Bee-O-Sphere

[jfischer]

Maybe I'm a sucker for new toys, but I
just ordered a few supers of "Bee-O-Sphere"
plactic 4-ounce comb honey frames to
run a "bake-off" against the usual Ross Rounds.

They are supposed to be shipping the first
production units this month, so I will
toss them on when I put on my second batch
of Rounds (late May is when the first batch
is usualy capped).

I've never had anyone tell me that 8 oz
rounds were "too much comb honey", but
if nothing else, the 4 oz units might make
nice "trial size" give-aways for people
who buy liquid honey, but just are not
sure they would like actual wax comb with
their honey.

Anyone else trying them out?

[Michael Bush]

I'm thinking seriously about it. I like that they fit standard medium boxes and don't require a lot of special equipment.

[Clayton]

I'd like to try them at some point in time. Let us know what you think of them and how they sell.

Clay

[jfischer]

I'm sure that they will "sell", as I
have never been able to produce enough
comb honey to have much left over for
myself. Even comb sections that I would
expect to not sell and eat myself instead are snapped
up at full price without any quibbling over
their much-less-than perfect cosmetic
appearance.

You see, old folks REALLY like comb honey.

The retirement homes, the VFW, the Shriners,
the American Legion, these groups ring the
phone off the hook starting at the end of
April asking "any comb honey ready yet"?

When it is ready, we deliver the still-frozen
sections "on ice" in coolers straight to their
freezers, and let each group handle splitting up
the allocation of their (bulk) order into individual
orders.

It is a "niche market", but the "cost of sales" is
zero, labels are not required. Some of these old
folks are no longer able to indulge in any other
vices except honey, so I am under pressure to
produce every year.

Yeah, that's right - I'm the "crack dealer" for
senior citizens in 4 counties. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

Life is good.



[This message has been edited by jfischer (edited April 04, 2004).]

[BULLSEYE BILL]

It was either Drapers or Dadant that had a sample of the Bee-o-Sphere at the spring KSHP meeting. I had seen them advertized in the magazines but when I handeled them I knew that I would like to try them. I thought that at 62.50 per ten they were a bit steep, but it might be worth it if they work out as advertized.

I ordered mine from Betterbee, and two weeks later found out that Drapers or Dadant finally decided to pick them up as well. They told me it was going to be a five thousand dollar investment to carry the line.

I hope the bees take to them.

[wfarler]

I think it an interesting idea but was disappointed to see the pricing. Maybe with some acceptance and volume they will consider lowering the price. Fifty bucks a super (actually 8 frames) is pretty steep for a less than a pound of plastic.

Even at volume they are asking 33 cents a container for 4oz of comb. At that price the container cost as much as the honey.

[Jim A Ohio]

Yep, I bit also, but only on one super's worth. I thought it a bit pricy too but I liked the idea of everything being there, including the package to sell it in. I guess we'll see... http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Rick H]

We had Andrew (one of the inventors)at our meeting this month. He made a good presentation and most of us are ready to order ours. Quite interesting how the bees will store honey by type. Cells are filled with the same type then there is a definite switch as they start a new type. This can be seen by looking at the back of the pack.

[jfischer]

> Quite interesting how the bees will store
> honey by type. Cells are filled with the
> same type then there is a definite switch
> as they start a new type. This can be seen
> by looking at the back of the pack.

Can you explain the above in more detail?
Do you mean "nectar type"?
If not, what do you mean?

[wfarler]

So I broke down and ordered some. No idea when they will ship. Anyone received theirs?

These guys planning on shipping for the fall flow?

[Michael Bush]

I haven't got mine yet. Maybe demand outstripped the supply.

[Sungold]

I spoke w/BetterBee today, they had just received shipment from Bee-O-Sphere and are in the process of shipping back orders today, tomorrow & Thursday. We should be gettin'em soon.

[Sungold]

I received my Bee-O Pacs today. So they are on the way! cj

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Mine came yesterday while I was out shooting Prairie Rats.

