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TBH Designs Wanted

53K views 60 replies 33 participants last post by  DocBB 
#1 ·
#29 ·
Good dezigns evrey1 . kenny61, I realy like your roof . WildBronco , your dezign is concidered a long hive . It shold offer top bar manipulation with lang compatability So if that is what you want, go for it . The roof may be slopet for snow , but down here in FL that space will give a place for pest to live . Frames are still a good idea, I have notised wth my honey bars some attachment to the sides.
 
#30 ·
Here is nice top bar designed by my brother in law, let me know what you guys think about it?

1. Cedar boxes
2. Green treated Legs
3. 8/1 screen on bottom
4. Bottom board swings down for cleaning
5. Pine framing for roof structure
6. Cedar Roof
7. Viewing window w/ removable cover
8. Entrance on end w/ landing board
9. Vented roof
10. 2 blank follower boards
11. 1 feeder follower board
12. 14 hooped frames
13. 14 blank 1 1/4" top boards







 
#36 · (Edited)
Here is my latest TBH design. T-Slant TBH design. I have slanted the hive and have cut steps for the bars to rest in. One of these hives have overwintered last winter; this winter I have three of them. My thought on the design was that the bees would work from the top downward, but not sure there is enough of a slant to make a difference. One thing I did notice is that the bees tended not to cross the comb onto multiple bars because of the position of the bars. This is a learning experience.

Doug

mylocalbees.wordpress.com
 
#37 ·
>My thought on the design was that the bees would work from the top downward, but not sure there is enough of a slant to make a difference.

In my opinion, the idea that bees won't move horizontally is a figment of the imagination of people who have never had a horizontal hive... I don't think the slant will make any difference.
 
#38 ·
I think you missed the whole vertical thing. Just because you prop up one side does not mean that the bees are moving in a vertical plane. When people say that bees prefer to move vertical they mean in alignment when the comb. The only vertical top bar hive that I know of is the Warre hive.
 
#42 ·
Hey I am all for experimenting. I was simply stating that when discussing vertical people mean that bees move easier when they don't have to cross comb in the winter. Even if you prop one end up really high the bees still align their comb with gravity. So the bees will still have to cross comb in order to get to the other side of the hive. Now I'll tell you that I have a TBH in MN going into its first year. Has been a mild winter thus far, but bees are still alive.
 
#49 ·
Thought I'd throw my modified barrel top bar hive design in the mix...

Main modifications are an addition of a divider within the hive, using a chicken water feeder with syrup inside to get them started, screened vent in the base, re-sizable entrance reducer, and of course a chicken coop.

Have several entries describing the process of building these here: http://www.independencehomestead.com/category/beekeeping/

Bees have been in them for 3 weeks now and both hives are doing very well.

Chickens are currently in a box in basement growing up to be ready to go outside in about 3-4 more weeks.



 
#50 ·
Saw Buck Base

My top bar hives I build with independent stands. I used white cedar based on one of my saw bucks like this:


I built them like this out of reject twisted, warped and bowed pieces of wood:



Here is one of the hives sitting on a base. This is how the hive made it through the winter here in zone 4 except in the winter I only had 1/2 of a cork opening:


My top bars are Langstroth width 1&1/4" wide. Any new bars I will make 1" and use spacers. If I pull out some of the spacers, it would allow the function of supering with Langstroth boxes, or nadiring a top bar hive from a Langstroth box.
 
#52 ·
Re: Saw Buck Base

I'm lovin' all these TBH designs. The barrels got me wondering about the feasibility of using a 4 ft long +/- tree trunk, ripped in half and hollowed/dug out. Diameter might need to be around 30 in. My neighbor has a felled hickory tree I can have . . . This sounds so crazy, it just might work . . . Anyone else? :)
 
#54 ·
Here's a simple design that I use with an optional screen bottom and stand. It's based on a Dr. Wyatt A. Mangum presentation (and now book). It's very practical because it uses dimensional lumber. The front and rear could be square but I like the way the angles look. The stand is also pretty simple, very stable, and it slips off for easy transport. I'm a strong advocate of a light weight roof that provides good ventilation. I simply keep a few spare bars (and spacers) on the top of each hive so I use them to support the roof and provide ventilation. Bricks/limbs/firewood are my norm for holding the roof down but if I kept hives where people couldn't see them I'd tie the roofs down.

