Sailabee 1,102 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 The big gush is usually further down the track when bucket has been in use a while, and some are grabbed and filled in a hurry, and the sugar crystals in the gap that the lid fits into stops a proper seal, but is up turned on a hive in a hurry and on to the next one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4,675 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Sailabee said: The big gush is usually further down the track when bucket has been in use a while, and some are grabbed and filled in a hurry, and the sugar crystals in the gap that the lid fits into stops a proper seal, but is up turned on a hive in a hurry and on to the next one. Yes I know what you mean and to avoid that you need to give the lid a good bash on the hive to clear out the groove Its not an issue worth worrying about considering the hole in the mat is 75mm diameter and the lid of the bucket is 200mm , if there is a spill it is not going to flood a hive I did a hundred or so today and not a single issue, in fact this whole subject of bucket feeders being risky is a crock of turds and not worth the effort talking about Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi Bee 589 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Hahaha, got some mesh today - I was in the area of the shop(SS 60x60 from Steel & Tube ; 1m2/$40 gives me 20c extra per bucket + glue gun sticks + my labor). I want to prevent spilling during transport. For now I use 2 lids(1 for transport and 1 with holes for feeding). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4,675 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 Just now, Kiwi Bee said: Hahaha, got some mesh today - I was in the area of the shop(SS 60x60 from Steel & Tube ; 1m2/$40 gives me 20c extra per bucket + glue gun sticks + my labor). I want to prevent spilling during transport. For now I use 2 lids(1 for transport and 1 with holes for feeding). Transport in Miter 10 20L pales then fill buckets on site. That mesh will be a problem and you will wish you never went there Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kiwi Bee 589 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 I do not like the idea to fill up on site. And I have only these buckets. I would like to try few lids with mesh the coming weekend. I will try to remember to take pics. What problem you foresee with the mesh? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Adam O'Sullivan 132 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 What benefit is there to the mesh? Wouldn't the bees just propolis it up anyhow, and if so, how is that cleaned? At least with 2mm holes, a handy soft twig can be used to clean them out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
black bee 39 Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 the mesh gives the bees a wider area to draw syrup from rather than just a small hole Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4,675 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 12 hours ago, Kiwi Bee said: I do not like the idea to fill up on site. And I have only these buckets. I would like to try few lids with mesh the coming weekend. I will try to remember to take pics. What problem you foresee with the mesh? The unforeseen ones The lids get trampled, thrown, bent and generally abused. The DIY connections between the mesh and plastic will not withstand the wear and tear. The result will be a failure that leads to a flood that will give the false impression that the system is flawed when it simply is not flawed 1 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Philbee 4,675 Posted April 17, 2018 Author Share Posted April 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Adam O'Sullivan said: What benefit is there to the mesh? Wouldn't the bees just propolis it up anyhow, and if so, how is that cleaned? At least with 2mm holes, a handy soft twig can be used to clean them out. The bees keep the holes open This season my buckets have dispensed more than 3000L without an issue Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bikernz 9 Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 I use top feeders and also leave them permanently in place on each hive, just moving the mat underneath when feeding is not required (otherwise the bees wav up all the underside of the feeder tray). There are no issues with needing the hive to be level when using the newer feeder trays having a bee access in all corners. I don’t use the central chimney. However, I did find that putting the mat directly over the syrup feeder tray caused the mat to go mouldy. This seemed to be due to the hive heat causing moisture to be driven off the syrup and that moisture then condensing on the mat. My solution was to add a sheet of polystyrene under the mat. I used the stuff that gets put behind concrete block walls before they backfill with scoria. It’s about 15mm thick. I also have a couple of hives where I have used a piece of coreflute (real estate sign). Both appear to work well. These extra layers always stay over the feeder tray, only the mat shifts under or over as the season changes. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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