Every now and again a piece of beekeeping equipment comes along that gets me genuinely excited. It happened recently with the new BSHoney 2in1 Nucleus Box.
I had an email from Daniel at BS Honey not so long ago, he had been watching the YouTube videos on my channel and said he was interested in sponsoring one of our videos with a new piece of equipment they had produced.
Disclaimer: Daniel and Tristan supplied me with stock at no charge to produce a video review on my youtube channel. That video has been completed and I've written this blog because I think the kit is that good.
You can check out my unboxing video here.
BSHoney haven't paid for any further advertising or content so these are my thoughts on the kit a few weeks on.
So, with that disclaimer out of the way here's what I think. It's a nucleus box with a difference, it is a two in one nuc box.
So, what that means is you can use a divider in the middle top split the one, six frame box into two, three frame queen mating nucs. I have to say I was genuinely excited. I'm not very good at woodwork and had wanted to make up several of this type of box myself but never really got the hang of cutting a straight line with a wood saw!
Following a quick email conversation we had agreed how I could set up a video review for them and within a week or so the parcel arrived. Did I mention I was excited?
“I have to say, I'm not very good at woodwork and so I was genuinely excited that someone else had done all the hard work for me!”
First off, the nucleus boxes felt heavy, you know when you pick up something and you're immediately and pleasantly surprised by the physical weight of it, that was my very first impression, so far, so good.
Once out of the box I could see that these poly nuc boxes were made of strong stuff, the very professionally worded and printed leaflet that came with the nuc box explained....
"Our boxes are manufactured to be stronger using 120g/l (grams per litre). This is 20% higher in density than competitor’s boxes, therefore offering higher durability and improved thermal properties". That explains why they are heavy then!
The easiest way to explain the features is to let Daniel and Tristan describe them!
Their leaflet goes on to explain, "It is higher density polystyrene nuc box that has more than 1 basic purpose. Our new 6 frame nuc doubles up as a 2-way mating nuc". Just as I had explained earlier in fact.
One of the features I really like is the integrated top feeder, "The feeder has also been designed to be suitable for liquid sugar and solid fondant". Blink and you might miss the significance of that statement so here's what Daniel and Tristan say further and I'm really liking this particular feature.
"We have also eliminated the use of integrated feeders that cause issues like disturbance to the nest when feeding, brace comb, and drowning bees. This has been replaced by a clever top feeding system, which enables the beekeeper to feed the colony as a 6 frame nuc & as a 2-way mating nuc. Our new feeder design also features a removable plug, which can provide access to fondant placed inside the feeder. This allows for a sustainable source of food in the winter & spring, removing any need for space wasting ekes. Offering much better value for money".
Here's a nice touch too, the roof is thicker, much thicker in fact than a lot of poly nucs I've owned,
"We have also made the roof 100% thicker than competitor’s allowing the highest point of heat loss to be vastly reduced".
It's a simple but effective touch that I'm sure will pay dividends over the Winter.
And here's the real beauty of this piece of kit that got me all excited, Daniel's words again, "Not only have we improved the overall design, we have added a number of useful features which will distinguish our box from others available on the market. Our box not only acts as a single 6 frame nuc, it can also double up as a 2-way mating nuc with the unique divider insert and separate coloured entrances located on each side of the box.
This simple yet effective concept allows beekeepers to easily create self-sustaining mating nucs that are from a standardised national frame design. Dividers can also be removed during the winter to unite the colony and reintroduced the following season".
How cool is that! I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can give these BS Honey 2 in 1 nucs a try!
Finally, The lads appear to have thought of everything, "We have also reduced the issue of frames being propolised down by incorporating a frame runner, whilst maintaining sufficient top bee space reducing the risk of crushing bees".
I don't know about you but I hate crushing my bees, it's a sickening sound and there is the practical aspect of preventing disease spread, all in all abother clever feature.
All I have to do now is get them painted and fill with bees! I think I might just order some more before they sell out again, I know they have been inundated with orders and sales have been very strong. My advice is to get them while they're hot because they are sure to sell out fast.
I'll be back with more updates in the coming days and weeks as we progress into the new season.
Stewart