# Uk beekeeper/ designing beekeeping equipment



## lgrieve91 (Jan 30, 2013)

Hi guys/girls

My names Lee and Im approaching the end of my first year of beekeeping out on the outskirts of Sheffield in the UK. Been a tough year with the weather and weak colony I bought second hand but things are on the up!

Im also a design student, concentrating on the redesign of some of the beekeeping equipment used by commercial/sideliners as graduation project which prompted me to keep bees in the first place.

Is there any commercial/sideliners out there that could help me out with some research with few photos?

Much appreciated!


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## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

Welcome to Beesource!


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## Lazer128 (Dec 15, 2012)

Welcome and good luck with the project.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Lee!


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

lgrieve91 said:


> Im also a design student



First welcome! 

Not sure what a design student equivalent is in the US. Are you an engineering student? You'd need some mechanical skill to tackle most equipment redesigns. Here's a suggestion, check out this product: http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/The-Sideliner-Uncapper/productinfo/795/

It seems like a pretty simple device, but there have been very mixed reviews. Overall I think its massively overpriced. Your task is to redesign this to be more robust (no jamming, minimal double runs, and can accommodate all frame types), and all this with a retail price not to exceed $400 USD. It appears like a great concept that they just didn't get right, both pricing and functionality. I'll gladly volunteer to be your product tester.


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## lgrieve91 (Jan 30, 2013)

Astrobee,

I study product design, so theres a sense of engineering in there but also concentrates on how things look and are used.

As far as that idea goes, its extremely over engineered and thats the reason for the high costs. I'm actually aiming to redesign the smoker using a cheap reliable technology I've uncovered. I'm still in the early stages and I'm trying to get an idea of how beekeepers use the smoker on a daily basis on a commercial/sideliners level (or just anyone with multiple sites). 

so issues like;
-Storage when not in use
-Transporting
-How beekeepers get stuff from the transport to the site.
-plus many other tiny (but significant) things.

Im hoping to try get some pictures from people on here to get a few ideas. Seems a lot more quiet on the UK forums!


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