Plastic Hive Parts

[Grant 4,298]

you won't find anything in a modern hospital made of WOOD

So what i'm eluding to is that, well designed and manufactured plastic hive parts are way more hygienic

Ah yes. Hospitals. Breeding grounds for resistant superbugs like MRSA?

 

Typically they use metal for hygiene, that can be autoclaved at high temperatures and disposable items that get burned when it comes to sterile environments.

[Jezza 376]

Presumably MRSA development has more to do with having a group of people in one place constantly using antibiotics, rather than the materials used in that place.

 

Any flat, inert surface should be able to be sterilised effectively I presume, and plastic would be better for this purpose than wood in AFB control?

[Rob Stockley 3,417]

Presumably MRSA development has more to do with having a group of people in one place constantly using antibiotics, rather than the materials used in that place.

 

Any flat, inert surface should be able to be sterilised effectively I presume, and plastic would be better for this purpose than wood in AFB control?

What looks flat to us might not be flat to an AFB bacterium. I agree that plastic in general would be better than wood. Although I think you'd have to pick your plastic carefully to achieve the sort of sterilisation you'd need.

[Qkrwogud 120]

I have some queen excluder (with top enterence) and bases from these guys Beequip NZ

They're awesome, I'd consider getting more plastic equipment if the price was resonable. Would definatly be interesting in testing supers along side wood ones.

Did you not have an issue where it drooped downward? I got one and had this issue, so it partially removed the bee space under the excluder and it would press against the bees sitting on top of the frames.

[sarahD 158]

Did you not have an issue where it drooped downward? I got one and had this issue, so it partially removed the bee space under the excluder and it would press against the bees sitting on top of the frames.

I haven't had this issue

[Qkrwogud 120]

Maybe I got a dud :oops: The entrance on it was appealing to me, do you leave the bottom entrance open with it?

[sarahD 158]

Maybe I got a dud :oops: The entrance on it was appealing to me, do you leave the bottom entrance open with it?

Yep, they have both interences available. Maybe get in touch with the company and tell them your issue?

[Qkrwogud 120]

I did, they weren't really interested in what I had to say.

[Shem 73]

I'm going to cross-thread this with the is-the-afb-programme-working-and-ideas-to-improve-it thread. I was half serious about plastic bees: far better than either a plastic or real sniffer dog that can't climb trees. Firstly a conventional drone or UAV as a mother ship; then worker sized non-returnable UAVs deployed to check out each colony.

Edit: Sorry I've gone off topic: I just got too enthusiastic about robbie frew's enthusiasm in the other thread.

For the most part I feel that there's far better uses for plastics than in hive parts.

Hmm.. may be photovoltaic film on the roofs.

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& mirrors on the hive mats

[Mrs T 34]

Did you not have an issue where it drooped downward? I got one and had this issue, so it partially removed the bee space under the excluder and it would press against the bees sitting on top of the frames."

Mine has 6 little feet across the centre which stops it from drooping right down and bees can still walk around underneath it all

[G B 3]

We've had technoset plastic gear since @Deniz first brought a handful into the country and was promptly ridiculed by many on the earlier variant of this forum.

We've since imported container loads more for our own use.

They are not entirely compatible with kiwi wood frames nor either of the two main plastic frames available here. Their plastic frames are no match for our NZ made plastic frames! On price or usability.

However seeing as how I was informed by beekwip that they are the sole distributor here in NZ, and I must purchase through them now, I'm probably not qualified to comment.

[tristan 4,362]

We've had technoset plastic gear since @Deniz first brought a handful into the country

do you find that the boxes walls fill with water thats been reported elsewhere?

[Trevor Gillbanks 6,846]

They are not entirely compatible with kiwi wood frames nor either of the two main plastic frames available here. Their plastic frames are no match for our NZ made plastic frames! On price or usability.

So, are the technoset boxes a little shorter or longer the a standard langstroth.

And is the price more expensive or cheaper than the NZ ones.

[G B 3]

do you find that the boxes walls fill with water thats been reported elsewhere?

Yep!

[G B 3]

So, are the technoset boxes a little shorter or longer the a standard langstroth.

And is the price more expensive or cheaper than the NZ ones.

Both!

Externally longer, internally shorter.

Price roughly double.

[Trevor Gillbanks 6,846]

Both!

Externally longer, internally shorter.

Price roughly double.

Bother, That makes converting very expensive and difficult

[G B 3]

W

 

Bother, That makes converting very expensive and difficult

We would've gone polystyrene, but I wasn't too sure if they'd stand up to regular movements with pollination and then several shifts during honey...