John asked:
> of the sun, etc, but wondered what a reasonable
dependable life should be
> for them?  I shudder to think if these ones had been
filled with honey
> instead of water!!
>
> John Mayer
> West-Central MO
>
> -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ
and  other info ---

Hi John & all on the list,

If part of your concern regards replacing your buckets
perhaps you (& other beekeepers) might find this
direction useful:
---  FREE food-grade 5-gallon buckets.  ---
Where?  Your local bakery.  Larger supermarket chains
consume their icings in 3-5 gallon buckets.  These are
'usually' free for the asking as it saves space from
dumpsters/landfill.  The smaller 1-2 gallon tubs could
be used as top feeders if they're substantially
constructed.   Our local grocer occasionally gives up
~20/week in ~5 gallon size.

Here 1-2 gallon plastic buckets are used as
top-feeders for part of my apiary (-100 use buckets)
picked up in quantity from another commercial
operation with 3000+ hives which were used on a
seasonal basis for years & years.  Becuase of the
larger size than most glass containers, plastic
buckets can cut the time in feeding hives during
spring.
After the first couple years the plastic becomes
brittle and crack easily so care is taken to avoid
damage when handling/refilling, same as glass.  Then
again I've seen a plastic storage tub fall apart
inside of a month.  So I'll suppose your answer
depends on the UV resistance to the specific type of
plastic.

Gleaned from a cursory search on the net:
-------------------------------------------
-  Long-term exposure to light causes ageing of the
polymer due to the breaking of polymer bonds, cross
linking or oxidation. The consequences are
embrittlement and cracking which have implications in
so far as packagings are concerned but may also cause
changes in color or transparency.  -

-  UV resistance into a number of categories:
Level 0 - Unprotected or poor resistance - <0.5 years
resistance to weathering
Level 1 - Moderate protection or resistance - 0.5 to 2
years resistance to weathering
Level 2 - Good protection or resistance - 2 to 5 years
resistance to weathering
Level 3 - Very Good protection or resistance- >5 years
resistance to weathering 5.
-------------------------------------------

Matthew Westall - EBees - Castle Rock, CO
---finishing our season warm/hot but still on a
parital flow, about average this year




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-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and  other info ---