Complete, Now need All Advice

djgriggs · April 08, 2018, 07:27:13 PM

Today I built my bee stand, put it in place, put the two Hives in place and leveled as much as possible.. See attachments. Currently the Hive entrance faces the north and the back toward ( you'll never guess ) okay the south. . I tried to face hive entrance toward the East , however there was no way that I could even come close to being level.. ..

At This time The hives are facing North and South and as level as possible. Now just waiting for the bees... A little concerned as it is still a little cold for this time in April....
[attachment=0][/attachment]

Acebird · April 08, 2018, 08:46:38 PM

Maybe not a problem in Alabama but if they were mine I would have the entrance facing south rather than north. The importance of level is only relative.

Van, Arkansas, USA · April 08, 2018, 08:56:30 PM

Mr. Griggs, that is beautiful, a fine job, beautiful hives, beautiful stands. Again, if possible entrance facing to the south. I tilt my hives forward so rain will runout of the entrance.

Nice looking, is that cedar? I noticed you have strapped the hives, good thinking,,that is what I do. You are gonna hive some happy bees.
Best of luck to your bees.
Blessings

moebees · April 08, 2018, 09:42:19 PM

Quote from: djgriggs on April 08, 2018, 07:27:13 PM
Today I built my bee stand, put it in place, put the two Hives in place and leveled as much as possible.. See attachments. Currently the Hive entrance faces the north and the back toward ( you'll never guess ) okay the south. . I tried to face hive entrance toward the East , however there was no way that I could even come close to being level.. ..

At This time The hives are facing North and South and as level as possible. Now just waiting for the bees... A little concerned as it is still a little cold for this time in April....
[attachment=0][/attachment]

Doesn't matter what direction the entrance faces. I don't understand why you can't level them facing east? Just shim them.

djgriggs · April 08, 2018, 11:27:14 PM

these two hives are Cypress, Also coated with Tung Oil.. I tried to flip them to face east however the slab that you see underneath the hives was not done so well.. ( no , no I am not a concrete expert

, I will however attempt again later on a nice day before the bees arrive it will be a lot easier to work with the hives if I can get them rotated. . The reason that They are currently facing North is due to the workshop is directly behind about 9 feet and I did not want to hinder the flight path in any way.. I am going to attempt to face the entry East again when I have the time to work with the levelness of the stand.. I worked with it for an hour earlier and just could not get it to be level or sturdy enough that I would feel comfortable.

bwallace23350 · April 08, 2018, 11:30:49 PM

Looks great. I am also in Alabama and hope you enjoy your bees.

djgriggs · April 09, 2018, 12:30:25 AM

Quote from: bwallace23350 on April 08, 2018, 11:30:49 PM
I am also in Alabama and hope you enjoy your bees.

where are you located in Alabama ?

iddee · April 09, 2018, 07:25:27 AM

In 40 plus years of beekeeping, I have never used a level on a hive. Guess at level from side to side, allow the front to dip enough to keep rain from running into the hive. CLOSE ENOUGH

Now face it east, south, or in between.

Acebird · April 09, 2018, 08:55:47 AM

A golf ball on the lid should run off to the entrance. Good enough.

djgriggs · April 09, 2018, 10:58:33 AM

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I will have to try the golf ball,, makes sense,, currently do not see it rolling but should fix that.

Van, Arkansas, USA · April 09, 2018, 11:28:40 AM

Moe{Doesn't matter what direction the entrance faces. I don't understand why you can't level them facing east?}

Moe, I don?t not speak of south facing entrance on intuition nor a gut feeling, rather my statement is based from ?Honeybee Democracy? by Seeley and ?Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey? by Brother Adam with bonafide research by Seeley, and 90 years of observation by Brother Adam.

Seeley did years of study on an island to answer 3 questions, hive body size, entrance direction, entrance size. The conslusions are South facing, 2 1/2 inches square opening and basically a 10 frame std. Lang hive body for hive body size.
Blessings

Van, Arkansas, USA · April 09, 2018, 11:36:40 AM

Ace, now that is simple and just plain easy, a golf ball test!!! Yes Sir, does not get easier than that. Well said.
Blessings

moebees · April 09, 2018, 12:49:30 PM

Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on April 09, 2018, 11:28:40 AM
Moe{Doesn't matter what direction the entrance faces. I don't understand why you can't level them facing east?}

Moe, I don?t not speak of south facing entrance on intuition nor a gut feeling, rather my statement is based from ?Honeybee Democracy? by Seeley and ?Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey? by Brother Adam with bonafide research by Seeley, and 90 years of observation by Brother Adam.

