BBKA Forum

https://www.draytonbeehive.com/about-the-hive

It's yet another top bar hive with all the disadvantages and the advantages they bring. ....and @£750 a pop .....
I can see honey extraction being quite problematic with the size of the frames.

Apparently you crush the comb for most of the crop but there is some descriptive reticence in the other methods of subsequent separation without the use of "expensive equipment"
Can't knock him for trying though -we are all on a downhill slope to a greater or greater still degree

Its a top bar hive and a Dartington combined - sort of. I guess if you don't have an extractor it could be viable. However bees don't always draw comb straight to the frame so it could get a bit messy and awkward for a beginner without foundation. And that's a big frame without any supporting wire for the comb.

I'm guessing it would be trip down to asda for some bamboo skewers so long as it doesn't qualify as expensive equipment.
You wouldn't want half a dozen of these to lug up and down the moors...

Alfred wrote: You wouldn't want half a dozen of these to lug up and down the moors...

A principle many first time purchasers might overlook. Some hive designs lend themselves to replication and flexibility in use, others don't. A hive design is one thing and recommended management is another. Some "simplifications" seem to end up being even more onerous if you ask me.

The option to use unwired foundation and hand squeeze cut out honey comb surely exists with any virtually hive setup barring a Flow Hive. Whilst it is indeed probably the default in many part of the world, that doesn't mean they wouldn't cheerfully use an extractor if they had access to one.

I tried doing it once with some wild comb. By the time I had cut out, squeezed, warmed and drained the mush everything and everybody was covered in drips and bits of wax. The assessment by Management was terse and somewhat forceful.

A demonstration of why most beekeeping associations have extractors their members can borrow at minimal daily charge.

Extractors are cheap in ebay now, so a 'normal' hive and an extractor will be cheaper than this one.

How about an 'Upstairs Downstairs kit' on ebay.
A drill bit to makes holes in a brood box and some bungs to block the holes up again. All for a bargain price of £26.

I've considered a cheap extractor but my cynical inner sensible is concerned with plastic drums going brittle ,stainless drums going rusty on the welds and budget running gear failing prematurely.
£60-70 is no longer cheap when these things happen.
Honey production is at the bottom of my list so Ill either get a decent machine and go into it properly or continue having to deal with small amounts of the damn stuff manually!
I associate the word 'Association?' with the words 'No way'
I'd much rather the bees kept it

Wow 26quid for a drill bit and a plug!

Alfred wrote:I've considered a cheap extractor but my cynical inner sensible is concerned with plastic drums going brittle ,stainless drums going rusty on the welds and budget running gear failing prematurely.
£60-70 is no longer cheap when these things happen.
Honey production is at the bottom of my list so Ill either get a decent machine and go into it properly or continue having to deal with small amounts of the damn stuff manually!
I associate the word 'Association?' with the words 'No way'
:

I have a mate (yes, I know difficult to believe isn’t it?), who simply makes all his honey into cut comb and freezes some of it to slow granulation.

These days if I get comb I can’t extract the bees get to clear it, they are better at it than me.