Lloyd Spear commented on feeders:

> Not much can beat a glass gallon jar upside down with holes in the lid.

I have a problem with glass - one must handle it like, ummm... glass.

The plastic bucket type feeders sold by Mann Lake (and others) work
great, are easy to sterilize, and are stackable.  One can buy a 1 Gallon
($4.25 each) and a 3.1 Gallon size $6.95 ea).
See them here:

    http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catalog/page28.htm

They can sit directly on the frames or on the inner cover.  Store them for winter
in the basement, as exposure to extreme cold can make the lid rims brittle over
time  (it would be nice to see a heavier-gauge plastic used).

> Try restaurants that serve pickles or bars that use maraschino cherries in mixed drinks.)

Mind the pickle containers.
I got a few 5-gallon plastic pickle pails from a friend who owns a restaurant, but I ended up
using them in the greenhouse.  No matter what I did, the smell of pickles remained.
I get new food-grade 5-gallon plastic pails with gaskets (which is my standard unit for
storage and handling of honey, as a 55-gallon drum of honey weighs much more than
I do) at a restaurant supply house for about $2.50 each, cheaper than the beekeeping
supply houses.

I built a few 5-gallon pail feeder bucket by using a hole saw to drill 4 holes in the top center,
and then super-gluing screen mesh inserts intended for kitchen faucets over the holes.
(Glue the mesh to the INSIDE surface of the cover).  They work, but the resulting feeder
is larger than practical, and is only used for feeding hives that are in serious need and
deployed far from home.

Rather than carrying buckets from vehicle to hives, I use a little red wagon to which I have
added fat "off road" tires intended for a riding lawn mower's trailer.  (I may look silly pulling
a little red wagon, but it keeps everything I might need close at hand.)

> "Miller-type" hive top feeders are, IMHO, the best of all.

In my view, these feeders are bulky, heavy, expensive, high-maintenance, and must
be filled when on the hive, which requires a hose and tank, or a bucket and some
lugging/pouring.

        jim

        farmageddon