# Ultimate bee feeder



## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

Is there a picture?? I can't find anything on it.


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## wmakerrick (Jun 24, 2010)

On the bottom of the month of February is the add that shows a picture of the mystery feeder!


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## Robbin (May 26, 2013)

wmakerrick said:


> On the bottom of the month of February is the add that shows a picture of the mystery feeder!


Went to their web page and they don't list any feeders....


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

Inventor/owner Cliff from Beesmartdesigns is a fellow beekeeper and friend of mine. He recently shared a completed proto type feeder at our last beekeeping gathering. They are currently in production and he will be displaying them at the ABF Conference in Baton Rouge next week. Easy to carry, fill and no drown design will make them a great feeder.


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

I spoke to Cliff today, although they are not yet visable on the website they are available from beesmartdesigns.com as we speak, call him 800-600-7446
They are also available from Betterbee now, and will be available from Dadant and Brushy Mountain by end of Jan. 2014


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

Need to see some pictures.....


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

Its on Betterbees website under hives, hive components and feeders.


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## Snookie (Dec 13, 2013)

I think dis is it:}


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

Is this the product being discussed? Seems like a chicken feeder would work in a similar manner....

http://www.betterbee.com/Products/Feeders-and-Bee-Feed/BeeSmart-In-Hive-Feeder


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

I've only seen chicken feeders in pictures, but i know Cliff designed the rim in the base where the syrup will be exposed to the bees to prevent bees from drowning with all those little like benches for them to stand/sit on. There is also a screw cap to use when refilling and transporting the feeder to and from the bee yard if necessary.


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## LSHonda310 (Mar 30, 2013)

It is expensive for a feeder only holding one gallon, and you need to put a medium super on to hold the hive cover.
Why not just use a frame feeder? Cheaper and only takes up one or two frames space- not ten.
Would the bees build comb around feeder in the extra space?


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

Most people that use the chicken feeders just put some pea gravel in the bottom... To minimize the drowning... I believe you can buy the feeder for less than 10 bucks in the 1 gallon model.

Given enough time LSHonda310 they will try to build comb, but if your coming back and given them enough space and checking on them. It's not too much of an issue...

I'd be interested, but I feel that the price and shipping will make it not worth the effort... As stated above, you can get a cap/ladder feeder for less than 9 bucks.. you can get a mason jar and a piece of plywood for less than 5 bucks...

Hard to call this the "ultimate", but it that's his branding... I guess he can roll with it... Myself, I'm a little skeptical.


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## LSHonda310 (Mar 30, 2013)

I can see them being sold to hobby beekeepers, but not in large numbers.

I am glad to see new products though and hope to see more.


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

I personally dont care for frame feeders, not only do they take up 2 frames the best of them drown alot of bees especially when refilling them.The only good point is they don't take up alot of space when storing them for those with alot of hives. You can fit two of the ultimate feeders on a inner cover if one gallon is not enough. Many people seem to prefer the inverted jar type feeding on a inner cover with a hive box around it to other types of feeders. Easy to access without removing inner cover when refilling and protected from within the hive to prevent robbing and cheap when using inverted jars with holes poked in the lid. This will not tip over and allows far more bees access to feeding for those that prefer this method of feeders.


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

http://www.amazon.com/Chicken-Ware-15031-Chick-N-Canteen-Feeder/dp/B007K80L18/ref=pd_sim_lg_12


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

if your frame feeder is drowning bees, you got a bad one. get a Mann lake with ladders or take a piece of hardware clofh and fan fold it and stick it in. a lot of feeders with "floats" are real bad about drowning because the bees push and shove. provide a lot of opening and a good ladder and you won't have problems. I rin about 150 of the newer Mann Lakes and wouldn't bee without them.


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

gmcharlie, i agree and Mann Lakes are the best in my opinion and i have several and i see your point KevinR except i think that most of the chicken feeders will not fit in a hive body to be covered with an inner cover and top cover to be protected within the hive..they're too tall..for those that like that method of feeding.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

This is the feeder I use.


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## KevinR (Apr 30, 2010)

Who is a supplier for those jug feeders? Those are 1 gallon per, right? 

Also, the chicken feeders come in different heights/brands... But I would use four quart mason jars inverted on a piece of plywood first...


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

You can get them from me $6 a piece.


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## rjmeyer (Apr 6, 2012)

ESB..If i were a commercial beek what you do may make alot of sence from a profitatibility standpoint factoring in time...but i'm a novice backyard beek with 7 hives and i don't care much for the inverted container method of feeding period..with thermal expansion and contraction and potential drippage directly on a cluster of bees through a inner cover hole just doesn't make any logical sence to me..i personally use mann lakes hive top feeders and can fill them with 4 galllons if i wanted to..their easy to clean, stack and store when finished and i never worry about the wind blowing the empty jug off a hole exposing the bees to weather until its discovered and fixed. Cliffs ultimate feeder is well thought out as far as fitting in a hive body, fitting two on a inner cover, length of feeding area for the bees, sturdy gauge plastic and a handle for a secure hold on them...for you and i that may not matter but to the small framed beek or someone with ahive or two they might be just the ticket..


