[mpgreer]

i bought a little scale with which i can weigh the back of the hive. it helps with my obsession of wanting to inspect them every single day. i double the reading on the scale for an estimated hive weight. it's not very accurate, and this particular model is plastic crap, but it gives me a relative number where i can tell if they are gaining or losing weight over time.

 

[Beeonefarms]

hmm pretty good scientific eyeball guessing...

 

[WWW]

Where did you buy this new gadget, I have considered purchasing something like this for a while.

 

[David LaFerney]

Way more accurate than picking it up and guessing. If you inspect a couple of hives and see what the number is for one that is well stocked then that should be a pretty good yardstick.

 

[KPeacock]

i have a similar device. i got it off ebay. look for either a luggage scale, or a big game scale. you should be able to find either with an acceptable weight range. i think i paid something like $12 for mine.

 

[mpgreer]

Where did you buy ...

amazon. search for luggage scale. $10.
i had a similar non-digital fishing scale as a kid. with a built-in tape measure.

 

[FlowerPlanter]

That would really help for winter prep, and checking during winter.

 

[Pete O]

I just got the same scale off of Ebay last week. Mine will be used to measure super frame weight so that I won't need to pull the frames out completely. I'm not looking for super accuracy, just relative measurements like the original poster.

 

[WWW]

Thanks guys, I think I will need to have one of these.

 

[Bob J]

I'm going to do this set up as well.... I like the simplicity..... Very nice idea and much appreciate you sharing it with us....;- )

 

[Thershey]

I've been using this Taylor, got it at wilco but any farm store will have it. Pretty heavy duty, under $15. It is very nice to know if they are going forward or backwards without having to suit up and dig in to the hive.

 

[Belewsboy]

I've been using my scale now for a couple of years. Although it is not perfectly accurate, I get a good idea of what's going on inside the hive. I actually measure both sides as they are rarely the same and add them together. I even plot them on an Excel graph to get a better understanding of the trend. As far as your scale goes, its basically the same, but you will need some kind of lever during the flow as my hives went over 200 lbs.

 

[therub]

I've been using my scale now for a couple of years. Although it is not perfectly accurate, I get a good idea of what's going on inside the hive. I actually measure both sides as they are rarely the same and add them together. I even plot them on an Excel graph to get a better understanding of the trend. As far as your scale goes, its basically the same, but you will need some kind of lever during the flow as my hives went over 200 lbs.
View attachment 11868

Do you adjust for the amount of hardware on the hive? i.e. when you add a super do you discount the new readings by the size of the empty super? I'd love to see a graph from your excel document

 

[Phoebee]

Honestly, I don't trust cheap spring scales. They can be WAAAY off and very non-linear.

But I must admit, it gives better results that the electronic hive scale project I've never finished!

Drat, now I guess I have to get back on it.

 

[Belewsboy]

I don't treat this as a science project. I don't need an ultra-precise scale or calibration procedures. I want something that will give me an idea if their weight is gaining or losing. I want something that is very portable and reasonably accurate. I want to be able to check a lot of hives in a short amount of time. I use it in the fall as I open feed. It points to the hives that are not taking the syrup, so I'll put a top feeder on. I have a target weight I use to get them thru the winter. I can tell in the winter if their stores are getting dangerously lite and I can take action to help them out. I also like to watch the explosive Flow. In this part on NC, the Flow lasts about a month and thats about all we get for the year. Everything after the flow belongs to the girls. As you can see on the graph the girls bring it in fast and furious. Then it just stops. The graph's last entry was June 6 and I have since extracted. They are consuming now and the weights are slowly going down I'm sure. I will start weighing again this weekend.
As to your question about discounting for adding or removing supers...no I don't. I have dedicated pages in Excel which is my log...a separate page for each hive or Nuc. I note the date I add or remove boxes, so it will relate to the graph. I tried discounting but it became too much trouble.
I encourage everyone to weigh their hives. Its fun, interesting, informative and when your fellow berks find out you're weighing, they'll be calling you to get an idea of how their hives are doing.