[James Urbish]

some guys i know go to prairie dog shoots in north west Texas. They shoot mostly 22-250 and 223. about one year ago I got a 700 vls remington in 308 . It shoots better than I can but It does not realy have the ballistics for those small animals. I would like to try it out at longer ranges. I guess that I could use one of those evil assault weapons. So many animals so little time. someday....

[MountainCamp]

I have a Remington 700 Varmit in a 22-250 for 14 years and I love the gun. It's great for sitting and just scoping the hill. I wouldn't want to have to carry it around all day thou.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

James, try some Hornandy 110 gr V-Max in that 308. Not only will they turn inside out, but they will launch thirty feet up too! I wouldn't buy that BDL for Prairie Rats, without a heavy varmint barrel it will heat up too much and lose accuracy. It would be ok for coyotes and coons, but not for sustained fire. Save up for a VSSF in 223, 50 gr v-max @ 3150fps and you can watch through the scope and the results are identical out to 200 yds. 22-250 is nice for further distance, but hard to watch the rats blow up,(too much recoil).

Just so I am not violating the thread, I also got Bee-o-sphere from Dadant today too. I ordered a medium from both places just to make sure. I will place them both on tomorrow.

[BeeMiner]

Sounds like the Bee-o-Spheres are making their wa out to the west coast. Maybe mine will be here Moday or Tuesday.

I had a Thompson Center Contender pistol with a .223 barrel and scope. It was a real blast to shoot. Also had a 30-30 barrel and a .357 barrel. Broke my heart but I had to sell it. Sniffle, sniffle.

[Michael Bush]

>Bill can I use a 110 grain in the vls with the barrel twist that It has.

The .308 will be a 1 in 10. In theory a slower twist might be more accurate but in reality this isn't always so. The biggest thing to worry about is too long of a bullet with too slow of a twist.

>With the 110 grain bullet it will still be a big step up over the 100 grain we shoot in the 6mm and be flater than the 165 or 168. the nato 308 works with the m1a and will be easy to get in troubled times.

The 110 gr .308 will not come near the 6mm for flat shooting at any distance. Even in .308 a 110 grain bullet will only be flatter than a 165 grain bullet for about 200 yards and then it all falls apart.

The 110 grain .308 going 3300 fps (max listed in my old Sierra manual) sighted in at 200 yards is 11 inches low at 300 yards. The 168 grain .308 going max (2800 fps) sighted in at 200 yards is only 5 1/2" low at 300 yards. Not to mention about the same amount more wind bucking abilities. Of course the 110 grain will recoil a lot less.

>Any comments on the non floating barrel vls 308. Please be honest! or, did I put beauty before accuracy?

Accuracy is a complex thing. Sometimes you get more with free floating sometimes you get more with some dampening from the forstock. Especially with a laminated stock that won't warp with humidity changes, I would prefer the dampening effect on a light barrel. On a heavy barrel it is irelevant.

And, to stay on topic, my Bee-o-sphere is still not here yet.

[jfischer]

People who are getting their Bee-O-Sphere
(a very strange name for a product that
produces rectangular sections, dontcha think?)

...are getting them shipped from where?

I have yet to hear word of mine, and I
ordered a number of them.

Time's a wastin' here in VA... stuff is
blooming, and the ross rounds are being
drawn and filled.

I'm starting to wonder if mine will be
here soon enough to give them a fair trial
this year.

[Dee]

>>...are getting them shipped from where?

I just looked up the Bee-O-Sphere on google, the original company is from Canada
i live in PA and wont be able to get mine from my local supplier (Drapers) until 2 more weeks
i'm waiting to hear what their price is whether i want to buy from Betterbee or not ($49.95+s/h set of 8, cheaper for 3+ sets)
sorry to hear you might be missing the honey flow http://www.beesource.com/ubb/frown.gif i might not get anything much this spring either, 6 brand new packaged colonies & 1 weak overwintered colony (& 2 dead)
Deanna

[James Urbish]

no bee o sphere today. hope it comes in on monday so I can get it put on soon before the tallow flow. If thats the case I will stick with the 168 grain. The gun does not kick much at all. I still need to handload it . I bought the dies years ago for another gun. When i do get to hunt deer I dont like to waste meat and this is my main reason for my focus on accuracy. Twice down in south Texas I have head shot nice bucks only to here groans from the other hunters. They were easy to find and clean. One I got mounted and you can hardly tell it. But these were just babys compared to those corn feed brutes you have up there.

