Bottom Board Question

[Terri Yaki]

I ended up with an extra telescoping cover and decided I should buy it a companion for the bottom so I got a screened bottom board at the TSC. The entrance is not the same height as the entrance in my other hives, which looks like a standard to me. Before I take this thing back because of this, I want to make sure I'm right and that they should all have the same size entrance and use a standard entrance reducer. Is it a standard or is it not?

[Ben Framed]

What is the measurement ?

[Terri Yaki]

Somewhere around 3/8", about 2/3 of what my other reducers are. Do you need a precise measurement?

[Ben Framed]

I don?t know if your already existing equipment is standard or the new piece is. Just trying to get a prospective. Even still it should work. My bottoms are not standard. I use a 3/4 gap.

[Michael Bush]

A "standard" reversible bottom board has a 3/8" (sometimes as large as 1/2") opening on the shallow side and a 3/4" (sometimes as large as 7/8") on the deeper side.  Anything from 1/4" to 1" will work fine.

[Terri Yaki]

A "standard" reversible bottom board has a 3/8" (sometimes as large as 1/2") opening on the shallow side and a 3/4" (sometimes as large as 7/8") on the deeper side.  Anything from 1/4" to 1" will work fine.

I'm not talking about the opening in the reducer, I'm talking about the overall height of it. When the box is on top of the bottom board, my reducers will not fit in there. I'm going to guess that the others are around 1/2" but my judgement of measurements is not very good.

[Michael Bush]

I'm talking about the bottom board.  Not a reducer.  A reversible bottom board has two different size openings.  Some of the screened bottoms only have one side that you use and that opening is somewhere between 3/8" and 3/4" usually.  Anything between 1/4" and 1" will work.

[Kathyp]

I am not sure what you mean by your reducer not fitting.  What doesn't fit?  Maybe a picture? The ones I have don't go in the gap, but in front of it.  Just for future reference, you can use anything for an entrance reducer.  I have used twigs in a pinch 

[Terri Yaki]

I am not sure what you mean by your reducer not fitting.  What doesn't fit?  Maybe a picture? The ones I have don't go in the gap, but in front of it.  Just for future reference, you can use anything for an entrance reducer.  I have used twigs in a pinch 

OK, that makes me feel better, I'll keep it and make something work. The reducers fit in the gap in my other hives but the gap for the screened board is not tall enough. For those that just sit in front, do you do anything to hold them in place or do they just sit there?

[Michael Bush]

> For those that just sit in front, do you do anything to hold them in place or do they just sit there?

I nail them in and never remove them.  I like a 1/4" x 2" opening all  year around.

[Kathyp]

I stick a rock there    But really, unless they warp in the weather, it's not a big thing.  MBs idea is probably better.

[cao]

I nail them in and never remove them.  I like a 1/4" x 2" opening all  year around.

Same here except my openings on a full hive are typically 3/4 x 3 inches.  Some are 3/8 x 3.

[Bill Murray]

I also run reducers on all my production hives all year, But I also run the 3/8" space bottom board.