hive carrier

[bobbb]

Would like to buy or purchase a hive carrier. If anyone can sterr me in right direction would be great

[Michael Bush]

Brushy Mt and Walter T. Kelly both have them new for reasonable prices. If you look at how they work and are handy you could probably make one.

[USAviator]

I made a 2 person carrier with 4130 chromemoly steel tubing I had left over from my airplane project. I TIG welded it together and it works fine. I will post a pic if I can.

Stephen -in Michigan

[beeman 202]

Mann Lake just came out with a one=man hive carrier. Looks great, but I haven't tried it. Mann Lake has a website

[Michael Bush]

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catalog/page28.htm
I wonder what the maximum load is for it? I'm not sure a really heavy hive would work or not.

[Gunner63]

Dadants also sells a 2 person hive carrier. It worked well carrying heavy hives so far this spring.

[John Seets]

Howdy;
I wrote the following article last September for our association's newsletter. Hope this helps:


The Beekeeper's Consumer Report

I will need a hive carrier to move some hives this fall/winter so I can service their stands and area. The only two I could find available are the ones Kelly (Katz Super Hive Carrier) and Brushy Mountain sell so I ordered both to compare and contrast.

Results: Kelly's received the best rating.
Brushy Mountain's came in second.

The tests behind the results:

Since I did not want to move any hives now, I decided to simulate a weighted hive by placing two and a half cinder blocks on a board placed crosswise on top of a full-depth hive body. Each full cinder block weighed 35 pounds and the half weighed 17. I weighed them. That's 87 pounds plus 3 pounds for the board. Call it 90 pounds - the approximate weight of a full - full depth super of honey. I asked my wife to assist me in these tests because I wanted her viewpoint for the ladies.

We carried it around the yard to evaluate load balance, load security during movement and "ease of carry" or comfort, if you will. Both carriers securely carried the weighted hive body. However, Kelly's proved much better at balancing the load. Also, it was easier to lift the load with Kelly's due to its longer length (8") and contour shaped rubber foam grip handles not provided on Brushy's. While we did this, I noticed some neighbors watching us. I can't imagine what they were thinking.

Other differences worthy of note: Both fit OK over the outer cover. Both exhibited differences in the part of the carrier that contacts the hive body's handholds. Kelly's features a rubber covering for this part of the carrier. Brushy Mountain has a welded metal tang that is not welded parallel to its cross bar. It is welded at a 5-10 degree angle. I checked with Brushy and they are all like this. This means that the tang contacts the box's handholds at only one point rather than evenly. As a result, we noted that the metal tangs have a tendency to both notch the wood at these points and dig into the paint. The rubber piece around the bar on Kelly's left the super's handholds unmarred. However, the rubber may dry rot over time. It probably should be kept out of the elements and some kind of rubber (silicone?)preservative used. Kelly's arrived assembled and ready to use. Brushy's had to be assembled (2 bolts and nuts). Kelly's is easily folded for storage. Brushy's will fold only to 90 degrees and must be disassembled for compact storage. It is reminiscent of a lawn or beach chair frame.

Specifications:

Dimensions (flat):
Brushy's: 42 1/2" X 21"
Kelly's: 50" X 19 1/4"

Price:
Brushy's: $54 + ship
Kelly's: $80 + ship

[USAviator]

As I stated earlier, I made my own out of chromemoly tubing. I just measured the dimensions I needed and welded it up. Works great!

Cost? About $10 materials.

Stephen