plastic vs wood frame

[orin]

quick question........ I have heard lots of good things about wood frames and not much about plastic frames, are the plastic frames worth buying?

[BeeMaster2]

Most plastic frames that I have seen and had, from my original nuc, have slots that make perfect homes for small hive beetles. If I were going to use them I would fill in the slots.
I gave the few that I had away to some one that wanted to try them.
Jim

[splitrock]

I have noticed the plastic seems to stick more often than wood when breaking boxes apart.

[rwlaw]

i was given a couple hives with some plastic frames in them. Worst mess I had seen in a long time from the frames warping, it was no wonder the gal didn't like working the hives. The bees built out the gaps and wobbles as well as combing to the top of the lower frames.
Then there are beeks that think they're the best thing since sliced bread. They can keep em.

[ggileau]

I tend to agree with the others on this one. Seems like they want to bridge them with ANY frame that is above. Most of the time they won't draw comb well either, but that is the case with plastic foundation as well. If you coat either with wax there is very few problems though. If I wasn't so cheap I'd toss the ones that I have. The good part is that they are resilient so I guess I'll be stuck with the ones that I have for a while.

[Geoff]

    Thanks for the feedback everyone, was about to make a move to plastic but there is not much good news here.

[Anybrew2]

I have them and like them,I pre wax mine simply with a large piece of old wax and just rub it all over the frames like a wash board. I have not seem and increase of a decrease in SHB.

[Eric Bosworth]

I have a 8 that came in nucs. The bees draw foundation less a whole lot faster. I did see a video on queen rearing that recommended black plastic frames for grafting because it is easier to see white on black. Only half of these frames are black but I might try that next year. I am going to get rid of the pale yellow ones.

[BeeGinningBeek]

Slow drawing and sticking to the lower/upper frames Is totally true, but I prefer the black plastic foundation in wooden frames, works much better. Have had 30 all plastic frames, didn't like em right off, but I am cheap too, so keeping em, sell em off in nucs next spring  I also agree with foundation less, but not ALL foundation less... Had problems from a hive with that...

[sc-bee]

Orion---Geoff... I have never used plastic but can point you to folks that would use nothing else. If they fit for you imagine the time saver. And with some pest just scrape off or pressure wash and move on. Seems rite cell is he one I hear most are pleased with. Lauri Miller was using a frame with a cut rite cell. !/3 piece in middle and foundationless on the sides.

All I have ever seen and that ain't much seemed to never been drawn out well??? However. I am going to get a few and try them during my best flow.

[chux]

I've worked hives with a commercial beek who runs wooden frames with plastic foundation. I've been in at least a couple hundred hives with these frames in the last couple of years. The vast majority of the frames are drawn out fine. That's in the brood chamber deeps, or medium and shallow supers. Ten-frame or nine-frame setup.

Nearly all of the frames in my 30 hives are foundationless. I enjoy watching them build out. I like the fact that they build whatever size cell they want in the brood chamber. I like not paying for foundation. I don't like having to constantly be in a new colony to make sure that they are drawing straight. This isn't usually an issue in the brood chamber for some reason, but they like to cross up the honey supers. I think I am going to move into buying plastic foundation for my honey supers, while leaving the brood chamber foundationless.

I recently watched a video on youtube where a master beekeeper did an experiment. He put a super on top of a strong hive with different types of frames. Some were foundationless. Some were plastic foundation. Some plastic was coated in a light amount of wax. Some was coated in a thicker layer of wax. I was impressed to see that the bees worked a lot more on the thicker wax-coated frame, even though it was toward the outside of the super. When I start using plastic foundation in my supers, I will give them an extra coating of wax I melt from my foundationless frames.   

[mtnb]

I don't like plastic so I wouldn't ever even consider them. Chux, I like FL for all those reasons too. I was thinking of building some sort of a leader board for them over the winter to help them draw out straight. Although now I'm getting some left over straight comb that they created so we have something to work with next year.

[OldMech]

GOod answers, and I am going to say basically the same thing.   I like foundation - less because its CHEAP...  If I didnt mind spending the money, I would probably use wood frames with plastic foundation. Black foundation, easier to spot eggs and young larvae.
   All plastic frames?   NO!  I have quite a few Mann Lake PF120s and I do not like them..  No Hive beetles here to hide in the recesses, but they FLEX when you want to pry them out, and that squashes bees, and they you have a hades of a mess with angry bees after you...  It takes extra care not to flex them when prying them out of the propolis the bees glued them down and together with. When they get older, they will start to crack and break. Wood you can fix pretty quick and easy. Plastic isnt as easy to make as good as it was.
   I wont buy more of the ALL plastic frames, I learned my lesson. Wood and plastic, wood and wax, and wood and.... empty, all work pretty well.

[Jim134]

   I wont buy more of the ALL plastic frames, I learned my lesson. Wood and plastic, wood and wax, and wood and.... empty, all work pretty well.

  You are not alone and thinking like this. 




         BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[Michael Bush]

It's the thickness of the top bar that causes wood to not get connected and the plastic to be connected.  The top bar thickness on the plastic is almost none.  The thickness on the wood is an inch or so.  I don't mind the connections.  It makes a ladder.