[BeeMiner]

jfischer said:
"People who are getting their Bee-O-Sphere
(a very strange name for a product that
produces rectangular sections, dontcha think?)"

I checked my Betterbee catalog and what I ordered was actually called "Bee-O-Pac" made by a Canadian company called Bee-O-Sphere with URL - http://www.beeosphere.com

The Bee-O-Pac makes 4 oz rectangular sections.

Mark

[jfischer]

Got mine today.

No instruction sheet, not a problem for
anyone with an internet connection, but
a serious error for most beekeepers.

Cute yes, but I suspect that the bees
will spend just as much time propolizing
the small gaps around the edge of each
"frame" as they spend drawing comb and
filling it with honey. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

We shall see...

[BULLSEYE BILL]

> Bill can I use a 110 grain in the vls with the barrel twist that It has.

Yes you can, however it will take some load development. The one twist in ten inches is a faster twist and will over stabilize the light bullet, it was really meant for a heavier (longer) bullet. It will not shoot as well at longer distances with the light bullet because of stabilization and wind, (ballistic coeffency), but our point here is that you have a 308 with a heavy barrel and you want to shoot varmits. You can still have a lot of fun out to 200 yards with the 110 gr bullet.

>The one thing that I was concerned with the vls was the fact that it is not free floating it has some form of planned contact at the forend . I have read articles where upon freefloating of the vls accuracy suffered.

Your results may vary. I would float the barrel and and bed the action then try some load development. It should shoot, what you really lack is the bedding, which is why they tend to shoot better with some pressure on the barrel.

>The vssf and all the synthetic stocks are all freefloating ,

and pillar bedded

>but even so I hate to say this I just fell in love with the look feel and balance of the laminated stock.

I like my black guns, I like my wood guns, I like my synthetic guns, I like my stainless guns, why hell, I think I like guns!

> I am not into mags when it comes to rifles but i was looking for an upgrade over the 6mm . Our family has had good luck with the 3006 over the years but that would require a long action and is not off the shelf in the varmit series so i went with the 308 because of availabilty and it was 30 cal.

It is hard to call anything over a 308 a varmint gun. It is even harder to to try to make one tool fit all occasions. If you are going to pop a wild dog, coon, or any large varmint, ok, just about any caliber will do. I use 7 mag for that and deer, but when it comes to prairie rats and a target rich environment, the mid range guns (22 hornet to 22-250, or 220 swift) are the best.

>With the 110 grain bullet it will still be a big step up over the 100 grain we shoot in the 6mm and be flater than the 165 or 168.

Not necessarily, but the use of the v-max bullet will be a big improvment, the giggle factor goes up tremendiously on the short range shots. Save your 165 / 168 grain bullets for the long shots.

>the nato 308 works with the m1a and will be easy to get in troubled times.

Keep it simple, keep it nato.

>Any comments on the non floating barrel vls 308. Please be honest! or, did I put beauty before accuracy?

See above. Some say show don't go, but with a little work it can.

> But these were just babys compared to those corn feed brutes you have up there.

Hey, you could be shooting those little things they have in Lousyanna, they have a bag limit on them there. We have larger wild dogs here than their deer.


>No instruction sheet, not a problem for
anyone with an internet connection, but
a serious error for most beekeepers.

I installed mine over the weekend. They don't fit in the boxes worth a **** . You need to try them in your box before you get to the yard. I had to add a 1/4 inch to one of my boxes to keep them from pushing up in the box. I could not put the lid on the hive. As a matter of fact, if I didn't have a long hive tool, I would not have been able to get them all squared away in the box. You will need a long thin tool to wedge inbetween the frames to get them packed evenly into the box. The first one was not easy.