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

That is exactly right. Dont use inner covers. You said all the reasons not to use them. I agree. I have to check them often when it is windy. But, typically when I am feeding if they blow off there are so many bee's that the water that gets in is fine. It is the fall when it gets cold I worry. I think if I had less then a dozen I would not do these. Maybe use a turpentine can those square cans. That is what one of my breeders use. I started with these and have a couple hundred of them so I will continue. The bears puncture them and bat them around on me also.


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## LSBees (Sep 24, 2009)

These are designed for hobbyist and are very nicely constructed. They have a drip free lid similar to a humidifier and are designed to prevent drowning. They are also useful for water.

http://www.halleluyahhoney.com/home/101-ultimate-hive-feeder-water.html


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## slimspickin (Dec 25, 2013)

EastSideBuzz said:


> This is the feeder I use.


I am also interested in these jugs are they metal or plastic?


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

EastSideBuzz said:


> This is the feeder I use.


Are those purpose made or something you put together yourself. If the latter do you just have to make holes in the cap? What size hole fits the lid...and..

Most important of all where does get them and at what cost.

Thanks


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## scorpionmain (Apr 17, 2012)

gmcharlie said:


> if your frame feeder is drowning bees, you got a bad one. get a Mann lake with ladders or take a piece of hardware clofh and fan fold it and stick it in. a lot of feeders with "floats" are real bad about drowning because the bees push and shove. provide a lot of opening and a good ladder and you won't have problems. I rin about 150 of the newer Mann Lakes and wouldn't bee without them.


Agreed.
Love the Mann Lake frame feeders with caps and ladders.
I have had no problem with drowning and the come in three sizes: 1 gal 1.5 gal and 2 gal
Been running the 2 gal in full sized hives & 1 gal in divided deep double nucs w 4 frame supers this year and couldnt be happier.


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## SpringGreen (Jun 26, 2014)

I bought one of these. It's ok. There were a couple drowned bees inside of it when I refilled it today, but that isn't too bad. The biggest issue I have had was the hive needs to be pretty darn level or it overflows; I didn't realize how UNlevel my hive was until I slapped the feeder in and sugar syrup went everywhere. When I bought it, the beek running the shop said lubricating the O-ring with FGMO or the like (I used olive oil, as I had that) would help prevent leaking. 

I am not a fan of having to move it if it is still partially filled. I have mine on a small hive right now, and I wanted to go in and see how the queen was doing, but the feeder still had sugar syrup in the bottom, and I spilled it when moving the bottom out.

I am also not a fan of the price, and I won't be buying one for every hive (I only intend to ever have 5-10 hives) unless the price drops.

But I do wish they had a nuc-sized one. I have frame feeders in my nucs, but the frame feeder takes up real estate. It would be way easy to just stick a second nuc body on and feed them with a nuc-sized version. 

I use sticks as floats in my frame feeders and have minimal drowning (but more than with the Ultimate Feeder).

I have issues with leaking from inverted jars...maybe the holes are too big. And I don't like baggie feeders as it seems wasteful to toss a ziplock bag every couple of days.


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## maynard (Jul 7, 2014)

A couple of people that have hives at the same place I keep mine have a couple and love them. 

They beat chicken feeders in a couple of ways. You can mix them at home and not have to worry about leaking all over the car, and they fit under one deep. The chicken waterers (I actually use quail waterers: no need to fuss with gravel, and no drowned bees at all) take a couple of mediums.

The price is way too steep for me.


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## Stephen (Mar 2, 2011)

I picked up 2 of these from Dadant a couple of months ago when I bought honey jars to try them out. I put them out yesterday and I can't say I'm happy with them. Even after getting them perfectly level (they need to be because otherwise they'll spill all the syrup out) and following the directions about turning the reservoir when first placing it on my bees go right up into the little flapper inside and clog it up every time. I'm going to try and add a little strip of screening to the channel to prevent bees from entering to see if it fixes the problem I'm having. Hopefully it works, otherwise I wasted $45 bucks on these things.


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## Homemaid (Sep 4, 2013)

WE use the BeeSmart feeders and we love them. Yes you have to level the hive, but that is fairly easy to do. If it is off a little bit put a shim under the edge of the feeder. we have 6 of them and have had bot problems using them so far...


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## sweetas (Apr 16, 2012)

wmakerrick said:


> I got my 2014 Bee culture calendar the other day and in one of the adds for Bee Smart Designs they show a new feeder design. Does anyone know anything about this new feeder?



They have a very good brochure on their website. The feed looks good. Pity it would be too expensive to import to Australia.


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## Paulemar (Aug 28, 2013)

*****"Most people that use the chicken feeders just put some pea gravel in the bottom... To minimize the drowning.."******

I saw something that one of our local Beeks used with a chicken feeder to prevent drowning. Instead of pea gravel which can be a pain to deal with on a 1 gallon chicken feeder that must be empty and upside down to fill. She had a piece of 1" thick poly rope in the trough. It was where the pea gravel would normally go. To refill just remove the rope, refill, replace the rope and you're good to go.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

I use plastic screen for cross stitch and also have a piece hot glued over the hole because the first time I used one I had half a feeder full of dead bees up in the jug


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