FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Before an answer, you need some facts to see
Imagine your apiary during winter. Snow or very wet and cold.
How are bees going? Is there still plenty food? Questions, questions, questions…
Well, you can get your coat and quickly get there. Try to heft to see if there is enough weight and to hear their angry noise. Yes, you can do that, but it will cost you time, and your bees extra energy when disturbed.
There is another option. The electronic scale. Connected via cloud with your mobile/computer so you can get information on demand without any of those troubles.
Ok, let go forward. Now, it’s Spring or Summer. Beekeeping best time of year.
You are making inspection of your hive every week or so. Bees are happy and flying extensively. So, do you need scale for this time? I would say, yes. For many extra benefits you won’t get without that device. Below I stated a few, most obvious ones:
First at all nectar-flow observation. You will see clearly when your hive brings some or maybe a lot of nectar but also you will be able to observe when by any reason bees are struggling and there is need to supply extra food.
In some countries, there are nectar flow gaps in the middle of season where there aren’t enough flowers around and beekeeper must be extra careful to react in time especially after taking honey. In 2022, June gap in England started around 2 weeks earlier than usual and was also longer which made quite a surprise for many beekeepers.
By the way, when graph line flatten that could also be an indicator that hive is perhaps full, and some extra space is needed.
Even the best managed hive will finally decide to swarm. It’s just a nature.
The biggest problem is not a swarm itself but to find it just in time. Based on Murphy’s law (“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time.”) and on our own experience, we know, that most swarms happen when we are not around. Sometimes it is also hard to notice swarm happened and which hive decided to make it because after a several minutes all is calm around.
So, yes, for modern beekeeping it is essential tool making your life much easier.
Imagine your apiary during winter. Snow or very wet and cold.
How are bees going? Is there still plenty food? Questions, questions, questions…
Well, you can get your coat and quickly get there. Try to heft to see if there is enough weight and to hear their angry noise. Yes, you can do that, but it will cost you time, and your bees extra energy when disturbed.
There is another option. The electronic scale. Connected via cloud with your mobile/computer so you can get information on demand without any of those troubles.
You are making inspection of your hive every week or so. Bees are happy and flying extensively. So, do you need scale for this time? I would say, yes. For many extra benefits you won’t get without that device. Below I stated a few, most obvious ones:
First at all nectar-flow observation. You will see clearly when your hive brings some or maybe a lot of nectar but also you will be able to observe when by any reason bees are struggling and there is need to supply extra food.
In some countries, there are nectar flow gaps in the middle of season where there aren’t enough flowers around and beekeeper must be extra careful to react in time especially after taking honey. In 2022, June gap in England started around 2 weeks earlier than usual and was also longer which made quite a surprise for many beekeepers.
Even the best managed hive will finally decide to swarm. It’s just a nature.
If you have remote apiary, far from your direct view then there are a couple ways you can observe what’s going on but obviously there is no perfect one.
You can use camera. That’s when you lucky enough to get electric power nearby. What if not? Well, some cameras are battery operated so this is also kind of solution however I presume internet connection could be a problem.
On the other hand, you can decide to buy hive guard (www.beeportal.net) which when put inside the hive become very useful tool.
That device includes battery which in most cases works 6 months or more. Also includes USBC battery charger so it’s easy to top up even from power bank.
Having GSM connectivity, it will be able to send all data even in very remote locations.
But on top of that, it will locate your device to the nearest GSM station and when in alarm will scan all nearby WiFi networks then let you know their names. You can also get version with GPS so your device will be localised to the couple of meters. This is especially important when your hive can be stolen.
Hive guard is equipped with impact sensors and when alarm function is activated, then in case of rapid movement alarm goes off and will be reported to your mobile.
In such cases your device will report every couple of minutes its position.
Because hive guard is inside the hive, it’s simply undetectable and very difficult to disarm (it’s guarded by a few thousands of bees)
When you have remote apiary or you are worried about theft or damage to your hive then it would be good to have it.
You can use camera. That’s when you lucky enough to get electric power nearby. What if not? Well, some cameras are battery operated so this is also kind of solution however I presume internet connection could be a problem.
On the other hand, you can decide to buy hive guard (www.beeportal.net) which when put inside the hive become very useful tool.
That device includes battery which in most cases works 6 months or more. Also includes USBC battery charger so it’s easy to top up even from power bank.
Having GSM connectivity, it will be able to send all data even in very remote locations.
But on top of that, it will locate your device to the nearest GSM station and when in alarm will scan all nearby WiFi networks then let you know their names. You can also get version with GPS so your device will be localised to the couple of meters. This is especially important when your hive can be stolen.
Hive guard is equipped with impact sensors and when alarm function is activated, then in case of rapid movement alarm goes off and will be reported to your mobile.
In such cases your device will report every couple of minutes its position.
Because hive guard is inside the hive, it’s simply undetectable and very difficult to disarm (it’s guarded by a few thousands of bees)
When you have remote apiary or you are worried about theft or damage to your hive then it would be good to have it.
Scale is not a low-cost device. It is mainly because it must operate outdoor in various weather conditions so it must be carefully designed with right materials.
It’s all up to you.
Even one scale gives good indications for the whole apiary for nectar flow or winter storage however many functions are limited to the hive used with.
Additional devices could be added in time so is worth to start from single device and then expand when needed.
It’s all up to you.
Even one scale gives good indications for the whole apiary for nectar flow or winter storage however many functions are limited to the hive used with.
Additional devices could be added in time so is worth to start from single device and then expand when needed.
There are many beehive scale devices around. With various functionality and prices.
So, what makes us different?
Our devices are designed and made literally by beekeepers for beekeepers. No outsourcing, all based on practical knowledge and real-life demand.
In contrast to other companies, we are using and testing our devices in our apiary and with our hives all the time. That makes them very practical and usable, especially that we are based in North-East England with lot of rain and extreme weather.
All our scales are equipped with solar panel and there is no need to replace or charge the battery. This makes them unique. When using the correct settings and a sunny spot, the device will be fully functional for years.
When you happily install our device, then its inseparable part is cloud base management system www.beeportal.net
Once you get to that point, you will have even more functionality available.
You can remotely initiate hive inspection record or make printable version of apiary card then add all data to the system later. It’s up to you
During the hive feeding time, you can use scale to measure exact amount of food and keep that data in your records so every time you will see how much food needs to be added to the hive.
You will find many more useful functions there but to keep this article short we will stop at this point
So, what makes us different?
Our devices are designed and made literally by beekeepers for beekeepers. No outsourcing, all based on practical knowledge and real-life demand.
In contrast to other companies, we are using and testing our devices in our apiary and with our hives all the time. That makes them very practical and usable, especially that we are based in North-East England with lot of rain and extreme weather.
All our scales are equipped with solar panel and there is no need to replace or charge the battery. This makes them unique. When using the correct settings and a sunny spot, the device will be fully functional for years.
When you happily install our device, then its inseparable part is cloud base management system www.beeportal.net
Once you get to that point, you will have even more functionality available.
You can remotely initiate hive inspection record or make printable version of apiary card then add all data to the system later. It’s up to you
Still have any questions? Contact us to get your answer!