Another idea came to me about bees drawing out on the the plastic. I sprayed each of the packs with a small squirt of 1 to 1 syrup before installing them just for a little insurance.

[Jim A Ohio]

I hived a big swarm on a medium with foundation as a brood chamber, queen excluder, and the bee-o-pac on top. The bees wouldn't touch the plastic for a while. I added a shallow super with foundation between the excluder and the bee-o-pac because I thought they would need the room. I misted the bee-o-pac with syrup to try and help. It's been 12 days since the swarm was hived and they are now starting to fill out the center sections. I have to admit, they look real pretty with the sun shining down in the hive!
I too was dissappointed though with how poorly the two pieces of the frame went together. It's almost like you have to insert them in the super to keep the frame halves together. Now I'm wondering if I should even think about trying to move center frames to the outside and the outside in in order to get all the sections filled. I would guess that this would be a difficult task. I might try it to see how it goes though. Anyone else working with these now that they have most likely arrived?
I like the concept and I think the package presentation is a sure seller, but it still needs some fine tuning on the frame assembly I think.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>I too was dissappointed though with how poorly the two pieces of the frame went together. It's almost like you have to insert them in the super to keep the frame halves together.

When you put the halves together, did you smash the 'pegs' with plyers to peign the 'rivet' so they would not seperate? I was wondering if you got instructions with your order, I did.

[BeeMiner]

Like Bullseye Bill, I think I'll have to make a 1/4" or 1/2" shim to keep the bottoms of the pacs from bottoming out.

I didn't get instructions with my order, but here's the instructions given on the Bee-O-Sphere site.

1. The Bee-O-Pac system consists of eight bee-o-pac frames that fit directly into a standard 6 5/8" honey super. These frames are assembled from two nearly identical frame halves. One half has eight holes die cut on its sides while the other half has round buttons in matching locations.

2. To assemble the two frame halves: take a frame half with the buttons and lay it on the table with the plugs pointing up. Place the other half with the holes on top of the first half so that the buttons fit through the holes. Push down on the top frame to hold everything in place. With a pair of square nose pliers, crimp the two halves together at each button/hole combination, by crimping the buttons and forming a rivet through each hole. Push up with the bottom plier jaw to make sure the button is completely through the hole before crimping the button. Time: 20 seconds per frame


3. Place eight assembled frames into the super as with standard frames. The fit is snug. Put 7 frames in the super and then use a piece of corrugated cardboard about 7" by 15" as a sort of shoe horn. With the seven frames in place use the cardboard to cover the spacer buttons on the last frame and also compress the stack of frames slightly. Now you can slip the last frame into position and pull out the cardboard and everything lines up. The tightness of the frames keeps everything straight and aligned.

4. Place the super on the top of a strong hive. Let the bees build comb.

5. When the Bee-O-Pac frames are filled and capped use a bee escape between the super you wish to remove and the hive and then remove the super with the filled frames and take back to your honey house.

6. Back at your honey house remove the Bee-O-Pac frames one at a time from the super. Separate the frame into the two halves by prying apart the rivet points with a hive tool or screwdriver. Lie the two halves on the table, comb side up. Separate the outside portion of one frame half by following the die cuts with a utility knife and cutting the very small "nicks" that still attach everything together. This will leave eight Bee-O-Pacs attached to each other along their edges. Separate the eight "pacs" in the same way with a knife. Do the same for the other frame half. Time: 2 minute per frame approx.

7. Snap the accompanying lids on each separated container. Time: 1 minute per frame approx.

8. Attach a wraparound label to each lidded Bee-O-Pac ready for retail sale. Time: 1 minute per frame approx.

9. The individual Bee-O-Pacs may be stacked on top of each other, in a box for transport to market, using the self-stacking feature. Time: 1 minute per frame approx.

