# Best division board feeder?



## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I bought some frame/division board feeders last year from Brushy Mountain. They've been in my garage since arriving. This one: http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Deep-Plastic-Division-Bd-Feeder/productinfo/323/

They are junk. The frame rest tabs have broken off 2 of the 5 that I bought, and I just used them for the first time today.

Who makes a good one?

I'd rather have one that doesn't take up more space than one frame.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

I have had the same problem with other brands as well.
The problem is that the polymer formulation is way too brittle, totally unsuitable for frame feeders. 
On the other hand, I have bought some in the past that were the opposite; too rubbery and flexible and had a hard time getting dosing right due to the feeder wanting to fold.

Right now Mann Lake has the best in my opinion.
Mann Lake FD-800-d
They are the only feeders that I will buy.
I do install an aluminum ladder and place a spacer block in the middle, same as I have always done.
I have been replacing old broken feeders all year with these.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

http://www.mannlakeltd.com/beekeeping-supplies/category/page44.html

I have 2, 1 gallon feeders with the cap and ladder. I really like them.

I'll sell them to you. I want to go with 2 gallon feeders instead.


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## ian_m (Feb 5, 2015)

http://www.motherlodeproducts.com/index.html

I used these, prices are good, and they are also recommended at http://scientificbeekeeping.com/


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for the replies. The one from mother lode products looks exactly like the Mann Lake without the board on top and it's half price of the ML feeder. Harry have you ever tried the Mother Lode feeder?


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## ian_m (Feb 5, 2015)

They are the same... And they do have a feeder lid that works well.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

Wow. Those mother lode feeders are significantly cheaper. Looks like they don't sell the cap and ladder system to support their 2 gallon feeders though.


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## ian_m (Feb 5, 2015)

http://www.motherlodeproducts.com/a...-ladders&sid=l5u84e7kzezj54heto06n3i86lg6ueeg

Says "Fits all Mother Lode Products Feeders" I would ask to make sure.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

I have and love dadants basic frame feeder. Tough and cheap. I have nearly 500 and they work great.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

I really have never seen or had a reason to use anything bigger than mine which are a gallon. Unless maybe I robbed to much honey for winter


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

Just called mother lode. They will not have a cap and ladder system for the 2 gallon feeders for a while. He typically sees people buy the 1 gallon feeders most often, but is seeing people transition to the 2 gallon feeder more so they can feed lees often.

I'm wondering if you living in the south more compared to me would be a factor in feeder size. You probably experience a longer flow than I do and your winters are probably more mild.

I always like getting the cheapest product without sacrificing quality, but I'm wondering if now I should just take some screen and fold it into pleats and put them into the feeders and try that instead.

Anyone have bad luck doing that?


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

We actually have very short flows Compared to most northern areas. My honey season is may 1st to early to mid June. We just use floats with great success. Strips of wood cheap as free. Drowns 10 bees maybe. Safer than bees foraging on milkweed!


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

I've never used frame feeders before, but it seems that they commercial guys favor them, and they know what works - and I would sure like to reduce the work from what I have been doing - bucket feeders. 

So I ordered 5 of these medium frame feeders from mann lake just to try them out, and not only are they just like the Mother Lode feeders they actually are Mother Lode feeders - stamped right on the bottom. On Mann Lake's site it says that smooth sides make use of a float essential - except they don't actually have smooth sides, they have textured sides. The product probably changed and no one at Mann Lake has noticed. 

It looks like a good product, and if you order direct (minimum 50) they are about $3.40 with shipping. With the cap and ladder (not available from Mann Lake) it would be about $5.50 each. I'm really tempted to order a case and give them a good try, but it sure would hurl to get 50 and they are crap. I guess I'll deploy the 5 I have and see how I like them first.

Kamon - how much play should the floats have so they don't hang?


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

Just ordered a case of 20 cap ladder 2 gallon feeders from Mann lake. The gallon feeders are not doing it for me. Although I'm really liking the feeders themselves.

Just remember, they taper towards the bottom. I would pleat some hardware cloth instead and use that way.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Kamon - how much play should the floats have so they don't hang?[/QUOTE]

Hey David. I have found thin strips about a 1/8 inch thick work good. I just put one layer in the feeder. I try not to cover more than 70% of the liquid area. Nothing fancy just 4 strips in mine. Thicker ones want to bind up more.


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

If cost is a factor, and your worried about stuck floats and such, or brittle plastic, you can always build your own for pretty cheap. We make hive top feeders that are a modification of the "FatBeeMan" style feeders. We have virtually no drowning and they seem to take feed a lot easier from these than some commercially bought feeders we have tried and way better than buckets.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

I bet it works well, but it's not a division board feeder.


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## Agis Apiaries (Jul 22, 2014)

hex0rz said:


> I bet it works well, but it's not a division board feeder.


Thats odd, I can't find where I said it was one. Just a cheap, easy alternative.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

We tried those, they work. To much excess equipment when your running hundreds of hives though. And the frame feeders are so fast. My wife and I can fill 50 hives in 30 minutes


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Are you pumping out of a tank on your truck? That's what I would like to try. Feeding is so time consuming. I wish I could just go to the co-op and get a drum or two of syrup for a reasonable price - right into my truck then straight to the yard and pump it right into feeders without even unloading it.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Apis - you know you could just set the pan right on the frames and float a handful of wood chips in it - or a mesh ladder that just hooks over the edge. Of course that would make it more likely that they fill up the empty space with wild comb. 

