# Beehive scale



## BooneCtyBeek (Jun 20, 2011)

OK, help me with this. We all know the bees don't build the hives evenly. If you lift each side, each may have a different 'weight' or take more force to lift. How does this give you an accurate weight of the hive?


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## TheBuzz (Feb 8, 2012)

you lift the bottom board up which take the entire weight.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

...except for that being supported by the opposite edge, where the hinge is.

You could simply lift one side and then inspect the hive for year first year or two.

After gaining that experience, simply lifting the one side of the hive will tell you almost as much as the scale.


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## seyc (Jul 15, 2012)

He has used simple levers. It is all about proportions. When you put the hinge on one side and lift, you get a weight. If you make the lever twice as long, you lift half the weight.


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

People have been weighing hives for probably a century by lifting one side with a mechinisim that weighs the hive. I have read about them in some book(s) and have seen pictures.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Well, looks a bit like overkill to me. I've been weighing hives for years, and only need this scale and a piece of plywood. No lifting. No permanent boards under each hive. Cheap. But then, some folks just love gadgets.


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

Mike, do you just weigh "the edge" or do you somehow rest the entire bottom on your scale?

Thanks,
Tony P.


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## libhart (Apr 22, 2010)

Are those scanned Kodachrome slides?  

Some love the gadgets, but inflation will catch up with you....those utility scales are now around $100, at least according to the google shopping thing.


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## ralittlefield (Apr 25, 2011)

I have started using the method suggested by Michael Palmer. Instead of a package scale, I bought a dial type bathroom scale (digital scales are difficult or impossible to read outdoors). You need to tilt the hive until it balances on the scale and you are not supporting any (or very little) of the weight.

I also strap or tie the hive to make sure the boxes do not separate.


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## seal62 (Apr 17, 2011)

stinking scales
i stepped on a digi today , it said fat .


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## ralittlefield (Apr 25, 2011)

seal62 said:


> stinking scales
> i stepped on a digi today , it said fat .


At least yours will talk to you. Mine just groaned and the display went out.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Tip the hive up onto the scale and balance on the edge of the bottom board.


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## Keth Comollo (Nov 4, 2011)

After hearing about Mikes technique I picked up one of those Pelouze scales on Ebay for $19. Rugged little bugger.


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## max2 (Dec 24, 2009)

TheBuzz said:


> How come something like this isn't commercial yet? Beeks just don't care? Seems like you would spend less time seeing which hives where stronger and which where weaker?
> 
> 
> www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2570802.htm


I have one of these and it is great. Takes 30 sec to get a result


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## challenger (May 27, 2009)

If I tried to check the weight of my honey I'd get a black eye.


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## warwickfrancis (Dec 28, 2012)

TheBuzz said:


> How come something like this isn't commercial yet? Beeks just don't care? Seems like you would spend less time seeing which hives where stronger and which where weaker?
> 
> 
> www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2570802.htm


The latest version of this is available http://www.beehive-scales.com/


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Used a cotton scale, a 2x4, motorcycle strap, and a step ladder to pick hives up and weigh them one by one. 
It worked but I think the tipping it way is faster.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Screw an "eye hook" into the center/back of the bottom board: http://www.lowes.com/pd_669510-1277-V2016_0__?k_clickID=4e04c594-0d8d-4e60-be26-06616ffd0144

Use an archery draw weight scale to check the weight:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-Bow-Scale-15830-Up-to-90-pounds-/111946469919

The scale has a simple "peak weight" slide indicator - reset between each use. A "grab hook" on the scale eliminates the need for the eye hooks.

Very fast, accurate, & efficient.


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## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

I'm working on an electronic design using load cells at each corner. It will be part of the bottom board. Weights are stored at interval allowing findings such as what time the hive begins active foraging (maybe to compare activity at two locations), compare weight day to day so buildup can be seen, or die off noticed to catch a diseased hive. We'll see if it's worth the trouble.


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## schmism (Feb 7, 2009)

DrJeseuss said:


> I'm working on an electronic design using load cells at each corner.


same here. the inexpensive load cells from Amazon an the like (for bathroom scales) are easy to use. still trying to get the electronics pared down. considering a custom solution with someone like Adafruit.


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## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

Hivetool.org is a great start. Might give them a look. They based theirs on the inexpensive Raspberry Pi.


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## matevz81 (Apr 13, 2016)

I think something like that has been done already and not too expensive at all :

http://www.apiscale.eu


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## HillBilly2 (Jul 26, 2015)

Colobee said:


> Screw an "eye hook" into the center/back of the bottom board: http://www.lowes.com/pd_669510-1277-V2016_0__?k_clickID=4e04c594-0d8d-4e60-be26-06616ffd0144
> 
> Use an archery draw weight scale to check the weight:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Allen-Bow-Scale-15830-Up-to-90-pounds-/111946469919
> 
> ...


.

And we have a winner! Cheap, easy efficient, and faster than you can write the results down. I think we should all send Colobee a beer. Good work man!


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## RichardsonTX (Jul 3, 2011)

MP...........thanks for the info on how you weigh your hives! I've been wanting to do that but wasn't sure about the process or what type of scale to use.

You really do need to write a book! I've benefited a lot from advice you've shared on here. Little things like using a couple of sacrificial 2x4's for a stand.........I can now move my hives in a few minutes just by tilting (after it's strapped together of course) and shoving my dolly under it. Now I can do the same for weighing my hives with a normal inexpensive scale.


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## DrJeseuss (May 28, 2015)

matevz81 said:


> I think something like that has been done already and not too expensive at all :
> 
> http://www.apiscale.eu


This was an interesting design, physically speaking. In function, I'd rather have a 'logger' than a one-shot measurement. With tipping a corner, using a suitcase scale, bringing out the bathroom scale, pressing the button on apiscale, you get a measurement then and there, and that's it. This because labor prohibitive to gather the amount of data that could be useful. With a system that logs measurements automatically at an interval, you can see what time they do orientation flights, when they leave in the morning (to compare others, maybe one gets a late start from being in shade), how they are progressing when flow starts, when they are tapering off at the end of the season, when a swarm left. These are situations you likely won't catch with the one-shot measurements. They each have a different purpose.

For me, I currently use a luggage scale through an eye bolt on the back of the bottom board. For now I get some data some times. Works for now, not where I want to end up.


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

Similar to what Colobee describes, I use a hanging digital scale that measures peak weight. Using a 3' length of rope with a hook on the end, I catch a bottom edge of the hive and gently lift, then note the reading. Weigh each side and divide by 2 gives a reading accurate to within a pound. 

http://www.amazon.com/American-Weig...3&sr=8-3-spell&keywords=american+hangin+scale is what I use. Cost $25 and is accurate to 0.05 lbs.

The above is cheap, quick and easy, and is certainly good enough to make any hive management decision such as whether to feed for the winter. Anything more complicated (i.e. electrical, automated, computerized, wifi, Bluetooth, or cellular, etc.), while a fun and interesting academic exercise, is not necessary, which is why there is no such generally available commercial product. Not to mention that an experienced beek can simply lift the side of a hive to gauge whether it has enough stores and doesn't even need a scale. 

JMHO





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