10. The comb honey must be frozen in the deep freeze to kill any wax moth eggs that may be on the comb otherwise they will hatch and make a mess. We recommend you freeze the comb honey after it has been completely packaged with the lids

[Jim A Ohio]

No, I didn't receive any instructions with my order. I did "smash the pegs" which worked ok, but not 100%. Do you think they will hold together with the weight of the honey in them in order to rotate the center frames out or should I just have patience...I guess I just worry too much, most likely the bees will propolize the frames and they will be fine... http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

[James Urbish]

Have not got the bee o pac yet from better bee will call today need it asap for this year. just from what i am hearing it might not matter.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I don't think I will try to rotate mine. Once they start getting heavy AND sticky they will be even harder to get into place.

[James Urbish]

better bee said It will be here on wed. bout time for this year.

[Oxankle]

James:

How do you like the taste of tallow honey? I made a lot of it when I lived in Corpus Christi, but I never really developed a liking for the taste.

Here in Oklahoma I am all of a sudden getting a vetch crop, my great favorite. Seems that someone got vetch started in his wheat, combined it, had it cleaned for seed and gave a lot of the cleanings to a friend for his meadow. I buy hay from that fellow so now I have vetch too.
Ox

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Two weeks since I installed them, clover is in full bloom, and the girls havn't touched them yet.

[Jim A Ohio]

Checked the hive with the bee-o-pac super today and they have progressed outward well. Now they are working earnestly on 5 of the frames and beginning to work on the outer ones.

[wfarler]

I had problems with the halves staying together, once jammed into the super things held together - sort of. I hope they propolize them together a bit. I considered adding a couple of staples along the top just to hold things together. We'll see.

[James Urbish]

Got mine today hope to get it on this afternoon.

[tarheit]

Ordered mine from better bee 6 weeks ago. Was told they were backordered but would be in 2 weeks from then. Still nothing early this week (and no charge showing up on the credit card either). My wife called and was told 'theres a problem I'll have to check with someone', then later was told by the next person that came on the line that there was a problem with shipping and they were 'shipped here rather than there' (Which make no sense to me, and I hardly belive they were ever shipped without being charged), 'but they will go out next week'. Their explanation was confusing, but hopefully they will arrive soon because the credit card was charged the next day.

[Sperlich]

Bee O Sphere

I have been reading your comments regarding the bee-o-pac and i wish to say the following
1. the demand for the product was over whelming for us just coming on the market place for the first time.
2. We also did not put instruction sheets into the cases and that error has been corrected. It maybe too late for some of the early buyers and we have been trying to back track to get the instructions out anyway we can.
3. When we designed the connection tabs we had to consider many things and the one that really became a concern was at the time of harvest. What I mean by this is that the wax capping will not take a lot of abuse. At the time of harvest it is very important that the frames seperate with ease.
4. We are starting to get feed back regarding the bee O Pacs and from the sounds of it Harvest maybe very soon for some. My suggestion when it comes to seperating the frames is that you do it while it is still hanging by the tabs in the super if your planning to do the harvest alone. Remove each half and place on a flat surface. If you take the full frame out at once it will require two people.
5. Ian and I will re-think the connection tabs since it has become such an issue but what we found is that when the tabs are pinched and the bees glue the seam, it become very sturdy
6.For the beekeepers that are finding that acceptance seems to be slow I will refer to a comment that was made on this site about spraying sugar water on the frames to get the bees attracted to the super. I will agree with this comment as being the best way to get them started faster on filling the packages.
7. In Europe honey is being sold by floral source instead of color. The bee O Pac is a small package and it will be easy to seperate flora source when it comes to harvest. Ian and I discovered that the bees seperate floral source and it can be seen when you look at the back side of the packages. Something to consider when marketing the Bee O Pacs to the consumer is that you sell a flavor instead of color. Some very strong flavors would be Strawberry, Blueberry, Buckwheat, clover and this list will expand greatly as each geographic region markets their own flora sources.