I know for me I'm looking for something that lowers cost and work - simple, cheap, effective, feeds a good dose at one time, and stores compactly when not in use. And ideally does not require an extra super or modification to woodenware. A small rubbermaid pan is close, except you have to have extra supers. Extra supers may sound like a small thing, but when you are talking about dozens of them it starts to become more of an issue.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

Agis Apiaries said:


> Thats odd, I can't find where I said it was one. Just a cheap, easy alternative.


 but, that is what the title of the thread pertains to.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

hex0rz said:


> Just ordered a case of 20 cap ladder 2 gallon feeders from Mann lake. The gallon feeders are not doing it for me. Although I'm really liking the feeders themselves.
> 
> Just remember, they taper towards the bottom. I would pleat some hardware cloth instead and use that way.


Why do you not like the gallon feeders?

Harry if you see this, why do you put the wire in the feeders instead of using the tops? I'm guessing so they will take feed faster but that's just a guess.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I ordered 50 of the division board feeders from Mother Lode products. The deep frame feeder that they sell is not the same one sold by Mann Lake. Even with paying $65 for shipping they are over $1.50 cheaper than the Mann Lake feeders that look like them.

If I had not have been in such a hurry to get them, I could have seen if any of you guys in southern TN, or West GA wanted some too and we could have split up a pallet load. We could have shipped a whole pallet for, I'm guessing around $150. We do quite a few LTL (Less Than Truckload) shipments from our shop and shipping a pallet is not expensive at all considering the size.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

Brad Bee said:


> Harry if you see this, why do you put the wire in the feeders instead of using the tops?


We run 10 frames in our brood boxes. Each top brood box has 9 frames and a one gallon feeder.

The Mann Lake caps require a couple of bands to secure than and that makes the fit almost impossible.

I kind of like the idea but too much hassle.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

Thanks for the info. Do you have any issues with drowning with the screens in place? They'd be lots easier to fill without a top.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Has anyone tried floating corks in the frame feeders? Works well on my bee watering fountain.


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## Greenride (Jul 7, 2013)

I tried floating wood chips and ended up with at least a hundred dead bees in each. The bent galvanized screen over the edge works way better for me.
My 1gallon ones splay out quite a bit. I saw a picture somewhere where someone bent up some paper clips to slip over the top to hold it together better. I'm still learning to bend paper clips to stay in place though.
Fabian


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I got my shipment of Mother Lode feeders yesterday. I just got around to opening them up tonight. There is as much difference in them and the Brushy Mountain feeders as daylight and dark. The Mother Lode feeders are very heavy duty, not too brittle and not too flexible. The frame rests won't break. I tried to break one. I bought the tops with ladders to go with them. The only down side that I can see is that the ladders are a bit tricky to assemble and there's not a way to fill the feeder without drowning bees, without taking the lid off. I may wind up tossing the lids and opting for a piece of window screen or hardware cloth as a ladder. The insides of the feeder walls are textured so they may not need a ladder.

At any rate, I'm well pleased with the feeders. They appear to be indestructible and should last many years. Buying 50 feeders, even with paying shipping from CA to AL, they were about $1.50 per feeder cheaper than Mann Lake.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Just an update - I mentioned that I was going to try 5 of the medium frame feeders from Mother lode before I ordered a bunch of them. 

I've tried them, I like them, and I just ordered 50. I tried 3 with a homemade hardware cloth ladder and 2 without - just the feeder - and they work just as well without. Generally very few dead bees in them. Apparently the textured sides are sufficient. They seem solid and reasonably priced at $3.40 each including shipping to my location. They easily hold a full gallon of feed. I put one in an 8 frame single which went from nearly dry and almost broodless to flush and healthy in one feeding - that's hard to beat for return on labor. Also, the ability to store the feeders in the hives much of the time should be convenient - if they don't fill them with comb! Feeding is a time consuming pain in the rear, and anything that makes it quicker and easier is sure welcome to me. I hope these prove to be just that. 

Also you can now order them in any quantity from one on up from the website - singles are just $2.60 each - no idea about shipping.

I have no connection with this company BTW, just passing along my observations.

In the interest of full disclosure - 4 out of 5 hives use them with no problems, but one hive has had quite a few drowned bees in the feeder - even though it is one with a ladder. Maybe the drowning is because they didn't need feeding as much? I say that because the dead bees are still soaking wet with syrup - while the other feeders and any dead bees in them were licked dry within the same few days. Strange. Makes me think that drowning has to do with the hive rather than (or along with) the feeder.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I have always been very leery of frame feeders having seen them in others hives full of drowned bees. I put ten in service recently after making a ladder of #8 hardware cloth folded over a slat at the top to narrow the amount of available entrance and provide a ladder. I used them in nucs with lower populations and they were rapidly drained and little drowning. They were just the cheap dadant gallon frame feeders. Not as good as my homemade top feeders that hold close to three gallons but the price is good. I used emulsified LGO too. 



David LaFerney said:


> Apis - you know you could just set the pan right on the frames and float a handful of wood chips in it - or a mesh ladder that just hooks over the edge. Of course that would make it more likely that they fill up the empty space with wild comb.
> 
> I know for me I'm looking for something that lowers cost and work - simple, cheap, effective, feeds a good dose at one time, and stores compactly when not in use. And ideally does not require an extra super or modification to woodenware. A small rubbermaid pan is close, except you have to have extra supers. Extra supers may sound like a small thing, but when you are talking about dozens of them it starts to become more of an issue.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Been using 2-gallon icing buckets from that gas station quick-food place. Drill tiny holes in lid.
The hardest part is climbing back out of the dumpster.


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