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More advanced beekeeping discussion forum.
 #895  by Chrisbarlow
 01 Oct 2018, 17:04
AdamD wrote:
01 Oct 2018, 14:46
I assume that the Lyson polys take a frame less?
the nationals take 11 frames but you dont get the extra wiggle room either. IE you can push a 12th frame in on wooden boxes.
the new langstroth that needs painting only takes 9 frames
 #897  by NigelP
 01 Oct 2018, 18:16
It's the Swienty poly Nationals that only take 10 frames.
 #1343  by Don Ember
 14 Nov 2018, 16:53
I have six Paynes 14X12s and eight of their nuc.s. Painting is a pain (heh, heh), but I'm meticulous about two coats inside and out, which makes them quite robust. I repaint as necessary. Mice chew away at the blocks underneath which support the observation 'board', but don't get farther than that. Probably my fault as I have golden marjoram and oregano all around the hives, which makes cover for the mice. Sigh.
I find there is one best place for the hive tool to avoid possible damage (centre on either side). Agree that the crown skin gets brittle. At key robbing times and wasp assaults, I use airline earplugs to block two of the four entrances, which really does work well.
I have four Paynes feeders, also double-painted and these are pretty good.
There you go. Hello again to those I know here and hello to those I haven't met before. A lot has happened to me since I last visited.
 #1401  by tidymeup
 22 Nov 2018, 00:28
AdamD wrote:
29 Sep 2018, 08:41

I also bought a MB Poly (Paradise hive) and a Paynes poly National too.

The MB design looked promising however errors in the bee space and lack of compatibility with Nationals meant that I bought no more.
Please could you explain the errors in the bee space? We have a good few of these in use at the moment.
 #1406  by tidymeup
 22 Nov 2018, 23:19
Hi,

If you get in touch with Paul at modern beekeeping he may be able to help, their was a problem with some of the plastic extrusions at one point.

Depending when you bought them they may be able to get them replaced for you, I would not find it acceptable to cut down every frame.
 #1407  by Patrick
 22 Nov 2018, 23:49
Hivelifter2 wrote:
22 Nov 2018, 11:21
In my second year of beekeeping I bought two MB National poly's. While the bees did quite well in them I found them problematic. One issue was my standard national frames were too long by about two mm to fit comfortably and had to be pressed/forced into place which also made them difficult to remove. OK, so trimmed the ends of the top bars and solved the problem. Downside to this was any frame then transferred / placed into my cedar boxes were a sloppy fit and could cause alignment problems. I use Hoffmans for ease of spacing and shortened frames can become misaligned.
For me the absence of a frame runner, which means the lugs sit on a flat surface with no gap under the lug, makes it difficult at times not to squash bees when replacing the frames.
However by placing a strip of wood to act as a frame runner and raising the lug does help prevent squashing.
I do still use these at swarm time when getting short of kit but mainly now use them to conveniently store spare frames of used comb containing stores etc, good wax moth and wasp exclusion. The tight fit is not so critical for this purpose. So not wasted at all and will last many years used this way.
Other issue I find is not being able to inter change boxes with my cedar hives, which I can with other polys I have. ( From Beehive Supplies of Cornwall).
Moral of this story , obviously not to mix and try to match.
My two penneth for today.
Mightily irritating. If there is one thing that pulls my string (actually there are quite a few), it is buying things designed to do a known standard purpose to which I have to then make basic adaptions to make simply fit for purpose. Should never get to market without being checked as at least adequate for purpose.
 #1408  by tidymeup
 23 Nov 2018, 08:13
That’s my point, if it’s not right then contact the supplier for a resolution.

You shouldn’t have to adapt something to do a job unless you are perhaps wanting it to do something beyond the design spec.
 #1410  by Patrick
 23 Nov 2018, 14:16
Spot on.

We can only be grateful that to date nobody has pursuaded us we can only use hives reliant on electronics. It will happen.

Then some geezer can suck through his teeth and tell you the ECU is fried, the model is no longer made and you need an entirely new hive with even more complex electronics and software you have to pay a monthly subscription for.
 #1411  by tidymeup
 23 Nov 2018, 17:32
Perhaps a little extreme.

But definately contact Modern Beekeeping if you have an issue, please don’t try to correct something if it’s not initially right.
 #1412  by Patrick
 23 Nov 2018, 19:48
That’s me!

I drive a relatively modern diesel so electronic management systems are a particularly sore point..😀