Seeley did years of study on an island to answer 3 questions, hive body size, entrance direction, entrance size. The conslusions are South facing, 2 1/2 inches square opening and basically a 10 frame std. Lang hive body for hive body size.
Blessings

I respect Seeleys work immensely but no one is perfect. He blew it on his cell size study. If you do cut outs you will find entrances of all sizes, locations, and directions. That study is used as the guide for the ideal swarm trap size, height, and volume. But people are successful with all shapes and sizes of traps. My point is that if you want/need for some reason to have your hives facing west or north, don't sweat it. The bees aren't going to leave or die because of the direction the entrance. My hives face all directions and it makes no difference.

Acebird · April 09, 2018, 02:03:43 PM

Quote from: moebees on April 09, 2018, 12:49:30 PM
The bees aren't going to leave or die because of the direction the entrance.

It is not about dying it is about having more daylight hours shine in the entrance which tends to yield more honey.

moebees · April 09, 2018, 02:38:08 PM

Quote from: Acebird on April 09, 2018, 02:03:43 PM
Quote from: moebees on April 09, 2018, 12:49:30 PM
The bees aren't going to leave or die because of the direction the entrance.

It is not about dying it is about having more daylight hours shine in the entrance which tends to yield more honey.

Ok. Gotch ya. I stand corrected. I better run out and rotate all my hives.

djgriggs · April 09, 2018, 04:51:51 PM

Okay , two things

Rotation of Hives ,,
Currently I have two hives one with foundation and one without,, Both Hives currently face north... As my workshop is directly south at about 9 feet..
I am currently way out of level stand and all if I rotate to Entry facing East as I cannot face West as Privacy fence is 6' away.

Ball

At what degree of an angle should I tilt the hives if any,, how do I know enough is enough??

Van, Arkansas, USA · April 09, 2018, 05:07:55 PM

Moe{But people are successful with all shapes and sizes of traps. My point is that if you want/need for some reason to have your hives facing west or north, don't sweat it.}

Agreed 100%

Moe, would you please provide some specifics on: Seeley and cell size ?blew it?

I ask because I am aware of two different studies by Seeley and cell size and I am not sure which one you are referring to. One was small cell size does not control Varroa, the second was cell size of feral bees close to NY (I think) in which he determined to be 5.3 mm (which seems large to me for a feral hive.). Maybe you even refer to a study I am not familiar, so I seek knowledge here. Thanks
Blessings

Acebird · April 09, 2018, 05:14:53 PM

QuoteAt what degree of an angle should I tilt the hives if any,, how do I know enough is enough??

.6

Acebird · April 09, 2018, 05:39:48 PM

Quote from: djgriggs on April 09, 2018, 04:51:51 PM
I am currently way out of level stand and all if I rotate to Entry facing East

Is your stand going to sit on a concrete slab?
Normally a stand is anchored into the ground if it is up that high. It is surprising how much a sail two hives can be in a heavy wind. Do not let your hive get to high if you are not going to anchor it. Two hive can easily sit on a total of (4) 4x4's tied together with to rails. Actually 5-6 hives could sit on 4 or them. From the photo it appears to me that you incorporated the bottom boards as part of the hive stand. That will make moving the hives tough if the need should arise. Normally you would have the bottom board sitting on the two rails. When you build your stand you build it so the rails are level then you use two wedges on the back of the hive to get it to tip forward and prevent any rocking.

Van, Arkansas, USA · April 09, 2018, 05:45:27 PM

Mr. Griggs the purpose of tilting the hives forward is for water run off, so water, rain, will not stand in the back of a hive with solid bottom board.

So tilt enough that water will run out the entrance and not into the hive. Starting with a level hive, then raise the back of the hive one half an inch, 1/2 inch should do it.

Again, those are beautiful hives, stand, slab and type of wood, just beautiful. Makes my plain Jane hives look average, not exactly a high end neighborhood at my apiary but very functional here.
Blessings