Tag: DIY

Plastic Beehive Frames

Plastic Beehive Frames

I’m a bloke with a small garden, allotment, beehives, wife, small child, full time job and a bee blog. In winter it’s manageable, it’s mainly the job and the family to contend with. But in summer, I literally run around the lawn with my push mower, do 2 hour emergency weeding once a month and have 30 minutes for weekly bee inspections.  It does not feel like the good life until 10pm when I’m sitting on my bench with a beer staring at the stars and wondering what I can do less of.

After spending 1 hour and 40 minutes assembling 10 frames for another super and realising I needed an extra day (that I didn’t have) to assemble more, I thought I’d google and see if there was a better option. An option that would hopefully mean I didn’t bodge frames so badly that they needed to go on the fire, or that the remaining 80% of my frames had minor defects.

Finding a time-saving solution became even more pressing when I realised that, when I’d originally put my frames together a couple of years ago, I’d glued in both the bottom bars, not appreciating that I would need to take out the wax every few years. Rather than this being an excellent idea of mine to ‘ad lib wih the instructions’, it turns out that I’ll probably need to build another fire to chuck on some more useless frames I’ve spent time on!

Anyway in order to save you guys time – here’s what I’ve found out …

Plastic Beehive Frames

Beesy Frames

I’d seen an advert in the BBKA magazine for Beesy frames (link below) which used plastic corners and MDF strips: “Snap together, no more nailing” – sounded perfect – especially as they cost just £10 for 10 frames.

These frames are definitely worth considering and the cheapest I have found (cost comparison below).

Beehive Bits

Next, I came across Beehive Bits.  Their frames are 100% plastic.  Their website stated “They are delivered to you already made and just need foundation. To do this just prise the frame apart with your hive tool, slide your chosen foundation into position and close the two sides back together. No more nails needed and ready to use within minutes. They can be cleaned very easily by simply boiling, a plastic bag in the deep freeze or even cleaned through a dishwasher therefore making them ready to re-use”.

Even though they were a bit more expensive I decided to go with them because of the dishwasher bonus and, er, because they looked shiney and red.  Here I am assembling one:

I am delighted with these frames as it took me less than 15 minutes to make 10 of them.  Now I just need to see how the bees find them. They don’t make them for 14×12 frames, so I might call Beesy over the winter.

Grateful for any comments on people’s experience of plastic frames.

Price Comparisons

These prices do not include wax foundation or delivery or bulk pricing and are correct as of 6 July 2014.

  • 10 Beesy super frames: £10.00
  • 10 flat pack super frames (bee equipment suppliers): £12.00
  • 10 Beehive Bits super frames: £18.50

With the Beehive Bits frames you can use the unwired foundation, saving yourself £1 per 10 frames.

Photos Of Plastic Frame Assembly

Plastic Beehive Frame 1
Plastic Beehive Frame – Prising Frame Apart
Plastic Beehive Frames 2
Plastic Beehive Frames 2
Plastic Beehive Frame 3
Plastic Beehive Frame 3

 

Super Of Plastic Beehive Frames
Super Of Plastic Beehive Frames

Hive Update

  • I saw a Queen hatch out in Hive Two – pretty sure it was supercedure as there were eggs in the cells and I heard a laying queen piping a few times as I searched all over for her
  • All hives have laying queens
  • I have a total of about 2 supers of honey so far from 3 hives (hive three has not produced a surplus yet)

Read More

The Bodge Hammer Returns

Crikey.  This was to be my third hive.  I’ll soon have to bump up my BBKA insurance!  Hmmmm … and I’d better start making some honey.  Or maybe I just shouldn’t blog for a few years and start writing again when I have made a year’s supply of honey, rather than appear to be the beekeeper with all the gear and no idea.

The good news is that I am much improved at building a flat pack beehive.  Yes … the frames are not perfectly square, yes it wobbles, yes there are gaps and yes, the bodge hammer made a few appearances … but the gaps are smaller than a bee, and with a few kilos of honey, some weathering and propolis from the bees … it should be alright.

Flatpack beehive
Flatpack beehive

Even though it has been eight months since I built the last hive, the subconscious is a wonderful thing.  It keeps on learning even after the event.  This time I anticipated problems.   Before I applied hive glue, I hammered in nails, so that they had gone through one piece of wood and nearly ready to go into the next one.  I punched holes through plastic rails using the larger nails.  I was on fire!  It only took me two hours to build the hive stand and open mesh floor.  I think this demonstration of anticipation, is evidence that my Man Intelligence (MQ) has increased in the last year.

As my own workbench had no vice or “things” (also known as vice pegs or clamping dogs) to stop the pieces of wood slipping around, it was a bit tricky, but the garage wall helped.  Ironically, pieces of wood are more slippery after the glue is applied rather than more sticky.  It often felt like a two man (or person) job but I was going to do this by myself.

Slowly, I am dissolving away the idealist in me that would like to make perfect square hives that don’t rock, and who would like to know what is going on in the beehive.  I am trying to become someone who is happy when it’s good enough.

I am not yet that person … “where’s the bodge hammer”??!!

If you liked this post you might want to read the first mention of the bodge hammer.