New Screened Bottom Boards

[Joel]

https://www.dadant.com/catalog/produ...roducts_id=749

I was looking at one of these at Dadant. It is a very sturdy well built unit. It has re-enforced holes in the bottom so you can fasten it to the hive body. It is pricey at $22.80 but when I think of no more hive staples and no more damaged hive bodies it doesn't seem so bad. I have a couple of question for SBB users

1) Is the "hive trash" buildup on the bottom board going to mean I will have to remove and clean these yearly?

2) Are you folks wintering with these in the north successfully or are you using an insert to make them solid in winter.

3) Any other observations?

[DChasey]

I purchased the wooden sbb from Dadant's two months ago and have adjusted it to include a slide in bottom board to close off under the screen if needed. If you use hive stands similar to those in Roger Morse's Book The Complete Book Of Beekeeping. A dead air space is created under the hives on the stand in the Winter position. A removable bottom under the screen would not be needed, unless a mite monitoring program was being used at some time in the season.
The easiest fasteners I have come across is just a small piece of flat metal with two holes drilled through it at both ends, and two small wood screws used to attach at each corner. One screw in the BB and one in the Hive Body. With the use of battery power tools these days it is easy to attach and reattach BB in the field. A lot easier than wacking a hive with a hammer.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I have about 50 or these plastic/stainless steel SBB's. I have been using them since they came out almost two years ago.

I take a treated 2x4x21 and split it length ways, then screw one of the splits to each side from the top. The predrilled holes are countersunk, three holes per side.

The split rails screwed on bottom make a perfect 1/4 inch slot for the tray to slide in.

The top of the SBB's have a rail along each side to hold the boxes from sliding. The rails are sturdy and the boxes almost snap into place.

I do think that the SBB's are a bit pricey, but worth it, buy in quantity for a discount. They should last a long time, I haven't broken or cracked one yet.