I hope that I did not bore everyone with my comments but after four years of testing the product before release we still have a lot to learn. What we did set out to do was to get the bees to fill their own consumer ready container which they will do, reduce the effort for the beekeeper in the production of comb honey, increase the value for comb honey and increase the revenue for the beekeeper and last give the consumer the smaller package they wanted.
The last statement is hard for many to believe but we drew that conclusion from many market studies that have been done over the years.


Andrew Sperlich www.beeosphere.com (http://www.beeosphere.com)

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Thanks Sperlich for the info, I am glad that the spraying with syrup has worked for someone before. I did that when I installed them about three weeks ago, my girls have yet to start useing them. Any tips on getting the bees working the packs other than the syrup? Perhaps more crowding or less super space?

Just fyi, I had no problem with smashing the tabs, well I messed up two tabs in two supers, that wasn't bad I thought.

[Sperlich]

You still need the same conditions for comb honey production as before

1.Good honey flow
2.full of bees,
3.and the comb honey super being the only place they can go.

The bees like the plastic as far as plastic goes so if they are not going into the super it just means that some where you are missing one of the three conditions

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>You still need the same conditions for comb honey production as before
>1.Good honey flow

I am on my last leg of the yellow clover but there is still lots of forraging left.

>2.full of bees,

Herein lies part of the problem, they were so crowded one of the hives if not both swarmed.

>3.and the comb honey super being the only place they can go.

And I need to remove the other supers that are filled but not capped.

>The bees like the plastic as far as plastic goes so if they are not going into the super it just means that some where you are missing one of the three conditions

Thanks for the help, I'll make some changes next weekend, I think there is still time, I hope.

[Dee]

My Bee-O-Pacs came in time for the Basswood flow, here in the next few weeks. I ordered thru the phone from BetterBee on 5/26 - so 9 days, not bad.
I put one together and it didnt seem too hard to get the two pieces together, i pulled off the little round hole punch before crimping with the pliers.
They are cute little things - I hope they sell well, I thing I'll giving some away to some of my "better" customers.
How many supers are you all doing, I'm just doing one (eight frames).
I like that they send a recent newspaper with every order, I just wish they wouldn't wrinkle it up so bad when they put in the box. lol
Deanna

[Michael Bush]

Well, mine came, but I haven't figuree out how to get the two halves together. I got two boxes. One of lids and one of the frames. But other than the two kinds (halves) of the frames I there are no other pieces. Are there supposed to be some kind of pins that hold them together? There are no instructions, but printed the ones on the web site. Still it says:

"To assemble the two frame halves: take a frame half with the buttons and lay it on the table with the plugs pointing up. Place the other half with the holes on top of the first half so that the buttons fit through the holes. Push down on the top frame to hold everything in place. With a pair of square nose pliers, crimp the two halves together at each button/hole combination, by crimping the buttons and forming a rivet through each hole. Push up with the bottom plier jaw to make sure the button is completely through the hole before crimping the button."

So is this just squashing the plastic piece from the other half that protrudes through the hole?

Pictures would be a BIG help.

[Dee]

Hi Michael
look up a little on this thread there is a post from Sperlich (dated May 28 at 11:51pm) he is from the manufacturer Bee O Sphere.
I popped out the hole punches before i put the two pieces together and crimped. It did take a little more time doing that but i thought that they crimped together much easier.
Those "bubbled" out tabs are the things that will hold the two pieces together but its important to make sure the two side are together for the most part before smashing the "bubble". If they dont crimp together use a needle nose plier and pop the bubble back out and try crimping again. I had to do this to about 3 of the bubbles.

As for pictures look at the manufacturers website beeosphere.com , mine didnt come with directions from Better Bee so im glad i knew how to put them together!

Also if you didnt read from a post from before, when putting in the last 'frame' use a piece of cardboard to hold the next-to-last frame aside so the side tabs wont hit and the last frame will slide right in.

How many are you trying out? I only bought enough for 1 super, I'll probably be wishing i did more. Good luck!
Deanna

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Another week and they still have not touched them http://www.beesource.com/ubb/frown.gif

[Michael Bush]

Thanks for the tips. I got them on the hives yesterday.

