Tall hive based on langsroth hive

[Wknz]

This guy rebuilds a hive with insulation, and double height frames.

I am intrigued to see how it goes.

Some good takeaway points for cold climates.

 

[tristan]

well insulated brood boxes is good.
i would be careful with big tall frames. once they get waxed in your going to have a super tough time getting them out.
even with a FD box, you need a long hive tool to poke up from the bottom to cut the wax off the side to get frames outs.

 

[tommy dave]

the extra deep frames remind me of someone from this site, up the Kapiti coast I think? who ran "jumbo brood boxes", and they worked well for him. They might have been 5/4 size?

The spacer at each end idea addresses some of the issues with getting frames out, but as @tristan says they could still get fairly sticky sometimes.

It will be interesting to see how it goes once he puts bees in it. I can't see why this system won't work for him, looks like he's had fun experimenting and building, so no reason he won't be able to address any issues if they arise.

I like that he says it's only really relevant in environments with long and extremely cold winters - so no need to look at this approach in NZ as the problem he refers to doesn't really apply. Nothing wrong with having a go with this system in NZ either, I'm too lazy to do it though

 

[tristan]

the frames have bee gap on ends but even then they get stuck to the boxes every now and then.

apart from the long frames, no reason you could not use a couple of paradise bee boxes for broods then use your normal boxes for supers on top.

 

[Sailabee]

the extra deep frames remind me of someone from this site, up the Kapiti coast I think? who ran "jumbo brood boxes", and they worked well for him. They might have been 5/4 size?

The spacer at each end idea addresses some of the issues with getting frames out, but as @tristan says they could still get fairly sticky sometimes.

It will be interesting to see how it goes once he puts bees in it. I can't see why this system won't work for him, looks like he's had fun experimenting and building, so no reason he won't be able to address any issues if they arise.

I like that he says it's only really relevant in environments with long and extremely cold winters - so no need to look at this approach in NZ as the problem he refers to doesn't really apply. Nothing wrong with having a go with this system in NZ either, I'm too lazy to do it though

Was that Shaun with the jumbos - not sure if he came across to the new format?

 

[Trevor Gillbanks]

Was that Shaun with the jumbos - not sure if he came across to the new format?

Yes. He has not transferred to this new platform.

 

[Goran]

Sheesh.. People are one weird animal, we always want to overcomplicate.. Work on bees improvement not on damn flashy hardware.. I still resist to remember measures of the hive elements.. partly due to so many wise guys which reinvent the wheel.. I always want to keep it SIMPLE.. Bees have the quality to endure a lot of our different great ideas. I don't know for his winter, but for ours.. my mentor told me that best insulation for bees is honey and bees will never die from cold only from hunger and disease.. Sometimes hives were buried in snow without problem afterward..

 

[Dansar]

That fella - vino farm..
Lost all his hives bar one. Varroa were the main culprit. So changing the hive design won’t correct that issue.

 

[Goran]

That fella - vino farm..
Lost all his hives bar one. Varroa were the main culprit. So changing the hive design won’t correct that issue.

But 100% of hives survived varroa.. My mentor call here such beeks ( of course we are not exception of it) - beehivers, not beekeepers.. Some don't know difference between worker brood and drone brood and " gave me lessons" in beekeeping.. I often ended in disbelief.. and usually just nod with head and look to go away, cause I believe stupidity is contagious..

 

[tommy dave]

My mentor call here such beeks ( of course we are not exception of it) - beehivers, not beekeepers..

I love that on opposite sides of the world, the same terms develop.
Here, there are a lot of "bee-havers" too, often replacing their bees most years, and blaming nasty "commercial bees" for robbing out their weak and poorly managed hives