Taking care of a bee farm is no easy task. There are a lot of things that need to be planned in advance to make sure your bees can work peacefully and efficiently while you harvest rich honey. Bees are organized creatures, so with the correct setup, you can have near-complete control of a hive’s activities.Better living conditions translate to better harvest from a hive, so a controlled environment is usually preferable in beekeeping because this allows a farmer to manage their tiny buzzing workers more systematically. These desired conditions cannot be achieved through hard work alone. A professional beekeeper needs the best possible custom beekeeping equipment available to them. What kind of equipment is needed for beekeeping, you might ask? Here’s a quick rundown.
Beekeeping Equipment
While some beekeeping equipment is available for purchase in retail hardware stores, some are better custom-made according to the preferences of the beekeeper. As such, there are equipments that are optional and only serve as quality-of-life addition. Some of these equipment are offered by Topweld General Engineering under metal fabrication services.nnnnn
What Are the DifferentnParts of a Beehive?
A beehive has six to seven distinct parts that together facilitate the beekeeping and honey production process. These parts are stacked together and can usually be taken apart one by one without much trouble. For the sake of simplicity, the following are arranged from bottom to top.nn n
Hive Stand
The purpose of a hive stand is pretty straightforward, it raises the beehive from the ground to prevent water from flooding the lower compartments of the hive during heavy rain. Most hive stands are made of wood, but some beekeepers prefer using stainless steel hive stands to avoid having to deal with rotting.n
Bottom Board
A bee hive only has a few entrances to prevent intruders and pests from disturbing the bees. The most important gateway to the hive is called the bottom board, which acts like a landing strip for the worker bees. There are narrow and wide entrances on the bottom board for cold and warm climate respectively.n
Hive Bodies
Otherwise known as the brood chamber, the hive body is made of honeycombs where the colony takes care of their young. It is the main location where you would ideally want to keep your queen bee, separated from the comb that will store the excess honey you will harvest. Hive bodies come in different sizes and can be stacked over one another.n
Queen Excluder
As previously mentioned, it is ideal to keep the queen bee in the hive bodies to prevent her from laying her eggs on the honeycombs where you will harvest money from. The queen excluder is a thin panel with a metal grid that is placed between the hive body and the honey supers.n
Honey Supers
The honeycomb that will contain the honey that you will harvest from the beehive is a compartment called the honey supers. Bees would fill up the honeycombs attached to the frames inside the honey supers, and the beekeeper will pull these frames out and harvest the honey. They are smaller in comparison to the hive bodies, but they can store up to 2 and a half gallons of honey.n
Cover
Of course, we wouldn’t want to keep the top of the hive open, so there are two covers that protect it from above. The inner cover is designed to provide insulation and ventilation to the hive. It also has a smaller entrance at the top that bees can access. The telescoping outer cover, on the other hand, is essentially the lid of the hive. It is made with sheet metal to provide extra protection and temperature regulation to the entire hive.n
How TopWeld Can Help You With Welding Beekeeping Equipment?
Several beekeeping equipments like the hive stand, telescoping outer cover, and smoker are made of fabricated stainless steel, which just so happens to be one of our fields of expertise. We can help you save money and personalize your beekeeping experience by fabricating and providing welding services to some of your equipment for you. You can also avail of our services to repair broken beekeeping equipment. You’ll have less trouble looking for custom welding services for bee-keeping equipment.
Contact A Welding and Fabrication Expert Today!
Custom Beekeeping Equipment
While some beekeeping equipment is available for purchase in retail hardware stores, some are better custom-made according to the preferences of the beekeeper. As such, there are equipment that are optional and only serve as quality-of-life addition. Some of these equipment are offered by Topweld General Engineering under metal fabrication services.nn
Honey Storage Tank
nA special stainless steel storage tank that can withstand the weight and viscosity of honey is a fundamental piece of equipment every beekeeper should have. Though they can be bought in hardware stores, a custom-made one can be the more economical choice when there is only a specific amount of honey harvested at a given time.n
Honey Extractor
A honey extractor is a hollow cylindrical machine that uses centrifugal force to draw out honey from the honeycombs without damaging them. They are usually made of either stainless steel or plastic. Once the honeycombs are inserted into the machine, they can be spun around manually using a hand crank or electricity. Manual honey extractors are most suitable for hobbyists who own less than a dozen hives. Meanwhile, electrical extractors are preferred in commercial beekeeping.n
Capping Reducer
Bees usually cover the hexagonal cell that contains the honey with a thin layer of beeswax once it becomes full enough. Keeping them on during extraction is generally not a good idea because it makes the honey look dirty. Capping reducers are machines that can remove this layer of beeswax without wasting any of the honey they trap within.n
Honey Filtering Machine
The honey extracted from honeycombs usually contains other materials such as beeswax or even some body parts of bees that were left over in the comb after it was taken out of the hive. A honey filtering machine basically acts as a specialized strainer that purifies the honey before bottling.n
Wax Melter
Melters are also tools that can separate beeswax from the honey. The beeswax is melted down so that they can be used for other processes such as candle making. This also maximizes the overall amount of honey that can be extracted from each honeycomb.n
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Questions And Answers
What is apiculture equipment? Basic apiculture equipment includes the beehive, a smoker, a hive tool, and protective clothing. Additional equipment is needed to process the honey harvested.
How much does it cost to weld beekeeping equipment?The price varies between metal fabricators and the specific materials that will be used, but a hive tool, hive stand, and bee smoker should cost less than 350 AUD in total.
How quickly does it take from design to fabrication?Depending on the scale of the project, we can complete projects with a couple of weeks to a few months. For bee keeping equipment, where designs are readily available and materials re not that hard to find, 1 – 2 weeks is enough.
How successful are your welding repairs?We have had our successes working with different companies and private entities over the years and are confident that we can deliver what you are looking for when it comes to welding repairs.
