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Author Topic: polystyrene hive  (Read 28551 times)

Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #20 on: March 01, 2013, 12:09:38 pm »
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Bluebee has so strange ideas and judgements that I do not believe that he has so much hives what he says.
That amount of bees need real experince and it seems to me that Bluebee has only odd experiences. He had not said how many tons he harvest honey from his hives. With that feeding it must be huge.

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Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #21 on: March 01, 2013, 01:16:24 pm »
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If you are going to use polyboxes, it is best to bye some boxes and look, how they act.
i did this and I was amazed about spring build up and about the handling weight.

Boxes were quite expencive but the colony growth was so great that better honey yield payed boxes back during first summer. The weight in migrative beekeeping was especially good.

Floor stucture must be different  than  wooden box has, because condensation water drills to bottom.

If you have enough beekeeping, you will see easily the influence.
When listening these guys on this forum you will loose rest of your mind in this shildish debating. If you have said earlier  blaa blaa, then you learn to say blaa blaa blaa a a aaa.

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Offline BlueBee

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2013, 01:24:21 pm »
Funny how people like Danno think they know all about foam hives and don’t even run a single one.  LOL, you’re truly clueless.  Maybe people living in glass houses should keep their rocks to themselves?

I’m not dumb enough to run 30 home made foam hives without solving basic issues like ants and bees chewing on the foam.  You guys must really be asleep at the wheel if you think those are the biggest issues.  Definitely shows your lack of experience.   

What do geniuses like you think I do with all this foam?  Eat it?



Offline BlueBee

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #23 on: March 01, 2013, 01:24:44 pm »
Finski, my experience may be “strange” because my hives are strange.  They are probably much more insulated than your poly hives and that requires some different management practices.  Some of my practices are also experimental trying to find the best way to maximize yields and winter survival.  Aren’t you yourself using electric heat to boost yields?  Does that make you strange?  You’re using poly hives while 90%+ of Americans use wood.  Does that make you strange? 

Fshrgy99, a foam hive with bees doesn’t weigh a lot less than a wood hive with bees.  Most of the weight in a hive is honey.  As for me being enthusiastic about them; not really.  I’m just using them because they can work very well in my climate.  I have wintered numerous 4 frame medium nucs in my foam designs this winter.  How many people do you know in Ontario, or Michigan that successfully overwinter 4 medium frames of bees in a box?

Offline danno

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #24 on: March 01, 2013, 01:35:07 pm »
Funny how people like Danno think they know all about foam hives and don’t even run a single one.  LOL, you’re truly clueless.  Maybe people living in glass houses should keep their rocks to themselves?

I’m not dumb enough to run 30 home made foam hives without solving basic issues like ants and bees chewing on the foam.  You guys must really be asleep at the wheel if you think those are the biggest issues.  Definitely shows your lack of experience.   

What do geniuses like you think I do with all this foam?  Eat it?



I know NOTHING about foam hives and have never claimed to.  The only funny thing I see here is you still have not answered my question.  HOW MANY YEARS HAVE YOU DONE THIS!!!!!   As for the pic its foam on a trailer and nothing more

Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #25 on: March 01, 2013, 02:19:32 pm »


Fshrgy99, a foam hive with bees doesn’t weigh a lot less than a wood hive with bees. 


when I transport my hives to distant pastures and brintem back, i lift 2 brood boxes together alone. Wooden box weights 9 kg an poly 1,0 kg. So 2 woodenboxes are 16 kg more than polys.

You have heavy hives and then you add on it 16 kg. 

most of weight is honey. Yes very new to me. Unbelieveable.

Box is 1 kg and honey 20-25 kg honey. Yep, it is most.



I know enough about polyhives. If a human does not learn in 25 years, let t be. Don't even try.
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Offline edward

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #26 on: March 01, 2013, 02:20:00 pm »
Some positive input :brian: , the pink stuff is harder for the bees to chew on but they can after awhile, with a coat of paint it will make it harder to chew and it will last longer.

mvh edward  :-P

Offline fshrgy99

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #27 on: March 01, 2013, 02:59:30 pm »
Edward, you look so wise in your emoticon! I feel compelled to trust you!
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Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #28 on: March 01, 2013, 03:28:25 pm »
Some positive input :brian: , the pink stuff is harder for the bees to chew on but they can after awhile, with a coat of paint it will make it harder to chew and it will last longer.

mvh edward  :-P

2-3 years longer.

But everybody should understand that insulating board is not meant to bee hives. It is just so.

But when we have polyhives made by different companies, even those all are not good enough against bees's jaw. Many ask, how strong they are in normal usage.  And many say that they have met too soft material.

What I mean is that positive attitude does not help in issue not a bit. Adult men, to whom is impossible to speak sense. And then these men build big houses to humans. Somebody should be afraid.

