Top Bars Questions

[DennisBEEK]

I am a brand new BEEK and I've decided to start construction of a Kenya-style TBH. I found some pretty good instructions on lumber cuts and assembly on Tumbledown Farmer's blog. Two things are missing from these instructions, though, so I could use some help from anyone out there with more knowledge.

First, the top bars for the brood nest are supposed to measure 1" x 1 1/4" x 15", while the top bars for honey are supposed to measure 1" x 1 1/2" x 15".
My questions here are...should there be an equal number of the two different top bars...and how should they be arranged? Also, do they need to be affixed to the edges of the hive or just be suspended loosely...putting a plywood cover over them?

Second, the instructions do not provide any information on how many and where to locate the entrances/exits to the hive. Should it/they be located on the short end or the long end and how high from the bottom?

Sure appreciate some help. I can't wait to get started.
:confused:

[drobbins]

hehe, with TBH's there are no rules:)
you can put the entrance where ever you want, you think about your local conditions and try to figure out what will be best for the bees
as a general rule I think most folks try to put the brood combs, the 1-1/4" ones, near the entrance
I find that if you put the entrance in the end of the hive, then use a follower board to reduce the size of the whole thing to something like a nuc, you can get them established on the narrow topbars near the entrance like I mentioned
then after you get them going you can add the wider storage frames farther back in the hive
confusing yea?:)

Dave

[MIKI]

To clarify; when using two different size bars you will naturally give them brood bars first as this is what they will establish first the brood nest. As you see them expanding toward the follower board you will see the pattern of the brood shrink to what they can keep warm. Picture a foot ball or basket ball suspended in the middle of the brood nest. this shrinking of the size of the patteren and the increase of the honey storage will indicate where to put the first honey bar. When the outter edge of the brood nest is reached the other side of the comb or the first full comb of honey has indicated the storage area. Once you have reached this point pull the follower board and fill the hive with honey bars and hope for a good flow!

NOTE: If you use a middle entrance then this applies to both sides. Ues an end entrance and you will only have to worry about one side and one follower board!

HINT: keep extra of both sizes around and adjust with the bees as they expand the brood nest. Also be aware when you start using two different size bars it is wise to rip a few smaller shims as the space at the end will vary and still needs to be closed.

[Tomas]

If you want to make things simple you can use just one size for top bars. You don’t have to have two different sizes. Mine are all 1 and 3/8 inches—both for brood and for honey. They work fine.

Although a bit wider bar could be nice for honey combs I don’t think it is absolutely necessary. Plus, if you want to interchange some combs within the hive or with another hive you don’t have to worry about whether it’s a fat bar or thin bar that is getting moved. If you want, you can eventually use a honey comb for brood or vice versa and not worry about how the bars are getting mixed up.

I like to keep it simple. I let my bees decide how big they want to make the brood nest and when they’re ready to start making honey combs. Keeping all the bars the same size avoids me from playing the guessing game of how many of each bar size I need to use and where I need to put them in the box. Each hive can act differently.

My top bars are not affixed to the edge of box. They just set on top of the box with a bit of overhang on either side. I just make sure the combs get put back in the box without touching the side and then push them all together so they’re nice and tight against each other.

The cover is just a sheet of aluminium—just something to keep the rain off the box (no overwintering here so plywood isn’t really necessary.) The bars themselves act as a type of cover.

I usually keep my brood nests in the middle of the box and then get honey at either end. It works just fine for me. If the bees want to expand it a bit more towards the front or towards the back, I let them decide. I just make sure the box is big enough to accommodate the brood nest and then have more than enough space for honey. My boxes are sometimes bigger than what they really need to be but for me it’s better to have too much space than too little.

I also don’t see a real big deal with where you put an entrance. I’ve used all different locations on the box without problems. The direction it’s facing in regards to the hive’s surroundings seems to be more important than exactly where it’s located on a box. Just make sure it’s big enough for the bees to go in and out comfortably when the hives get nice and strong.

Like Dave mentioned, there are no absolute rules with tbhs. Read past threads in the tbh forum and you’ll see this. Bees seem to adapt to the boxes you put them in without too much of a problem.

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Tom

[BjornBee]

I agree Tomas. I have all one size and have never seen a problem. Mine actually were cut at 1-5/16 and they work great.