Observation hive feeder type and location

[mpjourdan]

Hello, just wondering what others are using for feeders in their Ob hives and where there located on the hive.

I indend to rebuild my hive with better ventalaion, some kind of bottom clean out tray, and I'm not real happy with my feeder. I put the queen and the last 100 or so remaining bees in a screened cage today. It sure felt good to hold a frame of bees again.

When I first stocked my hive it was late October, the 3 deep frames were pretty full with honey or nectar. The bees used that up quite some time ago and they never made any attemp to store the sugar water in the any of the cells. I never understood why they wouldn't? They were taking feed, just not storing it.

[drobbins]

Mine is an inverted jar kinda like an entrance feeder

http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/oh/

I foolishly built it on the end which prevents the hive from rotating 360 degrees (hits the wall)
I'm building a replacement which will have it on the side to solve that problem

Dave

[Michael Bush]

My Brushy Mt one has a jar on the bottom. My Draper, I reworked to all mediums and made a glass (so I could see how full it was) frame feeder with a screened hole at the top so I could fill it.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesobservationhives.htm

[Ross]

Dave, when you figure out how to put it on the side without interferring with the glass, send me a picture.

[allrawpaul]

One of mine has an inverted jar feeder on the top, the other has a jar feeder in the middle of the back. Just finished building the hives and havent tried them yet. For counting mites, and if you want to overwinter the hive, a screened bottom board is a good idea, especially if it doesnt weaken the structure or add too much extra bulk or weight. Let us know how you design it!

[drobbins]

Ross,
I'm thinking along these lines

http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/oh/Dsc01576.jpg

the round thing was going to get a hole in it for the jar to sit in, but I think I'm going to have to replace it with a rectangular block so it covers the passages in the block below it that gives the bees access
the hole in the base of the hive is missing
gonna mess with this over next day or 2
will post pics

Dave

[honeyman46408]

The feeders on mine look like the one in the first pic. I put one on each side so I can feed pollen also.

[Ross]

Dave, I bet you could glue it edge to edge flush and route an access channel. Is that walnut?

[drobbins]

I think it's walnut
a friend had a really old desk that was falling apart and I took it apart and salvaged the lumber
it has kinda sentimental value and it's enough wood to make mine and one for him too
it's gonna be sweet smile.gif
I'm routing the access passages in the feeder now, kindof a pain but it'll be nice

Dave

[Sundance]

The one I bought off the for sale section
here had a number of design problems. One
of them was the feeder.

It is mounted off the side (inverted jar)
and has a screened access. The bottom of
the OB protrudes out and that is where the
jar is mounted. There was a small drain
hole under and a smallish channel the bees
could traverse to get to the feed.

The problem is the syrup can clog up the
hole easily and the bees get stuck in the
heavy syrup and then block all access to
the feeder. I had to watch my OB dwindle
and die.

The other major problem is it uses sliding
glass and is hard if not impossible to get
open.

I am going to redesign the feeder and make
a door style opening rather than the sliding
glass.

[drobbins]

Bruce,

can you tell from the picture I posted what I'm trying to do?
it sounds like the problem you had is similar to the path I'm taking
how are you planing to redesign the feeder?

Dave

[Sundance]

Here's some pics Dave.

1. This shows the designs major flaw. Syrup
stacked up due to bad drainage. My cure
will be to open a 2" hole directly below
the feeder screened with 1/8"

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/Sundance1955/Feeder1.jpg

2. Here the dead bees stacked up during the
dearth and no outside access. There was
no way for me to get into the area and get
it cleared out.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/Sundance1955/BodyCount.jpg

3. This is the overall design. Pretty, but too
many poor design features. Lack of vents,
sliding glass, and the feeder drain.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d149/Sundance1955/OB.jpg

I'll address all them when I get time to tear
into the OB. I'm not sure yet how to handle a
way to access the canal the bees traverse to
access the feeder. Perhaps a removable bottom
plate???

[drobbins]

hmm,

thanks for the pics, food for thought
my current one is pretty similar and I don't seem to be having any trouble with it
in the new one I'm building I'll pay attention to keeping the passages large and think about incorporating some kind of cleanout

I'm making one piece of glass have a full wooden frame
gives it strength so you can pry it apart
the other piece will be slide in but won't need to be removed

Dave

[Sundance]

I was going to do the same thing. I'm
leaving the slider and the opposite
side does not have any access. I'll put
a hinged door on that side.

I continually had condensation problems
with this one. I will add a bunch of vents
for sure.

[drobbins]

I have 4 1" holes in the top and bottom both
sometimes I have a small amount of condensation but I think the amount of ventilation is about right
obviously that's an issue that is specific to your location which is quite different than mine, but it's a reference point anyway
keep in mind that 1 big hole provides a LOT more flow than a bunch of little holes

Dave

[allrawpaul]

One thing about jar feeders is that if the holes in the lid are too large, the syrup can really flow out fast. Keep the holes very small and there shouldn't be enough leakage to bother the bees.