thrones sales

[pargyle]

I sat down with brother Pete yesterday and made a concise plan for 2015.
The plan revolved around having 10 colonies for producing honey and 5 colonies for breeding ,splits & nuc etc....
This would mean a reduction in total Colony numbers....
Which of course would give me less work and more time to manage our colonies better !

With this in mind i made a sensible list to purchase from the sale.

However after a second lap of the shop at 3 a.m.
The dispatch department will be sending me.
18 brood boxes ,10 supers plus floors and rooves.
200 frames and foundation and maybe a partridge in a pear tree.

Did i get carried away in the sale ?
or as i stayed up till 3 a.m. Did i just make it worth my while ?

These questions and many more will be answered within the year of 2015

The only problem i currently have is, i cannot face put all this lot together as haven't finished assembling the stuff i bought in november.

P.s. They are also sending me some poly nuc's, never really looked at their's so thought i might try some.

Sounds like my sort of planning !!!

 

[Pete D]

November was the Maisemore sale, right? I missed that one.

I think he means the thornes Rand sale............. he filled his van.
I think his 15 hives will have 4 brood boxes, 10 supers and 2 spare roofs and floors each......

 

[Glenviewbee]

As I only wanted National boxes I went to the sale at 9am and was able to get the bits I had on my list...... oh and some stuff that wasn't on my list

 

[itma]

Standard national crown boards are 460 x 460mm which is 18.1 inches square ... I'm on Paynes polys which have thick walls so the 18" square ones will need a timber frame adding that takes the total measurement of the 'square' out to 500mm x 500mm.

No, you don't "need" to go out to 500 square for Paynes polys.
The box/box contact patch is essentially 460 square (so the standard QX works fine). The only reason for making a bigger QX rim would be for cosmetic/aesthetic reasons - not the reason anyone chooses the Paynes polys!
Using a QX with the wires extending over the hive wall is going to lead to prop problems.
Routing the frame is beyond my carpentry skills - and seems necessary.
Honestly not sure what the 18 incher would actually work well for.



I agree with JBM, the unframed wire grid is a propolis magnet, and that leads to the QX getting bent - which is much more problematic for the wires than for the sheet types.
Using an unframed grid with a top-beespace hive is just going to give a prop problem to the frames in the box above.
They really need a frame (and the beespace it gives).




There were indeed some National framed wire QXs in the sale. I had a few in my basket, but (foolishly or simply sleepily) didn't rush them to the checkout.
And someone else did ...
Jed had exactly the right technique (and I didn't).

Those QXs remained visible in the list, but showed "out of stock" (at least until I went back to sleep).
Whereas, the National Ashforth feeder (I suspect there was only one), linked to an error page, and then disappeared from the list as someone else snatched it away from me.

Heigh-ho.

 

[Jed D]

Sounds like my sort of planning !!!

I'm going to try and not use them all.....

But you can never have enough spare kit...

Pete D , I only found that other Nuc , because I M/T my van today ... And sure enough , under the three boxes of frames for the November ( Lincs ) sale. A Nuc....

Anyway now going back to the dinner table to make another 11 Brood Frames..
Gotta get these done as another 200 on there way....

P.S. I think the days of a bee hive comprising of a brood box + two supers are long gone..
All our hives seem to lean towards two brood and as many supers as I can reach...

Must make lower hive stands for this season.... or get a ladder...

 

[Tim1606]

Tim i went through the site so many times and just could not find them !! where were they under what heading and what time did you get some ? i have been trying to get some for the last 3/4 years with no luck, very disappointed

Chris,
They were in the limited section and after i bought some i went back after i paid for my order to get some more and they were gone. So must have been very limited stock or everyone was after them.

I was on the site, dead on 3am, sorted and paid by 3.03am. Had my list written out of what i wanted before hand.

 

[itma]

I was curious to know what the bee clearing device was for £40. never did find it.

It is still available ... http://www.thorne.co.uk/winter-sale/sale-miscellaneous?product_id=6613

 

[jonnybeegood]

No, you don't "need" to go out to 500 square for Paynes polys.
The box/box contact patch is essentially 460 square (so the standard QX works fine). The only reason for making a bigger QX rim would be for cosmetic/aesthetic reasons - not the reason anyone chooses the Paynes polys!
Using a QX with the wires extending over the hive wall is going to lead to prop problems.
Routing the frame is beyond my carpentry skills - and seems necessary.
Honestly not sure what the 18 incher would actually work well for.