[Sungold]

On May 5th I put a super of Bee O Pacs on each of 2 hives sitting next to each other. Just checked them late today. One hive has not touched them, the other has just about filled them out with the exception of the outer most sections (those facing the wall of the super). The plastic sections are crammed in the super so tight I don't think the bees can access the sections facing the wall. Anyone else starting to see results?

[Sungold]

On May 5th I put a super of Bee O Pacs on each of 2 hives sitting next to each other. Just checked them late today. One hive has not touched them, the other has just about filled them out with the exception of the outer most sections (those facing the wall of the super). The plastic sections are crammed in the super so tight I don't think the bees can access the sections facing the wall. Anyone else starting to see results?

[tarheit]

They finnaly came just a few days after I called and checked on them. I do hope other venders will carry them next year (and I'll be sure to order early).

First impressions: The two halves go together just fine and relatively quickly using a small pair of pliers to smash the tabs. I can definately see some advantage over cleaning frames and installing wax. Fit in the super isn't the best, but I don't think it will pose a real problem. They are just a bit tall and a bit too wide (1/4") to fit 8 in the super I used. The super was just a bit narrower than standard measuring 6 5/8" tall by 16 1/8" wide.

Still because they are flexable I don't think the hight will cause a problem. And since they fit medium I only placed 6 in the box with two frames of normal drawn comb on the outside positions. Hopefully this will help attract bees into the super and will eliminate any problems with poorly drawn sections on the outside. They will go on with the basswood flow.

[wfarler]

Has anyone had any experience marketing the filled squares?
Anxious to hear about public acceptance at the prices touted?

[Sungold]

I just pulled a super of the bee-O-Pac's. All of the sections that were filled were capped, however most sections were not completely filled (approx 10% completely filled, 50% were filled to 90%+, 30% were filled to 80-90%, 5% were filled to 70-80% and 5% were less than 70% filled). I need to learn to manage bees better for comb honey production.

On another note, the lids do not have a very positive snap lock fit with the base. I ordred some shrink bands from betterbee to see if they will help hold the lids on better. The comb sections are now in the freezer for a couple of days, then I'll label and shrink band them, then off to the farm market.

Oh, I sampled the honey, it was THE BEST EVER.

[This message has been edited by Sungold (edited June 21, 2004).]

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Good news! I have my Bee-O-Pacs ready for next year. It's been six weeks and they still haven't touched them.

[Michael Bush]

I'm afraid comb honey production requires crowding the bees. A cut down split is the normal method for doing this where much of the brood (all but one box anyway) is removed to a split and all the field bees are forced up into the supers.

[Sungold]

MB,

Next year, next year I'm going to do the cut down split thing. I've been reading the Comb Honey Basics (Taylor) booklet. Hey, every year I learn a bit more. I'm really enjoying this.

On a related note, my daughter (13) called me a work yesterday and asked if she could give her friend a section of comb honey. (they had stopped back at our house for lunch & her friend asked; what are those things?). I told her sure. During dinner my daughter told me that her friend "really" liked the comb honey. After lunch, as they walked back down to the lake, they ate it out of the container with their fingers (they finished it on the way). - thought to myself, isn't it great to be 13...life is good!

[This message has been edited by Sungold (edited June 26, 2004).]

[Dee]

>>>I'm afraid comb honey production requires crowding the bees. A cut down split is the normal method for doing this where much of the brood (all but one box anyway) is removed to a split and all the field bees are forced up into the supers.

probably best to use an excluder than right??

[Michael Bush]

I don't personally know any comb honey producers that use excluders. Queens seldom want to lay in a small box they want a big open brood nest and the excluder tends to be a "honey excluder".

[swarm_trapper]

we got our bee o pacs toda and are going to put them on today and see how they work i have noticed that they are very flimsy oh well.

