Plastic Foundations

[shelley]

I'm a newcomer to beekeeping. I bought plastic frames and have read here some people don't like them.
I would like to hear from others who use them and have been successful. Also do I use a queen excluder or not? 

[TwT]

I have Pierco and Duragilt Foundation, never had pierco be drawn out dab just hard to get it drawn out, Duragilt is the worst foundation I ever used in a hive, drawn out wrong and steal wax from the foundation leaving blank plastic.... I have gone to using just wood and wax, bee's draw it out fast and correct. just my observation on it...

[Brian D. Bray]

I dislike plastic of any kind in a bee hive.  If using plastic frames they must be aired out for several weeks/months then painted liberally with syrup to get the bees to work them.  Then they build the wierdest looking comb you can imagine.  so you cut it off and make them do it over, and over, and over.  By the end of the season you're still in a single box hive and the frames have patches where the bees have removed the wax down to the plastic.

That was my experience back in 1964 when Duragilt first came on the market, and that was my experience last summer with a hive I put on plastic foundation because it was the only thing I had available at the time.  Somethings don't change much in 40 years.

[johnnybigfish]

Hi Shelley!
 Ive had the same questions about plastic frames and also had heard the same as you did about them.
I bought EZ frames from dadants. I thought it was easy to use and it is easy. My problem is the bees building burr comb but I just tear it off and get the honey and let the bees build new comb, hopefully straight out comb. My bees did give me a mess of honey this year though using these frames. I really would like to get some comb thats fully drawn but The places I check want me to by a bunch of it or pay alot for it.Sometimes they tell me they'll put me on a "list" and notify me when they've made some...no notices yet.
Well, thats what I know about plastic frames.
your friend
john

[Michael Bush]

>I'm a newcomer to beekeeping. I bought plastic frames and have read here some people don't like them.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#foundation

>I would like to hear from others who use them and have been successful. Also do I use a queen excluder or not?

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#excluders

[mark]

i have used pierco wax coated with no problems at all. have had new package bees draw it out and put on as a super during a flow.  from stories i've heard aboout it the key to success is using a full box of the plastic so it is all the bees have to work with.  i have even scraped it and cleaned it in a bleach solution and had it redrawn.   duragilt on the other hand is crap and the inventor should be horsewhipped. i really don't know why it is still on the market.  must be all the uneducated new beek's buying it

[johnnybigfish]

Well, my hat tips to Michael Bush.(again)
Shelley, When Michael Bush included his "Bush Farms" link I went there (not my first time) and found why my bees were building so much burr comb. I had installed metal spacers for nine frames instead of using 10 in my big hive boxes. This resulted in my bees building "crooked comb".
 This was such a pain that I hardly ever want to look in the bottom boxes as I know I'm going to find burr comb everywhere. Now I know how to fix my problem. I hope you did take a look at Michaels link.I've found that everytime I look around this link I learn how to make things better for my bees and also why my bees do things the way they do, good or bad.
 At any rate, I hope things go good for you with your bees. I'm really having a blast! I didnt realize until I started doing bees that there was anything else that could catch my attention the way honeybees do other than fishing. Also, with my bees I just go out back about 80 ft and there they are! I go 40 feet out front and there "THEY" are! That front hive is the one that they always send just ONE bee out to get me and she usually succeeds..I wish she wouldnt die though. I think It would be alot less exciting for me doing bees though if they didnt sting.