# why no rapid feeders for sale in US?



## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

nevermind, i think i just found one at Kelley


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

i have a few of those from kelley. they worked pretty good. the cone is not in the center though, it's toward one end, i put it at the down hill side since my hives tilt slightly toward the front. also, i found that putting 3/8" wooden balls that i had treated with spray silicone virtually eliminated what little drowning i was getting.


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

I've been looking at those myself. The forward angle does trouble me a bit. I have three of the Mann Lake Miller style. They can handle quite a lean forward or back. However, I think the bees stop using them earlier. If you're on the ball in the fall, it shouldn't be an issue.


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

the one from beeworks has no forward tilt or angle. It simply sits flat on the inner cover and has a cone coming up from the center. It is different than the one from Kelley but the Kelley is the closest I can find.

Sully


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

it's not the feeder that tilts, but the way i have my hives sitting, slightly tilted forward to let any water run out. it just means that you can't get quite as much syrup in the feeder. also have the mann lake ones, no problem emptying either type when the weather was warm enough for hive top feeding.


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

ok gotcha! yes I have my hive tilted almost an inch higher in the back so any water will run out the front. Last night we were down in the low 20's and my other hive had no activity in it's feeder but the new hive that I just captured about two weeks ago was feeding like crazy even at those temps!

Sully


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

squarepeg said:


> it's not the feeder that tilts, but the way i have my hives sitting, slightly tilted forward to let any water run out.


That's what I meant. Sorry for any confusion, my hives are the same way. The Mann Lake feeders are so large and deep, it doesn't seem to be of any bother, but the Kelley ones seem about half as deep and any tilt will have a corresponding reduction in storage volume.

Back in the day when I first started, I had a hive stand that had settled since I placed it and it began to til backward. Enough water actually collected on the bottom board to get up to the bottom of the hive body.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

that's really cool about the new hive, interesting that they go up if they are desparate enough!


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## the kid (Nov 26, 2006)

to me it looks a lot like a angel food cake pan with a cup or glass to put over the hole ,,, and a cover that fits over the top ..


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

that's about right, kelley's calls it a volcano.


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## cdanderson (May 26, 2007)

I love mine and cant tell much difference between the one I got from Canada and the one I got from Rossman.


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

the one at rossman is exactly what I am looking for!


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## cdanderson (May 26, 2007)

I have two and wish I had a couple more. The only time I ever had bees drown in one was when I failed to push the clear cup down on the tube properly.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I've got about 10 or 12 of them (from Beeworks). They work fine. The space between the cone cover and the cone is just right to prevent drowning. The slope had no bearing.


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## Keth Comollo (Nov 4, 2011)

How much syrup do these hold? The price is certainly right but the plastic hive top feeder I got from bee-commerce holds three gallons and doesn't need a super to cover it which offsets the high price a bit. Three gallons last quite awhile! Great for outyards.


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

with my hives tilted forward a bit, i can get about one and a half gallons in the kelley version.


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## Beregondo (Jun 21, 2011)

Since these have to go inside of an super box, I'm wondering:
What is the advantage of using a feeder like this instead of a couple of half gallon jars?

Jars are cheaper (I get mine free) and if filled before going to the bee yard, wouldn't they be quicker to service in the field?


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>What is the advantage of using a feeder like this instead of a couple of half gallon jars?

It depends on how you have the jars set up and if they get hot and leak from expanded air... but the advantages of the "rapid feeder" are:

o Assuming it's setting on the inner cover hole you can fill it without facing any bees.
o It never leaks.
o It minimizes drowning to almost nothing (compared to frame feeders and some top feeders that don't have restricted access)


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## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

the one's were talking about here come with their own box, and michael is right on, very easy to check and refil and the bee's don't know you're there. when you pull the jars out of their holes, the bees will come flying out.


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## FREDBEE (Apr 11, 2011)

Rossman apiaries has the same rapid feeder as the beeworks model. I just purchased half a dozen myself. I put them in an empty super with the inner cover on top so they sit on the top bars. When it is cold i put them on top of an insulated inner cover so i can look in and see if the are taking sugar.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I use lots of these: Quart size Ziploc, Twist N Loc plastic containers, I just drill a few small holes in the lids, then they are quick and easy feeders that can be placed over an inner cover hole or directly on the frames or even over a welded wire queen excluder, which itself is just above the frames. The lids have a built-in recess that gives the bees easy access to the holes that deliver the syrup from the container.



Though I rarely need to feed more than a couple of quarts per hive/nuc, so it's not a big chore to use these.


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## Keth Comollo (Nov 4, 2011)

Ahh, I see the one you are talking about now with the larger capacity.

https://kelleybees.com/Products/Detail/?id=3336333733303333&grouped=1

Looks like a nice feeder and it comes with the super frame to enclose it. Similar to the one I use you can fill this without the bees escaping so I would have to give this a thumbs up.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

How is the plastic container (looks like soup container from Chinese take out..) attached or fixed to the cake pan. It seems this would float and sit funny so it must be fixed somehow to the bottom of the angel food pan? Or are there holes poked in the soup container allowing air to escape so it does not float???

Dan


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## Sully1882 (Jul 18, 2011)

there's little tabs it pushes down onto... so friction holds it in place.... these things work great and I have never lost a bee in it.

Sully


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## JohnAllen (Jul 2, 2010)

Thanks for pointing these out! I just ordered 10 from Bee Works and look forward to trying them - good price and reasonable shipping to the U.S.


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## Dan. NY (Apr 15, 2011)

Does anyone know if I can get one of the larger rectangular feeders like these for 8 frame? Kellys large 1 1/2 gallon feeder only fits 10 frame. They have a smaller round one that is 1/2 gallon. Rossman has the same round thing as far as I can tell. If anyone has a link to a rectangular one for 8 frame please let me know. thanks.

Dan


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