An essential bee barrow

Super of honey on the bee barrow. The Spanset strap has been removed.

Moving a stack of supers, ready for the bees to fill.

 

 

Bee barrow

 

 

 

  • My bee barrow is an essential part of my beekeeping kit.
  • I got the idea from Conwy Beekeepers’ member Steve Porter.
  • I use the barrow for moving hives of bees, brood and a half maximum; or stacks of supers, maximum three full of honey, or four full of frames, ready for filling.
  • It consists of an old Walsall Wheelbarrow Company barrow, with a solid tyre. I found that pneumatic tyres are soon punctured by hawthorn needles.
  • I removed the wheelbarrow pan, and bolted an old wooden National hive floor to the frame.
  • I fitted a rim round three sides of the floor, higher at the front, and loose enough for a hive to be easily lifted in.
  • I like to fit a crown board on top of a stack of supers, and I always use a Spanset hive strap to keep the load secure.
  • I remove the barrow wheel when I’m moving hives in the car, to save space.

Peter McFadden, updated January 2022