Concrete Bee hives

[40 Acre Bees]

Concrete bee hives - new to me...................

http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/707/158490.html

[Perry]

My back.....my back!

[Chip Euliss]

My back.....my back!

They're heavy enough in wood boxes and I use a lift.  I wouldn't want to ship them--I can see a bug fine at the weight station

[neillsayers]

Of all the building material choices available, this is what they come up with?

[Wandering Man]

When I first moved to Aransas Pass in 1969, there was the hull of a concrete boat on the shore outside of the harbor.  The story told to me was that a company had come in and begun manufacturing concrete boats.

Apparently it was a real thing.  This from Wikipedia:

Concrete ships are built of steel and ferrocement (reinforced concrete) instead of more traditional materials, such as steel or wood. The advantage of ferrocement construction is that materials are cheap and readily available, while the disadvantages are that construction labor costs are high, as are operating costs. (Ferrocement ships require thick hulls, which means extra mass to push and less space for cargo.) During the late 19th century, there were concrete river barges in Europe, and during both World War I and World War II, steel shortages led the US military to order the construction of small fleets of ocean-going concrete ships, the largest of which was the SS Selma.[1] Few concrete ships were completed in time to see wartime service during World War I, but during 1944 and 1945, concrete ships and barges were used to support U.S. and British invasions in Europe and the Pacific. Since the late 1930s, there have also been ferrocement pleasure boats.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concrete_ship

The one in this video looks to be about the size of the hull that I remember that was beached:



Apparently the manufacturer had difficulty selling the public on a concrete boat.  He was out of business before my arrival.

[Perry]

Gives more credence to the saying "a boat is a hole in the water you throw money into".

[CBT]

Come on guys they said it was light weight concrete.

[Jen]

No CBT! No hon... Just No!

That takes all the naturalness out of beekeeping.

Makes it feel like the heart of Los Angeles, or Chicago, or Saks Fifth Avenue, or other concrete paradises like that.

How does this concrete hive even breath? what if it's 120 degrees outside.

No.. Nada.. Nil

[CBT]

What if you don't have any wood? I have read making out of mud, or making a type of pipe made of mud.
Use what you have I guess.

[Bakersdozen]

Now, now... Let's be open minded here.  It is South Africa and this is World Wide Beekeeping.  They could have termite problems or wood rot problems we know nothing about.  But...I think finding the perfect location to place those two ton hives is veeery important. 

[Perry]

Come on guys they said it was light weight concrete.

And I've got a light weight back!

[Barbarian]

For info.

Some UK keeps support groups in parts of Africa where there is poverty. Beekeeping is a possible source of income. The local conditions can be unsuitable for wooden hives with moveable frames. I have seen a photo of a concrete TBH with sloping sides. Some subsistence people set up bait hives and only do visits to cut out honey and wax.

A primitive apiary set up (in Egypt I think) involved a stack of horizontal clay pipes. The bees entered via a hole at the front. The beekeeper obtained a crop by removing a rear bung and cutting out the combs of stores at the back.

[Green bee]

I think a light weight , cheap and durable hive isn't out of the question with the technology available to us today. But concrete? Amagine droping that on your toe   :\'( All you guys hauling these things across state lines would have to make 100 trips. 

[Lburou]

concrete siding for your house isn't that heavy.  It could work.