box available.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Does anyone still use them or has everyone moved to open mesh floors?.

Yes, use solid sloping floors, dislike mesh floors, but a few are useful to see that a mite treatment is working okay.

 

[BILL.HEARD]

All my hives are on solid sloping floors, I do not you mesh floors.

 

[Hachi]

I was using mesh and now all my hives have solid floors. Keep em and use em

 

[Finman]

.
I use only solid floors. I do not want to keep douple furnitures.
I can kill mites without counting. Theye are there.

When I start to use elextrict heatinf on floor 10 years ago, I leaner how important is heat to the colony build up.

When I open the main entrance in heavy flow, the queen rises to second box to lay because bottom box is too cold.

Biggest mistake is to put mesh floor into nuc. I use in nucs only 3 cm x 2 cm opening and it is enough even if out temp is 30C.


Mesh floor is modern..... I let the honey yield to tell what is modern.

.

 

[Finman]

.
Trial with 6 mesh floor

One autumn I made a new type floor. I can keep movable mesh floor and substitute it with solid floor.

It was 3 one box winterer and 3 two box winterer.

in one box winterer food consumption was douple compared to solid floor.
One hive starved and another two were very near to die.

in two box hives I did not notice any special in food stores.

I could see that wind may be fatal to the mesh floor hives and I do not see any advantage, why I should use them.


During decades beekeepers have developed new floor models and all they have been "break outs in beekeeping". But floor does not bring honey.

Like Hivemaker has told, he makes forwards slanting bottoms. That I have done with my last floors. They are handy.

.Microfauna on floor... that vain dreaming.

.

 

[merlin65]

Yep, solid floors as are most of the beeks I know.

 

[parkranger]

Thanks everyone for the information , very helpful and Iwill definitely keep them and maybe try one of the colonies on one this winter to see the difference. Can anyone explain better the "sloping solid floor" please.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Can anyone explain better the "sloping solid floor" please.

From Dave Cushman's site:
The Sundown floor - 'This type of floor was designed by Mr. Nantes (I do not know the date) the BBKA have promoted it in the past, I used to manufacture the device, though it was not very popular, but do not think it is available from any UK manufacturers at present. The sloping base allows for drainage of water that may be driven into the hive through the entrance or ill fitting joints.'
Basically a floor that slopes down towards the front - also achieved by ensuring D) hive stands aren't level!

 

[parkranger]

From Dave Cushman's site:
The Sundown floor - 'This type of floor was designed by Mr. Nantes (I do not know the date) the BBKA have promoted it in the past, I used to manufacture the device, though it was not very popular, but do not think it is available from any UK manufacturers at present. The sloping base allows for drainage of water that may be driven into the hive through the entrance or ill fitting joints.'
Basically a floor that slopes down towards the front - also achieved by ensuring D) hive stands aren't level!

Thanks Jenks - shouldn't be a problem ensuring hive stands aren't level, although which way they slope is another matter!!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks Jenks - shouldn't be a problem ensuring hive stands aren't level, although which way they slope is another matter!!

Ah - you use the same designs as me then. I blame this modern kiln dried timber personally

 

[Finman]

.
Sloping floor is quite easy to make. You fasten supporting wood sticks in some angle and you put the floor board lay on it.

What material floor should be, that is not easy. How to keep it clean and how it takes mold. Supporting frame wood is not a problem.