Hefting

heft

/hɛft/

verb (transitive)

1. to assess the weight of (something) by lifting

2.to lift

Hefting is something beekeepers do [keep your jokes to yourself] and as the definition above says it means to assess the weight by lifting.

Beekeepers heft their hives [I said no jokes please!] going into winter into assess the amount of stores built up by the bees and generally the change in  weight of a hive can tell how the hive is progressing throughout the year.

To me hefting has always been a rather imprecise and subjective process but to get accurate figures can mean buying expensive bits of electronic wizardry.

I recently took possession of two new colonies one of which was in two brood boxes. Both boxes were absolutely packed with bees and weighed a ton. The idea of hefting this with some supers on wasn't realistic for an old man like me so I thought about what I could use that do the job hopefully without costing a fortune.

Wandering around the interweb net  I found something perfect for the job, only problem they didn't send to the UK from America

Looking on You Tube there were all sorts of home made things. A lot had complicated pulley systems or were too clumsy to carry around. However some used just a basic set of bathroom scales so I thought I would make one.

I added some blocks to the bottom of the mesh floor that were high enough to slide the scales under the hive.

You then need a lever to raise the hive and fortunately I found something in the pile of rubbish behind my shed. Initially it didn't quite fit but I 'persuaded' it.
Its put either side of the scales and the hive is lifted just high enough to put a block of wood under the hive and resting on the scales.

The hive is then lowered onto the scales and a reading taken.You can either take another reading from the other side or just double the first one.

The entrance is now higher than before. The bees will get used to it but if not I might have to make some very small ladders or steps. More likely I will make some lighting boards for them to land on.

Flow Hive Update
 In the Great Lost Blog about the Flow Hive I speculated amongst other things how long it would take before someone copied it.
A few days ago this appeared on eBay
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291747786689?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Apart from the roof it looks the same, the frames look to be identical and they refer to 'Flow'. Pretending to be interested I emailed them asking if it was the actual Flow Hive or a copy.
Their reply was:-

 

Hello friend
Thanks very much for your message
It is not the Australian origined, but our quality of the hives is excellent as well
It is also a very reliable products
Best regards
Vanky

Yes, Vanky
Its a lot cheaper than the Australian origined but I expect its the usual high quality product you can expect from China.