[Jeff]

Michael,

Have you ever used the one-piece plastic frame and foundation? If so how did it work for you?

 

[Flewster]

Well, I am a Michael also......HEHEHE......I used the one piece plastic /frame from Pierco and found that they work quite well.........Of course i went against the advice and mixed wood and plastic and got the results they told me..(disaster).......but supers or brood chambers of all plastic did quite well and in fact those hives did better with the mites......don't know why but they did...........JMHO

 

[Jeff]

Thanks Flewster...or should I say Michael. Actually I bought these by mistake and wondered if I had wasted my money.

 

[Michael Bush]

I haven't used a lot of the Pierco's but I have a few, just to see what I thought. I like them. I don't know if your's is Pierco or not, it's the only one I've had. But I have a lot of RiteCell foundation.

I like plastic. You don't have to wire it. It doesn't sag. The moths don't eat the foundation (but they will eat the comb off of it). Once the bees have drawn it once, it works as well as wax. But it's true, the bees seem to hesitate with it when it's brand new unless there's a big flow on. Wax coating (most is offered this way) and spraying with syrup, especially syrup with smell like Honey Bee Healthy or Wintergree oil, seems to help get them to accept it better.

But I admit, if I wanted plastic, I really like the PermaComb. It's already finished.

But now that I'm doing natural cell size, I don't have much use for any of it. The unregressed bees hate the 4.9mm plastic. I may buy more of it now that they are regressed, but they sure want a lot for it.

 

[athiker]

I have 3 hives with Pierco frames in the brood boxes. I like them a lot for the reasons Michael stated above. I found that if I mist them with 1:1 syrup when I first put them in, the bees seem to accept them a bit better.

 

[Jeff]

Yes mine are Pierco...looks like I made a good mistake for once! I will try the spraying with 1:1 HBH mixture.

 

[Dan Williamson]

Jeff,

I love my Pierco plastic frames. I spray (or dip) with sugar syrup. I don't have any HBH. The bees drew it out great. Just make sure all the frames are pushed tightly together so it gets drawn uniformly.

Did you go to the Indiana Beekeepers Assoc Bee School in Indianapolis last weekend? There was a good turnout.

Dan

 

[Jeff]

Thanks Dan...I forgot about the school and ended up at the outdoor show at the state fair grounds. I really wanted to go it was right here practically in my backyard! I'm glad they had a good turn-out. One of these days I will make it.

 

[Butterchurn]

I just got some RiteCell from Mann Lake and I'm not sure about it. I got the medium depth size since I'm going to be running all mediums. The foundation does not appear to be uniformly coated with beeswax. In fact, some sheets have more uncoated than coated areas. Is that going to be a problem?

Another thing. There seems to be quite a bit of deformed cells. Plastic spikes in the center of the cells etc. Do I need to take it back? What should I expect. I've never used plastic before, the salesman talked me into it.

I'm going to start with packages. I'll coat the foundation with sugar syrup when I put the bees in.

Another thing I don't like is that the foundation is so stiff that when I put them in my frames the bottom bars rip off, even though I nailed and glued them. I must need to use the longer frame nails on the bottom instead of the small short ones.

Any advice?

Ron

 

[Michael Bush]

>The foundation does not appear to be uniformly coated with beeswax. In fact, some sheets have more uncoated than coated areas. Is that going to be a problem?

That's pretty normal. Any wax helps a lot. They just spray them lightly so there isn't much on them.

>Another thing. There seems to be quite a bit of deformed cells. Plastic spikes in the center of the cells etc. Do I need to take it back?

Hmmm. I have a lot of RiteCell and haven't seen much of that. I can't say but it doesn't sound very good.

>Another thing I don't like is that the foundation is so stiff that when I put them in my frames the bottom bars rip off, even though I nailed and glued them.

They shouldn't. The plastic should just pop right in. But it's probably easier to put it in before you put on the bottom bar. It works best with a grooved top and a grooved bottom.

>I must need to use the longer frame nails on the bottom instead of the small short ones.

Might not hurt.