Great insights Trevor. Today I made 31 Hive Stands using your cross bars. Only took me an hour. I build all my own hives all on 11 frame nationals. No supers. Just use brood box. K.I.S.S. I have a Suzuki Carry with a Hive Lifter on the back. (made using an Acro and box steel).
Thank you Peter. You really have embraced the KISS principle. I am always amazed by the ingenuity of some beekeepers. Acro based hive lifter - excellent.
Thanks Andy. I’m very lucky to live and work in beautiful North Yorkshire. We get a lot of casual day walkers as well as people doing several recognised long distance walks.
Check out 9 frame spacers for your supers. With 9 frames in a 10 frame hive, spaced equally apart, they hold more honey, and the wax stand proud of the frame. This makes it an easy job to cut cappings either with an uncapping machine or by hand with a hot knife or serrated blade.
Hi Andy, thanks for your input. I do run 9 frames in my 10 frame supers. This happened naturally as propolis built up on the side bars. Even with that extra spacing most combs are still not drawn beyond the Manley side bars. Manley side bars are 1 5/8 inch wide. We do uncap with an electric knife but are hoping to improve on this.
Thanks, I think your choice gives you a lot of options and I almost went that route myself. Your choice also has a massive bonus….. The resale value of National ( and Commercial ) equipment is always going to be better than with my set up.
One hive type and one box size would make management far easier .... It does have its negatives though Having a deep box full of honey can be heavy and not for all, you could only use mediums as bees survive fine in nucs they dont need all that space . Deeps for honey weght can be offset to some degree by going poly rather than wood. The options are endless and whats best depends on the person and how many hives they own. Putting some thought into this before you start will pay dividends .
Totally agree with your comment. I'm about to start out and I think Langstroth would be much better due to the size of the brood box. A very interesting point in the video is running all deep boxes, I hadn't considered that concept. I'm only wanting 2-4 hives but if every box is the same size and every frame is the same size it really would reduce the confusion. If either of you could advise further I'd really appreciate it. (I'm strongly leaning towards the Abelo poly)
@@stewillo86 Yes there’s a lot to be said for using one size of box but you really have to consider the weight issue. I don’t know how old you are or how physically fit you are but a Langstroth deep full of honey can weigh 90 - 100 lbs. They are not only heavy but an awkward shape as well. As you pick them up the weight and shape can pull you forward. Every different hive and relevant constituent parts comes with positives and negatives and sometimes it’s a case of going with the “least worst” candidate. Good luck.👍
@@swaleshoneyI'm in my late 30's and I'd like to consider myself to be relatively fit and strong. (If I'm in half as good condition as you when I'm your age I'll be more than happy!)
@@stewillo86 Thanks Steve, I guess it’s Steve, I am nowhere near as fit as I was and this year I have found myself on a real downward slope that way. The stamina ain’t what it was but I do what I can.😁👍
Thanks for another very informative video. I use national hives and tried just using deep boxes but struggled to move the honey boxes and they are no where near as heavy as langs. Id love a shed like yours, i have to make do with an 8x16 at the bottom of the garden down 16 steps and extracting in the wifes kitchen, shes not keen 😊😊
I used to have to barrow everything down a ramp and into our “conservatory”. I thought that was difficult but I now realise that was easy. “Down 16 steps”- 👏👏👏 All that and your wife doesn’t seem to appreciate your effort Steve. Brilliant,😂
I'm not a big beekeeper just 5 hives but because of back problems I use horizontal langstroth hives with all deep frames. I know that what I'm doing wouldn't work with a large operation but I don't want a large operation just 10 or 12 colonies for now. I don't want to move my bees for pollination. I do bee removals and if I get too many colonies I just sell the excess colonies to maintain the number of hives I feel I have time for. I only have to worry with 1 size frame and besides my horizontal langstroth hives only 1 size box.
Hello Thomas and thank you for a well thought out comment. I completely agree with all that you say and I may well end up with a few horizontal hives eventually. The real beauty of your system is that operations can be a frame at a time as opposed to heavy cumbersome boxes.
Stick to deeps if they are to heavy carry 7 frames in a box to the truck . Then put the extras back in . Buy a crane for your truck to lift 4 deeps at a time .. the lift picks them up by the handles of the lowest 📦 Or hire young healthy school girls or school boys
Yes that’s an answer to the issue io deeps. However I’ll be sticking with my shallows as the cost of converting to all deeps is prohibitive. I do have the sort of crane you mention but I’ve not yet found the right vehicle to put it on.
Ive known a few smart lads from Yorkshire in my time. I switched over to 8 frame Langstroths a few years ago. It was a good move, preventing potential injury. Curiously, i havent seen a reduction in honey yield, although yes, i do handle more boxes.@swaleshoney
You did indeed and yes that is a story for another day. Not sure what I’m going to do with it yet but I thought this video already featured quite enough incompetence.🤣
Good question. All my hives have had several coats of Cuprinol clear. Obviously the main thing with any preservative is that it’s “bee friendly”. I think they are constantly changing the makeup of Cuprinol clear so care is needed.
Good to see a proper beekeeping measurement Trevor👍 all our plans are in "old" money. When someone asks me something in mm I still have to convert it back to inchers. Loving the channel, can't believe I've only just stumbled across it 👍
I am interested in the experience of a beekeeper from another climate zone , because I am also a beekeeper. Thank you for your answers. Very nice indeed. 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🤝🤝🤝🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🐝🐝🐝✌✌✌