I agree with JBM, the unframed wire grid is a propolis magnet, and that leads to the QX getting bent - which is much more problematic for the wires than for the sheet types.
Using an unframed grid with a top-beespace hive is just going to give a prop problem to the frames in the box above.
They really need a frame (and the beespace it gives).




There were indeed some National framed wire QXs in the sale. I had a few in my basket, but (foolishly or simply sleepily) didn't rush them to the checkout.
And someone else did ...
Jed had exactly the right technique (and I didn't).

Those QXs remained visible in the list, but showed "out of stock" (at least until I went back to sleep).
Whereas, the National Ashforth feeder (I suspect there was only one), linked to an error page, and then disappeared from the list as someone else snatched it away from me.

Heigh-ho.

I use a wired QE for my poly hives, i built a wooden frame around it 12mm deep, i nailed panel pins along the inside edges so the QE drops in resting on the panel pins, giving me a bottom bee space. Seems to work well & no propolis problems.

 

[Hawklord]

Well that was a late one for me...
End up doing two orders !!!!! OOPS !!!!!

First lap ,

Grabbed all the stuff off my list, chucked it in my basket and whipped through check out...03.03 a.m.

Second lap

Then went for a second casual stroll around their shop,,,,, and spent the same again !!!!!

As much as it's two orders , it wouldn't fit in one box !!!!!

On reflextion , it might not fit in one Van !!!

I thought you only needed a box of frame nails.

 

[BeeJayBee]

I use a wired QE for my poly hives, i built a wooden frame around it 12mm deep, i nailed panel pins along the inside edges so the QE drops in resting on the panel pins, giving me a bottom bee space. Seems to work well & no propolis problems.

Not quite sure I can picture that. Do you have a photo?

 

[pargyle]

No, you don't "need" to go out to 500 square for Paynes polys.
The box/box contact patch is essentially 460 square (so the standard QX works fine). The only reason for making a bigger QX rim would be for cosmetic/aesthetic reasons - not the reason anyone chooses the Paynes polys!
....

Using a QX with the wires extending over the hive wall is going to lead to prop problems.
Routing the frame is beyond my carpentry skills - and seems necessary.
Honestly not sure what the 18 incher would actually work well for.

They really need a frame (and the beespace it gives).
.

You've found my weakness ... OCD ...Yes .. the frames I make WILL extend to the exterior of the hive - the PP's are about as aesthetic as a 1950's coal bunker so I'm not going to add to it by having a beespace gap between the brood and any (well - I'm also an optimist !) supers.

Fortunately, I've got the woodworking kit and enough ability to make a proper job of it so there will be top bee space and the excluder will sit in a rebate in the top of the frame.

I tossed up whether the 17" or 18" square would be the better option ... and came down in favour of the 18" as it seemed to fit better with the size of the PP hive once I have framed it. Will find out in due course ...

 

[Jed D]

Sugar , I forgot to order any nails......

 

[Hawklord]

Sugar , I forgot to order any nails......

No problem, go back on line and add to your order, it won't have been processed yet anyway - just don't be tempted to buy anything else though.

 

[Teemore]

Do ya know is it still free shipping to North of Ireland. I was going to wait until march again to buy frames but if postage is free, I'll buy now.

It was still free when I last put in an order over £100. The website is still saying orders over £100 are post free within the UK so you may as well take advantage.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Anyone know of the quality of the bee suits on offer ?
http://www.thorne.co.uk/winter-sale/sale-clothing?product_id=5201

They look like the same as "Bees on a budget" ones, of whcih I have 2 jackets with built in round-hat veils. Basic, and I have had a bit of trouble with the zips, but they have lasted 1.5 seasons and are decent value for me.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Superseded. Please ignore.

 

[gregior]

Got my delivery today all present and correct.Excellent service as ever

 

[REDWOOD]

I would rather spend double and last triple

 

[busybee53]

Got my delivery today all present and correct.Excellent service as ever

Put two orders in. One was for items not in the sale so they were ordered before the sale began. The second order was made 3.00 a.m. when the sale began. My two orders have been dispatched.

How come yours won the race when one of mine should have set off before the starting whistle?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Put two orders in. One was for items not in the sale so they were ordered before the sale began. The second order was made 3.00 a.m. when the sale began. My two orders have been dispatched.

How come yours won the race when one of mine should have set off before the starting whistle?

When did you put the first order in? if it was over the Christmas break then they still woundn't have looked at it until Monday - with all the other hundreds of big orders