Flo hive arrived now to set it up (1st time)

You can buy it all already made up, wired frames with wax foundation, but it’s useful & more interesting to know how to do it yourself, as well as cheaper when you have a number of hives.


My local beek, a top mentor wires all his frames like this and did mine the same for me. Just noticed it seems some small fingered children have been poking them :thinking:

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Hahahaha luv it :joy:

Vertical wiring is the only kind of pre-embedded wiring that I have been able to buy in the US. It is very widely available from all suppliers here - Mann Lake, Kelley and Brushy Mountain all have it. I would prefer the UK-style diagonal zig-zag wiring, but I can’t get it here.

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Does your beek drill the holes for this, or are they predrilled in the top and bottom bars? What’s the reasoning for not using the standard holes in the end bars? Do these end bars have the holes drilled?

Is this a Langstroth frame?

@RBK these are the Standard frames that came with my flow. The wires he uses are cut a bees you know what longer and kind of wedged in there.

That is some weird voodoo right there… what surprises me is that you’re in QLD too… and I haven’t run into this before.

I assume the wire in this case is closer to coat hanger thickness so it holds its shape when bent?

Is the wax melted onto the wire with an electric embedder? or pressed on?

Thanks for the information.

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RBK,

All plastic frames ! I only have a couple of the ALL Plastic. The bees don’t seem to mind them anymore than just plastic foundation. Only issue is they are Very Flexible ! With only a couple I got with my Nuc’s I only have three. But my commercial beekeeping mentor n friend has a few hives using these … They are very flexy n soft ! Hard to use the Hive tools on when the bees propolis heavy. He’s working those out of his system. By next season (our 2017 up North) we hope to have either spread out to other hives so we have wood frames to pull on or have removed them totally out of his system. I’d only try a few if thinking about it ! In hot weather they SUCK ! I will try to phase any I have out this next season n hope I get limited all plastic in my next Spring Nuc’s … Just my thots n observations.

My 2 cents worth,
Gerald

Except that McFoxdale is in Australia…

I know, and so are you. I was just answering your question with a world-perspective, not Oz-centric! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Just a word of caution to anyone in the US or Europe, where Varroa mites have been a problem, that all commercial wax foundation is contaminated with levels of miticides & pesticides. Our bees already come in contact with residues when foraging, and when it doesn’t kill them on the spot it collects in the hive & affects many aspects of their health & fitness, i.e. sublethal effects. There are yet more, synergistic effects when chemicals brought in combine with residual chemicals in wax foundation.

If you do google this topic, look at the most recent results - you’ll see many from earlier 2000s that were not as long term or well-designed & thus inconclusive. Also remember that here in the US, scientists are often under pressure from corporations to delay or suppress facts.

Interesting point you mention about them being soft, I run several that I have acquired over the years and don’t have this issue, but that may be down to manufacturer.

The supplier that is most prevalent in Australia with full plastic is Pierco (have linked above) and I personally haven’t seen this with them. Any idea who supplied the full plastic frames you’ve got?.

For those interested, I had photos taken of using plastic foundation in the same frames (various sources).

This is currently uncoated foundation… that’s the step I am planning on taking photos of.

For those who coat their own foundation (not pre-puchase coated), I am interested in the method you use… mainly because the methods here are probably ‘Oz-centric’ and i’d like to capture any others at the same time. :yum:

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We still love ya! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Always willing to learn, you never know when other parts of the world can teach you something invaluable! :blush:

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RBK,

Not a clue in the brand or manufacture on our all plastic frame. Might be more than one (not sure)… All I know when we/I tried to ply apart with hive tool n lift with the J-Hook… The plastic was not solid (flexed) n made it very difficult to separate …

As you mentioned Bro … It might be the brand not just the heat/flexing… This year I’m being bathed in lots of new ideas, materials, bugs, n more.

I’m so use to wood frames n wired foundation from my kid hood beekeeping day. But I did add waxed black foundation to two of my five hives with excellent success this first season back. Just experience issues helping a commercial beekeeper with a few all plastic (that’s my only negative on plastic)…

I’ll probably lean away from all plastic n stay with combo wood frames with wax or same wooden frames with waxed plastic.

That’s just my thots,
Gerald

Haven’t seen it in Australia, is what I was saying…not averse to new ideas, wherever they’re from…

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@RBK they are embedded in and just a tad smaller gauge then coat hangers and a lot stiffer.

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