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2 man hive scale

10K views 20 replies 7 participants last post by  Belewsboy 
#1 ·
photos on the way.
 
#11 ·
the plywood is just a dummy board for splitting the space of a ten frame deep into two spaces.

here's how the scale works.
Unless you staple the boxes together and grab just the top box with a sling the hive will be tippy. You can use two rachet straps that hold down a stick with a hook in the center to the cover. Then put your scale on the hook and lift. This will be very stable
The short partner should stand erect and hold his end of the bar in the center of his chest while the tall partner bends his knees, hooks the load and then straighten his legs to lift the load. It would be better to make the lifting bar longer on the side who is doing the lifting so he has space to bend his knees.
 
#8 ·
yep, similiar idea. we have smaller overwintering colonies down here. mine are averaging about 80lbs, but the bottom mediums are mostly foundation at this point. i pick up the left, then the right side respectively and add the two. it's very close to the same weight i get if i pick up the whole hive, and the hive stays stable.
 
#12 ·
This is a portable scale I made out of welded aluminum jig plate (I run a metal shop), but it could be made out of 2 x 2 boards as well. It has a digital luggage scale and is very portable and very quick. I tilt up each side of a hive and average the number. I take that number and plot out each hive on an Excel graph. Very interesting info.

Table Machine
 
#14 ·
This is a portable scale I made out of welded aluminum jig plate (I run a metal shop), but it could be made out of 2 x 2 boards as well. It has a digital luggage scale and is very portable and very quick. I tilt up each side of a hive and average the number. I take that number and plot out each hive on an Excel graph. Very interesting info.

View attachment 3478
very kewl belew!
 
#18 ·
Actually I take an average and multiply that by a constant I came up with by weighing a hive on a bathroom scale. But you may be right as my constant results in about the same number as adding the two readings together. Not sure how I came up with my method, but it just didn't seem right that lifting one side would equal half the hive weight assuming the weight was even on each side.
 
#20 ·
but it just didn't seem right that lifting one side would equal half the hive weight assuming the weight was even on each side.
The odds are it won't be equal because there could be more honey on one side than the other. But if one side measures 70 pounds and the other side measures 50 the hive weighs 120. If you were to sling the whole thing from a rope you would confirm that. What you need to be careful of is not tipping the hive because that will change the CG and throw the readings off. I can actually see this happening with my fulcrum method on the scale reading. The greatest reading is just before it tips and then the reading will go down.
 
#21 ·
My hives are rarely equal weight on each side. I was speaking hypothetically. And I only lift them about a quarter inch or so. I lift each side at least twice to make sure the readings repeat. The interesting thing is the graph. I tried my first open feeding a few weeks ago and based on the graph, almost all 5 gallons was consumed by one hive. The hive that needed some weight gain never appeared to find the feeder or either didn't want any. Now I need to focus on the light hive now.
 
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