Anyone ever?

[rober]

my nucs are ready & I'm calling buyers to set up pick times. 1 guy ( bought 2 ) tells me he's a beginner & has 1 top bar hive & 1 vertical hive that uses double deep frames. my nucs are langstroth 5 frame deeps. the double deep frames should be easy to cut to fit & rubber band ( or fishing line ) the brood comb into the frames. But what about the top bar??can you rubber band comb to the top bars?
i'm trying to talk him into buying 2 langstroth hives. had I known what he was planning I would have told him to buy packages.

[LazyBkpr]

yeah, pulling the frames apart and using the comb is one way, or, turn the nuc's into packages shaking them into the hive...  kind of a waste but should still work.

[Bakersdozen]

You probably want to see your bees flourish once they leave your hands, but it seems like his problem shouldn't be your problem.  It's a lesson learned the hard way.  But, you might have a repeat customer or personal recommendation if you try to help the guy out.  Just call me grumpy!

[iddee]

Could he cut the end bars and remove them and the bottom bars, then use your top bar for his top bar, even if he had to extend or shorten them? He could replace them after the hive develops.

[neillsayers]

X2 What Iddee said. Let us know how it works out.

[rober]

what iddee says sounds best. I always end up mentoring newbees. i'm just trying to help him out. I think I talked him into getting at least 1 langstroth hive & putting the top bar hive on craigslist. what I tried to get thru to him about top bars is 1-crush & strain honey harvesting is a royal pain plus you loose all that comb & 2-using standard equipment makes it easier to trade resources between other hives, other beekeepers, & replace equipment as needed. I really do not understand the attraction of T.B.H's. horizontal maybe.
these nucs are bulging at the seams. it's amazing how much difference being 100 miles south makes. by taking my splits down to my friends farm i'm usually a month ahead of locals making nucs.
drove down to my friends farm at 4:30 this morning & these followed me home.

[LazyBkpr]

Awesome... good arguments...  Its 28 degrees here as I type this.  Still a bit too chilly to be worrying about nuc's just yet.. but the time is coming fast!   It was 77 degrees two days ago...  put syrup on the bees and treated them with OA..  Hoping the buildup starts soon!

[rober]

I designed & built a horizontal hive for a beekeeper that uses standard deep frames. I sized to accept 3 std sized supers. there are vertical rabbets so Masonite dividers can be added to run it as 3 hives or remove the dividers & run it as a single hive. each divided section has it's own inner cover, entrance & landing board. it has a screened bottom but also has a closed compartment below the screen. the compartment has a hinged door. baking sheet pans fit in there & can be filled with oil or diatomaceous earth. he liked enough that he built himself near 20 more BUT he used 3/4" material & did not add the compartment at the bottom. he told me a few days ago that the bees were surviving the winters in my hive but not in his.

[RAST]

 "I really do not understand the attraction of T.B.H's"  I think part of it is that they were considered "natural" in a period of time when that was the in thing. Without sounding bad about it they were for people who thought bees could be pets. They were/are also pushed for having bees without lifting.
 Now, with that rambling done how about adding to your nuc sells business with T.B.H. nucs?

[rober]

that will never happen. langstroth DEEP frames only. it's hard enough managing those. then there's preselling with deposits & keeping track of that, scheduling pick-ups, dealing with this plague... I think I'm done with selling nucs. when my yards are full I might sell swarms.

[RAST]

LOL Rober I understand that. Don't ruin something you enjoy.

[rober]

the newbee heeded me & bought 2 langstroth hives. he saw the logic. being new & inexperienced they just went by B.S on the web. I also talked them into joining their closest association & a into getting a subscription to Bee Culture ( they have a 1/2 off offer going. ). i also advised them that in Illinois they have to get a permit from the state to transport bees across county lines.  the T.B. & the dbl deep hives are now for sale on C.L..
 It's been a crazy couple of days. Thursday i unloaded 45 nucs. there are only 7 here now. 1 more is leaving tonight & 3 more in the morning. a few are dragging their feet.

[neillsayers]

All's well that ends well. 

When i first got bees i drove myself nuts trying to figure how to get a nuc into a warre. Even saw some McGuyvered setups on YouTube. In the end I bought package bees.

[rober]

i have no interest in warre hives either. i did glance at one in operation once. it looked like accessing frames could be a hassle & having to add new boxes to the bottom would be a back breaker. they also produce less honey.
 i am thinking about converting an old shed into a Slovenian set up. there are more beekeepers per capita in Slovenia than anywhere else on the planet.
I've already had 5 people contact me & compliment these nucs. I've already had to knock some swarm cells off of them. i tell everyone not to drag there feet getting them into hives & check them for swarm cells

[Bakersdozen]

 i am thinking about converting an old shed into a Slovenian set up. there are more beekeepers per capita in Slovenia than anywhere else on the planet.

Not to change the subject, but I heard a webinar yesterday.  The founder of Heroes to Hives mentioned AZ Slovenian Hives.  They work well for some veterans with disabilities.
https://azhivesnorthamerica.com/

[rober]

I like the concept of Slovenian hives. I might build one to test the design.

[LazyBkpr]

I used those as a basis for the bee sheds I built for a friend in Maine that has blueberry fields and bears..  Basically langstroths up against the outer wall of the shed with cattle panels and a couple rows of electric fence.. solar panels on top to charge the batteries for fence and interior 12v lights...   he has better luck keeping his bees alive than I do...   the hives I had survive two years of neglect, were all inside the shed except one...  Just have to be very proactive dealing with the hive beetles...