Is it okay to use cement board as a base for a feeder? I am making a Miller style feeder for my Warre hive and don’t have any thin plywood.
Can’t imagine why not. But might be crumblier when you have to pry against it. And it’s heavy.
Crumbly could be a problem - I used some styrofoam boards to insulate under the lid in a pinch one winter, and found that the bees had stored some of the loose bits in cells as if they were pollen chunks. Hard to say if that’s what would always happen though.
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Did not think of that, thanks guys.
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Hi Kristal, being an Aussie, I’m thinking that you’re referring to cement sheet or what we used to call “fibro”, which no longer contains asbestos. I have some cement sheet in a couple of hive roofs, as well as bottom boards, which holds up very well, probably better than anything else. Except that it’s a bit heavier.
cheers
Hi Jeff. I was going to write fibro cement but wasn’t sure what other countries call it 
. I think I still might use it as a base for the feeder, just reinforce the edge with some metal strap. I already have some on the roof above the quilt, where it won’t get wet. Of course everything will be sealed so it shouldn’t go soggy.
It seems to tolerate water, plus I wouldn’t worry about the edges, they’ll be fine. You just need to make sure that it’s not pre '82, when they used to add asbestos to it.
I used to work in the building trade as a Gyprocker pre '82 where we used a lot of Villaboard & Versilux that contained asbestos in the wet areas. After that I did a literal “Sea Change” & went fishing. I persevered with that for about 35 years.
Ok, thanks. The board is relatively new.
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Is it the same material as “Hardie board” or “Durock?” Or maybe “Hardie Plank?” That’s what I was thinking you were referring to. If that’s right, I still wonder if the edges would tolerate the hive tool levering - this material is a bit brittle, especially compared to wood.
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It would be the same material & I agree that it wouldn’t tolerate a hive tool levering off it. It would be quite brittle if used in that way. Using it as a feeder base would be ok as long as it wasn’t used as a hive tool fulcrum or forced by a hive tool.
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