Little_John
22-07-2014, 09:15 AM
As some of you will know, there has just been a revival of a thread about the Russian 'Alpine' Hive, a Warre variant, and so I took the opportunity to re-visit Vladimir Homicha's site (http://www.pchelhom.ru/index/0-4).
In some respects life hasn't changed much there - it's still very difficult to comprehend either the Q&A or the Forum, due to the limitations of on-line translation. However, it was clear that at least one poster there was flogging the old idea of an open syrup feeder with floats. That is such an outdated method. I tried this ages ago, and somehow bees still managed to drown themselves.
I then switched to using overhead inverted-jar feeders, which have worked fine with full-size colonies where the jar is emptied quickly, but they tend to cause dripping over smaller nucs due to the changes in atmospheric pressure which occur with these jars of syrup being in place for much longer periods.
I then spotted the kernel of an idea from the FatBeeMan, who has been working on feeder design for many years. Using his latest design as a starting point, I was then able to develop what I consider to be as near a perfect design of syrup feeder as it's possible to make. After 3 months of field testing I can report that there's not been a single leak, drip, outbreak of robbing, and not one single bee has drowned. Although I've been focussing on small feeder units (design brief: <3.5" high, <3.5" wide, 1 pint capacity), the same principle could easily be applied to overhead feeders for full size hives with a gallon or more capacity, or even Top Bar frame feeders.
This is the 'Mark I' being trialed - loosely based on the FatBeeMan design - the problem here is that the container can't be tilted up to endure complete emptying.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2a01546.jpg
This is the 'Mark II' - now with a vertical 'stair-well' - again being trialed over a full-sized hive. It works perfectly and several are currently in use over nucs.
http://i61.tinypic.com/71iqft.jpg
This is the 'business end', showing the essential principle of the design: two walls of aluminium mesh, separated by 8mm battens. There is absolutely nowhere for the bees to go - if one should enter the syrup, then one or other of the mesh walls can be used to haul itself out.
http://i57.tinypic.com/25apue8.jpg
Finally, this is the brief I've been working to: each feeder must fit within the height of a single pallet plank's width (for ease of 'super' construction), and within the width of a half crown-board, as shown.
http://i58.tinypic.com/f02m9f.jpg
Hope this has been of interest ...
LJ
In some respects life hasn't changed much there - it's still very difficult to comprehend either the Q&A or the Forum, due to the limitations of on-line translation. However, it was clear that at least one poster there was flogging the old idea of an open syrup feeder with floats. That is such an outdated method. I tried this ages ago, and somehow bees still managed to drown themselves.
I then switched to using overhead inverted-jar feeders, which have worked fine with full-size colonies where the jar is emptied quickly, but they tend to cause dripping over smaller nucs due to the changes in atmospheric pressure which occur with these jars of syrup being in place for much longer periods.
I then spotted the kernel of an idea from the FatBeeMan, who has been working on feeder design for many years. Using his latest design as a starting point, I was then able to develop what I consider to be as near a perfect design of syrup feeder as it's possible to make. After 3 months of field testing I can report that there's not been a single leak, drip, outbreak of robbing, and not one single bee has drowned. Although I've been focussing on small feeder units (design brief: <3.5" high, <3.5" wide, 1 pint capacity), the same principle could easily be applied to overhead feeders for full size hives with a gallon or more capacity, or even Top Bar frame feeders.
This is the 'Mark I' being trialed - loosely based on the FatBeeMan design - the problem here is that the container can't be tilted up to endure complete emptying.
http://i61.tinypic.com/2a01546.jpg
This is the 'Mark II' - now with a vertical 'stair-well' - again being trialed over a full-sized hive. It works perfectly and several are currently in use over nucs.
http://i61.tinypic.com/71iqft.jpg
This is the 'business end', showing the essential principle of the design: two walls of aluminium mesh, separated by 8mm battens. There is absolutely nowhere for the bees to go - if one should enter the syrup, then one or other of the mesh walls can be used to haul itself out.
http://i57.tinypic.com/25apue8.jpg
Finally, this is the brief I've been working to: each feeder must fit within the height of a single pallet plank's width (for ease of 'super' construction), and within the width of a half crown-board, as shown.
http://i58.tinypic.com/f02m9f.jpg
Hope this has been of interest ...
LJ