Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: harvey on April 25, 2010, 11:34:18 pm

Title: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey supers
Post by: harvey on April 25, 2010, 11:34:18 pm

I am trying a hive foundationless.  What about the honey supers though?   Could I still use dadent plasticell in the supers?  How about if I used plasticell that was already drawn out?   

Title: Re: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey supers
Post by: Kathyp on April 25, 2010, 11:58:18 pm

you can use whatever you want.  i do foundationless in my honey supers.  it makes great cut comb.  it will extract fine if it's attached all the way around and that's not a problem with shallows.  most of the shallow frames i have in now are draw from last year.  i'll put on some empty frames later in the year for the buckwheat cut comb.  do what works for you and your extraction plans.

Title: Re: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey supers
Post by: Michael Bush on April 26, 2010, 01:02:31 am

Ask Kathyp says it's up to you.  I'd go foundationless everywhere.  It also depends on your use of an excluder and how important it is to you to keep the queen from laying in large cells...

Title: Re: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey supers
Post by: luvin honey on April 26, 2010, 03:04:39 pm

I'm topbar, but I think the message is the same. I don't exclude queens, have foundationless through. If I can catch a beautiful sheet of pure honeycomb, I do. If it's already been brood, then I crush and strain.

Title: Re: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey su
Post by: harvey on April 26, 2010, 03:50:46 pm

Well i am looking to be able to use an extractor, it is an old hand crank so I don't have to go super fast.  I have never used an extruder even though I did buy one.  works for cooking hamburgers over charcoal!  I would prefer to keep the bees on natural cell in regards to reproduction to see how that helps with the mites!  Now is natural cell going to be as small as small cell?   better or worse?

Title: Re: Today I started a new hive on foundationless frames, what about the honey supers
Post by: Michael Bush on April 27, 2010, 01:07:32 am

>Well i am looking to be able to use an extractor, it is an old hand crank so I don't have to go super fast.

Just start slow and end fast...

> I have never used an extruder even though I did buy one.  works for cooking hamburgers over charcoal!

One good use for them...

> I would prefer to keep the bees on natural cell in regards to reproduction to see how that helps with the mites!  Now is natural cell going to be as small as small cell?

It will vary more in size.  For worker cells in the brood nest it will probably run from 5.2mm to 4.8mm in the core of the brood nest.

>   better or worse?

The bees think it's better... :)  I tend to go with them...