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Offline BlueBee

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #29 on: March 01, 2013, 03:37:43 pm »
LOL, No, don’t trust the guy with a trailer load of XPS foam, 30+ homemade foam hives, and years of doing this.  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

On a positive note :brian:, I do agree that Edward is pretty fair and balanced. X:X  He’s worth trusting.  The XPS foam is a lot denser than the white Styrofoam some of these guys must be imagining.  The Foamular 250 is even denser, but it is still prone to ants and bees chewing if you don’t take basic precautions.  It certainly isn’t brain surgery to make a hive from insulating boards.  Maybe I should hold a workshop for these nay sayers?

Offline tbrinck

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #30 on: March 01, 2013, 03:43:19 pm »
Thanks for the info  edward and bluebee. i am more than likely going to make my 3rd hive in polystyrene the pink stuff. to compare wood vs poly.

Offline fshrgy99

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #31 on: March 01, 2013, 03:49:55 pm »
Maybe I should hold a workshop for these nay sayers?


Not sayin I'm a naysayer but.... mid michigan is just a little west of here.

BTW I did manage to find some of the other references to the Rotation Method video in the forum and have deduced the following;

1) my admiration for the Frauline appears to be shared by many. (If someone can convince her to attend the next beemasters gathering I commit to driving down from Canada!)
2) It would seem that your friendship with the Fin goes back a ways
 
outahere!

Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #32 on: March 01, 2013, 03:52:30 pm »
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Like Bluebee said, bees and ant are able to chew even hardest insulation board. They have very different cost, several times.

And if you bye such  commercial boxes which bees and ants can chew, you surely can return them and your get money back . What if a seller sell to you some litres paint and says: use this and they are like new again.

Of course every one may try his own hives. Carry on.

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Offline BlueBee

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #33 on: March 01, 2013, 03:52:59 pm »
2) It would seem that your friendship with the Fin goes back a ways

LOL, I think Finski will eventually come around.  I think there is hope for him.  :)

Offline Finski

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #34 on: March 01, 2013, 04:30:55 pm »
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Funny gang

I try to warn you about ants you keep me an enemy

and who promises most,  he is a friend.

Not real, heh heh
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Offline edward

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #35 on: March 01, 2013, 05:25:03 pm »
Even if the ants start to eat away at poly hives bought or home maid, painting the ant tunnels stops them from taking over.

:idunno: Are home made hives better than bought?  :idunno:

It depends on whats important, cost,style,size,durability,weight, second hand value?

The cost of things where i live makes the bought poly hives cheaper than making the from building materials. But if the cost was lower of I got a bunch of insulation boards for free?  :roll:

Also some people like to build things and it gives them great satisfaction  :chop: "having done it themselves"  :chop: even if it cost more time and money. Me?, I´m not the best carpenter

Hives in odd sizes and shapes are usually worth nothing in a secondhand market and standard size hives will always find a buyer.

That beeing said some people buy others build  :idunno: As long as you look after your bees and don't infect mine you can do what ever and how ever you want   :brian:

mvh edward  :-P

Offline BlueBee

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #36 on: March 01, 2013, 05:25:14 pm »
Who keeps you as an enemy Finski?  You are a ystävä. X:X

I enjoy hearing your experiences since we all know that you and Edward use poly hives, while most people on this forum use wood.  We are like brothers in foam.  I agreed with you that ants and bees chewing on foam is a problem.  But it is solvable.

It would be great if fshrgy99 can buy those German poly hives in Canada.  However commercial poly hives are not readily available at a competitive cost in the USA.  Shipping alone is astronomical.  So if people here want to insulate their bees like you and Edward do, then using readily available and low cost building insulation board is often the most practical way to try it.

Offline Bush_84

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #37 on: March 01, 2013, 05:39:03 pm »
Is it worth making the inside of a hive out of thin plywood and covering in poly? 
Keeping bees since 2011.

Also please excuse the typos.  My iPad autocorrect can be brutal.

Offline fshrgy99

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #38 on: March 01, 2013, 05:53:17 pm »
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Funny gang

I try to warn you about ants you keep me an enemy

and who promises most,  he is a friend.

Not real, heh heh

Finster, our North American ants are maybe not so ferocious like the Scandinavian ant?

Offline edward

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Re: polystyrene hive
« Reply #39 on: March 01, 2013, 05:58:14 pm »
Those German hives "segeberger" are even expensive here in Sweden but are of good quality and are made of dens and durable poly and will last a long time.

They have the bee space under the frames , we normally have the bee space over the frames.

I think they can weigh about 23-25 full with honey. I sold 60 pieces of segerberger hives second hand and bought 80 new supers in the poly hives I use.

That beeing said I am thinking about building some honey suppers in wood beecause they will cost 50-60% less than poly boxes they will bee heavier but stronger and take more of a beating.

I will not bee using them to winter my bees in though.

mvh edward  :-P