# Crazy Hive Design



## NasalSponge

It's a coffin!!


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## Steven Ogborn

He'll need ten packages to stock it!
Then he can use the other nine queens to requeen other hives.


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## robherc

OK, I'm guessing here that it's 2x as wide, 3x as tall, and 3x as long as a 10frame deep (approximating from the pic)?
...that'd be like an 18-body Lang. using all 10-frame deeps! How exactly is he intending to lift those "supers" forklift/crane? If he placed one full-width (of that hive, so double-width for "normal") frame that was the height of all 3 boxes in there, the bees could potentially stock that frame with >60lbs of honey...have fun luggin' those frames around! lol

Let us know how his hernia operation fares! :lookout:
-Rob


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## bsquad

Kind of like a humongous top bar hive! Neat to see that people are pushing boundaries and trying stuff, let us know how it works!! (Is he planning on using frames? If so, could you post a picture of them?)


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## odfrank

He might do a search for my threads on my Gargantua hives, which I have modified this year. My main finding - don't build a frame bigger than will fit in your extractor.


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## RiodeLobo

The hive is 4x8 ft. The deep is using a 1 x 12 and the supers are 1 x 8. He is building frames for it and initially using 10 nucs to start it. He built removable frame supports for the deep nucs that will be removed when they pull out wax on the frames made to fit it. And yes it is designed to be lifted with a forklift. I estimate a super will weigh about 1 ton (if ever filled). The whole thing is insulated.


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## HONEYDEW

NasalSponge said:


> It's a coffin!!


He'll need one when he opens that baby up without smoking them first....


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## Aerindel

This may be a stupid question...but what is the point? And if its an experiment what is the hypothesis behind it?


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## RiodeLobo

Aerindel said:


> This may be a stupid question...but what is the point? And if its an experiment what is the hypothesis behind it?


There is no point, this is just for the giggles of it.


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## Moon

RiodeLobo said:


> There is no point, this is just for the giggles of it.


If that isn't the best reason on the planet to do anything I don't know what is. Keep us up to date with pictures would ya? I'm always up for something different than can make ya smile. =) 

Tell your brother best of luck!


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## jnewb71

Holy cow, just imagine the size of the smoker that he will need, . Sorry just poking fun, curious to see it with bees.


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## papamoose

A smoker, just light the neighborhood on fire and blow it in that direction.

However, it is awesome.


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## SRatcliff

I always though about building a hive out of Lincoln Logs, haha.


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## papamoose

My son wanted to do one out of lego's. I am just not sure abount the survival of the plastic in the sun, otherwise I might try it some day


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## Kelbor

If this is anything like fishing, He's gonna need a bigger boat - That thing is going to bring in some HUGE bees. 

Way to go - more power to him!!......Half the stuff I do is not practical as well but I guarantee I live an more exciting life then you practical people!


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## Ben Franklin

Seems to me he is trying to re-invent the wheel. Needless to say good luck. I will stick to standard hives, I can pick up a brood chamber by myself and not hurt my back.


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## Kelbor

I don't think he is trying to do any thing other then have fun - I think he is quite aware that this size is not practical.........although he should call it the "Back Breaker" or in the spirit of the ol'west "Tiny"


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## RiodeLobo

Yes this will be a forklift breaker. I will try to get new pics, he installed multiple nucs in it with division boards to keep them seperate. Once they have drawn comb on the super sized frames he will pull nuc frames.


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## Luterra

Let us know how it goes. My guess is that a one-queen hive will never fill it, for the same reason we never find 4'x8' hives in closets, barns, tree cavities, and other large space. There seems to be a natural limit to hive size, which we can stretch somewhat with hive management but the limit is still there.

If he can find a way to manage it as a many-queen operation though (creative use of double screens and excluders?), he might just have the world's largest box of bees


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## weldingfreak6010

So what ever happened with the hive, anything


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## DRAKOS

That's where all the lost bees in the USA have gone. Not CCD.


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## RiodeLobo

Sorry, I forgot about this thread. The hive was installed last summer and nucs were placed in. My brother has not opened it up this spring as of yet.

Here it is in place.


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## Barry

I noticed on your photobucket page your bee suit is black! Interesting design.


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## RiodeLobo

Barry said:


> I noticed on your photobucket page your bee suit is black! Interesting design.


Yep every Halloween we open the office for just kids. This year was Alice in Wonderland.


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## jdmidwest

Whats the hole in the background? A place to bury it if it fails. Lots of stinking bees.....

I like the door to put the hay bales in.


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## RiodeLobo

That is a foundation for a greenhouse.


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## RiodeLobo

Well we opened the hive up last weekend. The hive configuration was not ideal, the division boards were to close together and most of the colonies became honey bound and swarmed themselves to death last fall by leaving an insufficient biomass of bees to survive the winter. There is one that is building back up and is looking good. I advised my brother to move the division boards to make the equivalent of about 3-4 deeps in volume. There is a ton of drawn comb, and I would love to get a picture of the monster frames, however it was to cold to open up the large box on the bottom. I will try to make it down there when they repopulate the dead out sections and get some pictures. Once the colonies are established the goal is to remove some of the division boards and have two queen sections. We will see how it turns out. 

The window below the roof is a ventilation vent. The shallow top box is full of standard medium frames. The deep is full of custom frames that measure 12 x 48 inches. The whole hive is about 8 feet long.


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## tommysnare

:thumbsup:


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## greg zechman

i love it...its cool i wish you both goodluck....greg


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## curios1

Well thats it >>>>> you da man !


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## Greg755

> He is building frames for it and initially using 10 nucs to start it


Your kidding right??? Nucs are $120 a piece so he is going to waste $1200 on this? Cant wait to see how it survives the winter... 10 colonies down the drain all in one shot... 

Well its been almost a year since you posted this... How did it turn out???


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## Greg755

sorry didnt see your post on 3/29


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## RiodeLobo

10 nucs were for this and his other traditional hives, so no 10 did not go into this big boy. Yesterday they put 5 packages back onto the dead out sections. The problem is that it is cold, but they should have stores. (His teen age sons did the install, as he is gone on a mission trip).


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## Sir_Gregory

I agree. There was a man who made a 15 queen hive and the super was one peace that fit on top of 15 two deep hives. The super was lifted with a crane and a lot of eye bolts. lol


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## cerezha

RiodeLobo said:


> That is a foundation for a greenhouse.


 er... is greenhouse (greenhives?) is a next step in scaling up the beehive? Beehive looks very homy and car is small...


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## Sir_Gregory

Oh. Did not realize there was a second page...


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## BayHighlandBees

the legos at legoland do alright in the sun. I guess you could use propolis for mortar


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## WWW

This one is for the record book, makes my back hurt just looking at it.


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## VARyan

Following


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## Maryland Beekeeper

It is fantastic !  Have similar design 2 be fashioned out of old freezer  Best


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## rurbanski

Rio I love that hive dude. Is it bear proof? It sure looks it....


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## Grizz270

Ahhh. I finally get it. It's not a bee hive it's a bee barn! Any updates?


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## RiodeLobo

Well so far so good. Most of the installed colonies are doing well, if they make the winter some division boards will be pulled and we should be on the way to some large colonies. As a side note one advantage of the monster hive is evident.


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## VolunteerK9

Stupid bears. I cant stand the nasty things. Glad the monster hive withstood the attack though.


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