[Dee]

when i was putting them in the super out in the yard some of the tabs came apart and i couldnt get them "popped" back together. Luckily i had my duck tape with me, i have the tape to keep the bees out of my suit, some day i'll sew it http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

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"The secret of life is not to do what you like, but to like what you do. God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage."

- Author Unknown -

[Dee]

my bees have yet to fill them but i'll definately sell for the price they suggest, $3.00, or try for $4

this will be my first yr selling comb honey, i plan on giving away one to the "better" customers

i do believe mine will have Basswood honey in them, the bees are practically full strength and Basswood is real soon, i only bought 8 of them (1 super full), i'll probably regret it when i run out of some to sell
hopefully they do sell that good and i'll buy more next yr, or i could get more for this fall, Goldenrod (but it tends to crystalize SO fast)

i'll just have to have some patients, i hope most everyone elses is doing ok
Deanna

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"Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots."

- Frank A. Clark -

[Jim A Ohio]

We drifted to the bee-o-pac in the Honey forum so I thought I would post this here too.

My outside sections were never being filled so I went to move the outside frames to the center and just decided to harvest 4 of the frames. I moved the unfilled outside frames to the center and filled the remaining space with standard frames.
I didn't have any problems with the frames coming apart while removing them (with a little care) and I thoroughly enjoyed the harvest/packaging process. It went super smoothly. The precut perforations separate from the rest of the "frame" easily. The lids provide more than enough clearance in case the bees draw the sections out too far, which is probably unlikely as tight as the frames fit. The sections stack well. The lids have tabs on the inside that snap over the section but not real snugly. You can pick the section up by the lid, but I wouldn't shake it while doing that. I secured the lid to my taste with some clear packing tape. It took no time at all to do 4 frames (64 sections) and the best thing was that I did it in my living room. No mess whatsoever. After this, I like them even more.
Some of the sections had empty cells in the corners and some weren't completely capped, but I thought I could sell those as seconds or just use them at home.
Here's the results: http://www.ohiohomestead.com/bee-o-pac.htm

Hopefully the remaining sections still in the super will now be filled and capped.

[Terneus]

Thanks everyone for the info. I was going to write a poor review of this bee-o-pac product because I didn't have the instructions others have shared on this site. Needless to say, duct tape looks silly and is frustrating on an expensive comb device. 1+ week and they've not touched the plastic. But scattered success here on the site is giving me hope. Looks like I'm going to have to be a more frequent visitor of this chat group...

[Michael Bush]

You need a pair of pliers with a square flat jaw on them. The electriction type with the side cutters and square nose is what I used to crimp them together. It worked perfectly I did not use, nor needed, any duct tape.

[wfarler]

I understand most commercial ross round producers feed honey into the hive to get the combs filled out. I may try this with the bee o pak as well, but only if they partially fill them. so far nothing and the flow will be over in a week or so.

maybe for the fall goldenrod flow.

[John Russell]

I bought a few of these. could not put them together, so I hot glued the edges. Worked great.
I didnt put full supers of them on though, I put them sporaticaly in the honey supers. They were accepted imediately, and most are filled.

I was disapointed at the price though. How much to make and ship these? I bought mine for over 6 bucks a pop. These are as expensive to make as a 2 liter pop bottle.

Despite the assembly issues, i really like the concept though. Almost zero packaging costs. I'll buy them again.

John Russell

[swarm_trapper]

we have had ours on the hives for four weeks they have now filled all but two frames. after i figured it out i think that the bee-o -pac is cheaper than a ross round or hogg half comb.

[jfischer]

Has anyone noticed that these things are
TOO &^%$*# HIGH for the 6 5/8 super they
are said to "fit"?

Now, if you add the extra space of a queen
excluder or an Imrie shim below, one can
at use them, but when harvest time comes,
I have no idea how a larger-scale operation
might stack supers of Bee-O-Pacs.

[BeeMiner]

Jim F.,

Have you emailed the Bee-O-Pac manufacturer asking about the height of their product? I too had to use a shim. I am hoping I received an early production run and the problem has been fixed in later shipments.

Mark