A few things you might notice from the hive pic are the robber screens in place, I use sponges for entrance reducers, the first bar is a sideways so it's easy to enter from the front, the next few are lang bars with 1/8 inch spacers (from a cut nuc). I'm now building these without screen bottoms because my queens seem to be hygienic and I sample varroa using the sugar shake method. I'm also getting away screens because they provide refuge to SHBs and moths. Landing boards could easlily be added by attaching a shortened top bar below the holes. If you include them make sure to place them below the holes so water won't enter the hive.

Plan Floor plan Text Diagram Drawing
Text Line Font Brand Logo
Table Wood Sawhorse Plant Bee


Stuart
 
#56 ·
Since the "warrebeek" site seems to have completely disappeared I went back to my notes and began to work on a sketchup design. from pictures I kept on my HD.




I designed 33mm bars (a Perone influence I guess) instead of 32mm in the original

The Frankenhive can contain up to three separate colonies.
Each colony can be managed separately as a simple horizontal top-bar hive, nadired with occupied Warré hive boxes or supered with empty Warré hive boxes. The Frankenhive can be used for activities such as feeding or splitting a nucleus and raising queens.

FEATURES

Floor: flat, 38 mm thick
Entrance: multiple side and end entrances, each a combination of 19 mm diameter entrance holes, #9 tapered natural cork plugs
Hive-Body Box: variable shape and size, maximum W 28 x H 35 x L 99 cm internal dimensions, adjustable follower boards, 38 mm thick exterior walls
Comb Support: removable top-bars with 9 mm bee space
Comb Spacing: variable on-center spacing, 32 mm in the broodnests and 38 mm in the honey storage areas
Comb Height: uninterrupted to 35 cm in main box
Cover: coarse cloth on top-bars, wood edged quilt boxes containing natural insulating material retained with coarse cloth
Roof: gabled roof with ventilated cavity
Management: horizontal, nadired and/or supered, "Nestduftwärmebindung" retained within the hive
Wintering: flexible
Harvest: raw, cut comb and drained pressed comb
Management (sorry I didn't keep the pictures but it is easily comprehensive)

Frankenhive Management Strategies
The Frankenhive can contain up to three separate colonies. Each colony can be managed separately as a simple horizontal top-bar hive, nadired with occupied Warré hive boxes or supered with empty Warré hive boxes.
The following photos illustrate different management strategies.

SINGLE TIER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
The single tier Frankenhive can be divided with follower boards into one, two or three separate compartments. Each compartment has a separate entrance, either side or end.
A colony, illustrated in yellow, can be confined to a single compartment by using a follower board.
A second colony can occupy a second compartment by using a follower board.
A third colony can occupy a third compartment.
A single colony can expand horizontally as desired by moving the follower board.
An expanding colony and a confined colony can occupy the hive separated by a follower board as shown.
A single colony can be confined to the center compartment for added thermal efficiency during winter.

DOUBLE TIER MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Adding three separate second tier hive boxes on top of the first tier hive box expands the management strategies. The follower boards within the first tier can be aligned with the hive box sidewalls of the second tier. Again each compartment has a separate entrance, either side or end.
An empty second tier hive box placed on the first tier hive box can super a colony located in a first tier hive compartment.
Two empty second tier hive boxes placed on the first tier hive box can super an expanded colony located in the first tier hive.
A hive box containing an existing colony, illustrated in orange, can be placed on top of the first tier hive box. The colony can build from the hive box downward into a first tier compartment nadiring the existing colony.
A second tier hive box colony can be nadired, illustrated in orange, while a colony occupies a separate compartment, illustrated in yellow.
A second tier hive box colony can be nadired, illustrated in orange, while a first tier colony, illustrated in yellow, is supered.
Two empty second tier hive boxes placed on the first tier hive box can super an expanded colony located in the first tier hive while a second tier hive box colony is nadired.
A single colony can be confined to the center compartment of the first and second tier for added thermal efficiency during winter.
A single colony can be confined to the center compartment for added thermal efficiency during winter while supplemental honey, illustrated in orange, is provided from a second tier hive box.
Adding additional hive boxes make a third and even fourth tier possible. The Frankenhive can be used for activities such as feeding or splitting a nucleus and raising queens.
PS: it is designed in mm, to help people from Fahrenheitland I give this little trick : just select all, copy the model, open a new (empty) sketchup file and paste : magic ! all measurments become Imperial !
 
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