Charles is looking for 'opinions'. I had perhaps 1,000 Pierco frames in
hives, but am getting rid of them as quickly as I can.
For some reason, stupidity, ignorance, or a misguided attempt to save money,
someone designed the Pierco mold to have the top bar a full 1/8" less deep
than standard wood bars. This results in an absurd amount of burr comb
(because bee space is violated) and a dripping mess when two boxes are
separated. In addition to the mess, the bees get disturbed by all the
activity involved in trying to separate such boxes and are more aggressive
than otherwise. While all manufacturers dimensions are not exactly alike,
my frames are a combination of those from Kelley, Dadant, Betterbee, and
'homemade'. All share the same difficulty.
This problem is so bad that one supply house 'invented' a hive tool about
15" long for the specific reason of prying apart such boxes!
Of course, this difficulty can be solved by cutting down the boxes...but why
waste the labor when such good alternatives are available? In addition, if
you cut down the boxes, what would you do with the wood frames you have now?
In addition to the bee space problem, many commercial beekeepers will not
use Pierco frames because they slip too much and jam certain extracting
lines...
I have no experience with Permacomb, but have always thought it was very
expensive.
IMHO, the best frames to use are wood, with either Plasticell (from Dadant
and others) or Duracomb foundation. Duracomb can be hard to find, but
several of the smaller dealers in the Midwest carry it. I buy mine coated
with beeswax, but am told that in a strong flow the uncoated works just as
well. My advice to hobbyists is to buy the coated as it is more forgiving
than the uncoated.
Hope this helps,
Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacturers of Ross Rounds Comb
Honey Equipment, Sundance Pollen Traps
and Custom Printer of Sundance Labels.
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