Your Recommendations - Poly Hives

[B+.]

You will, in the fullness of time, come to hate the half check designs. Seems like a great idea at first....as did the Wormit Commercial wooden hive.

They do really slow you down though, and many more bees get into awkward places as it is far less easy to clear the top and bottom edges of bees than a flush edged box of whatever type. Having to raise the upper box even by the depth of the lip, before you can get a hive tool in to prevent pulling up the frames in the lower box due to being attached to the bottom bars of the upper box is a major irritation....especially to the bees.

Keep it simple and avoid boxes that seem to have been designed in response to a list of gripes from small beekeepers on the stand at Stoneleigh or wherever. You can never please everybody anyway, so best keeping it as basic and unfiddly as possible.

Apart from early efforts most flush topped poly is now 'drip nosed'. Means the top edge is curved somewhat and the bottom edges are not. The water drips run down the upper box and the edge is actually then a little out from the curved upper edge of the box below. The drips then drop across the small gap onto the box below and very little, if indeed any, water penetrates the interface between the boxes. They are claiming the half check to be a solution to a problem that does not really exist anyway.

I accept your point and, if I were running several thousand colonies, I'd probably be looking at the cost of every second working the hives too.

The swienty boxes I have have the "gargoyle" feature that you spoke of. To be honest, the walls are so thick that I see no moisture ingress at all.

I have had swienty boxes slide around on the trailer which is why I made the comment of Paradise honey boxes holding together as a stack better, but, your comment about the frames sticking is also valid.
The swienty boxes I have are all 1-piece so I assume that they come flat-pack too? I quite like the hard-plastic insertion point for the hive tool on the Paradise honey boxes but, with care, there wouldn't be too much damage to the swienty poly boxes either. Some things are just swings-and-roundabouts but one thing I do like about paradise honey is that the roofs are flush with the side of the boxes (i.e. they don't stick out and take up unnecessary space on the trailer). I can push colonies right up against each other and not waste space from that 2" overhang of the roof.

 

[Poly Hive]

I have seen poly boxes which are over 30 years old, and yes people it goes back at least that far and despite not having strong points on the BB's for parting the boxes they are going strong. They were German made but of a proper density.

PH

 

[bee82]

Interesting video from Lyson, 1:01 about poly hives...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VI1IJAutaQQ

 

[Finman]

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Impressive video about company.

 

[Beefriendly]

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Impressive video about company.

It's Lyson who make the National Poly hives for Abelo. Same process they use for all their poly hives, which seem to last forever. I think one can quibble about designs, but their molding process is pretty tried and tested.
Interestingly a new mold for a poly hive costs around 20K...a thought when someone says can you change that bit of it....

 

[user 6228]

the relative thermal performance is in my paper

 

[Finman]

the relative thermal performance is in my paper

All polyhives are thermally good enough. UK winter is not cold.

When your hives brought pollen last week, I had -15C. Now I have +5C .

Big noise in comparing between polyhives, when many beeks make their own plywood hives.
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Relax Derekm...
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You have much to do with your ventilatiom systems and the havit how you leave too much space to wintering colony. And all those extra unextracted honey boxes above or under brood.

 

[REDWOOD]

It's Lyson who make the National Poly hives for Abelo. Same process they use for all their poly hives, which seem to last forever. I think one can quibble about designs, but their molding process is pretty tried and tested.
Interestingly a new mold for a poly hive costs around 20K...a thought when someone says can you change that bit of it....

That's why it's important they get it right in the beginning.

 

[Finman]

That's why it's important they get it right in the beginning.

What! Polyboxes have been made 30 years... Several companies.

Material and structure has developed along years. No one make right from start. Companies copy each orthers's ideas freely.

One poly factory may do boxes to many companies.


You can test the material so, that you rear great wax moths in different boxes. The speed, how moth larvae come trough, differencies are ridiculous.

But material changes under one company name. ..nothing is permanent.


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[REDWOOD]

What! Polyboxes have been made 30 years... Several companies.

Material and structure has developed along years. No one make right from start. Companies copy each orthers's ideas freely.

One poly factory may do boxes to many companies.


You can test the material so, that you rear great wax moths in different boxes. The speed, how moth larvae come trough, differences are ridiculous.

But material changes under one company name. ..nothing is permanent.


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Misunderstanding, if a company is spending 20k on a new mould it is important to get it right at the beginning. No good designing a poly BB that nobody wants because you can't double brood or not compatable with wooden supers etc

 

[domino]

Misunderstanding, if a company is spending 20k on a new mould it is important to get it right at the beginning. No good designing a poly BB that nobody wants because you can't double brood or not compatable with wooden supers etc

3D printing has made this protyping process much easier.

Give it five more years associations will be able to print their own boxes.

 

[REDWOOD]

Polystyrene lego blocks would be a good idea, you could make them as small or as big as you like, plus the kids can make them for you

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Polystyrene lego blocks would be a good idea, you could make them as small or as big as you like, plus the kids can make them for you

I wonder if they'd still hurt as much when you step on them?

 

[mpenn]

Misunderstanding, if a company is spending 20k on a new mould it is important to get it right at the beginning. No good designing a poly BB that nobody wants because you can't double brood or not compatable with wooden supers etc

They work with my wooden suppers ?
Also there available separate as well as the brood boxes, Ive just bought some
There's some pictures on there website showing wood and poly mixed looks good to me

 

[Finman]

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I heard from Paradise honey boss, that mods are expencive.

To me hives are very same looking. There are details in the hives, which have become better during decades, and it nees new mould.

.

 

[Finman]

They work with my wooden suppers ?
Also there available separate as well as the brood boxes, Ive just bought some
There's some pictures on there website showing wood and poly mixed looks good to me

I have 50 y old wooden boxes 9 frames and 30 years ago I started tk use 10 frame polys. No problems. I have used them mixed.

But now I have bought medium supers. Price was last £ 9/box.

Inner covers and floor I make from wood, because they are easy to keep clean. And easy to renew.
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[Swarm]

Finman, stop it. Please? Over and over you fill threads with posts, three, four and five at a time, declaring your length of service with your kit. You argue and pick holes about other suggestions, yet you still can't grasp the OP is looking for a NATIONAL poly option. You don't use them, don't have any experience with them so you really are not helping matters.

 

[Finman]

Finman, stop it. Please? Over and over you fill threads with posts, three, four and five at a time, declaring your length of service with your kit. You argue and pick holes about other suggestions, yet you still can't grasp the OP is looking for a NATIONAL poly option. You don't use them, don't have any experience with them so you really are not helping matters.

Blaa blaa and blaa

National poly option. Nothing difference in polys. You are always barking, what ever the issue. .

Why don't you bark those other village dogs?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Finman, stop it. Please? Over and over you fill threads with posts, three, four and five at a time, declaring your length of service with your kit. You argue and pick holes about other suggestions, yet you still can't grasp the OP is looking for a NATIONAL poly option. You don't use them, don't have any experience with them so you really are not helping matters.

Well said that man

 

[Swarm]

It's not a question of the poly that's the whole point, any of them would be ok. It's the subtle differences in design and the implications these differences create for the beekeeper that is the point of discussion.
I wasn't have a dig at you, honestly.