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Great Idea - Very Bad Design |
| It is rare that I am unhappy with a purchase, but this is one of those rare times. Im a new beekeeper and researched all of the products for my hives before purchasing. I will say that I am very, very pleased with all of my BMBF products EXCEPT the 10-frame hive top feeder w/ floats. The design is a disaster waiting to happen! There are numerous problems with the design of this product. 1. Floats? Are you kidding me? After 1 week, I had over 100 dead drowned bees in each hive. 2. After adapting the floats by adding styrofoam to the panels and testing one more week, I still had over 100 drowned bees in each hive. 3. The feeder must be placed on hive body / super BEFORE filling with sugar water. If filled first, it is too heavy to lift and place on hive. 4. The most disgusting and disturbing part of this product is the larva living in the feeder water after one week of usage. I am fastidious with my beekeeping equipment, so I am sure this is not a result of being unsanitary. I am convinced that the sugar water stagnates in just a few days and invites some type of parasitic breeding.
If you are considering purchasing this product, I would encourage you to skip hive top feeders all together. |
| - Donna Hudson, SC |
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Im buying another |
| Im sorry to hear about all the drowned bees. I suggest that you dont just pour a ton of syrup into the feeder. Use dishes such as those black frozen dinner plates and fill these with pieces of sliced corks. Easy to keep clean and no drowned bees.
What I dont like about these feeders is that the opening runs parallel to the center frame below. The competition has the opening perpendicular to the frames allowing for better access across the frames. But that model is more than twice as expensive as this one so Im sticking with the BMBF model.
I keep the feeder on all the time, even when not feeding, and fill it with hay or lavender flowers to provide insulation for the hive. |
| - Allie, CA |
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Im not an expert and I like this feeder |
| I looked at many feeders before buying this one and I have found it easy to use and have lost only a few bees during the feeding season. If you are too heavy handed when you pour the syrup in, it will overwhelm bees that may already be in the feeder and theyll be caught and drown. I learned that lesson the first time I used it. So go slowly and theyll have a chance to sense the fluid and be ready for it. Its easy to remove and clean, easy to fill and I love that I can just pop off the cover of the hive without much trouble. Ill buy another one for my second hive. |
| - Sandra, GA |
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great feeder |
| I used 2 of these feeders last year with very few dead bees,I would not use another type. the only reason I could see some one getting drowned bees is if they dont make sure the floats are floating when you refill. the syrup will glue them down once in a while just take your hive tool and loosen the float. |
| - Frank Holland, CO |
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Quality Product |
| The product was made well with quality materials. I used the top feeder last year and look forward to putting it to good use this coming season. The feeder holds plenty of fluid, the floats work as designed to minimize the number of dead bees, and can be placed on top of the hive for easy access. I couldnt be more pleased with this unit. |
| - Rob, ID |
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Bee Drowner |
| I gave it 1 star because there was not an option for 0 stars. I bought 3 of these and within a week, i had drowned all 3 hives. |
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Great product for hard feeding |
| Ive used this feeder exclusively for the past three seasons. It is superior to the other types of feeders. This fall I found myself behind in feeding. A few of my hives were heavy with bees but low on food. I experimented and placed one hive top feeder on top of another for a serious feed. It worked great. The hive is heavy and ready for winter. This is the feeder for me. I absolutely will stick with this feeder over any other from now on. Plus, I rarely lose bees with the hive top feeder. The floats work and I dont understand how people are losing so many bees with it. Ive used different types of feeders from boardman, to the feeders that are placed in the hive in place of a frame. Ive used the plastic feeders and these are all a mess to work with. Ive lost massive amounts of bees with these too easy for bees to get in and drown. |
| Bob |
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I lost several hundred bee. |
| As a new beekeeper I purchased items recommeded to me by other beekeepers. I purchased all my supplies from Brushy Mountain. My only compaint is with the hive top feeder. Over the course of three feedings I estimate I lost 400 to 500 bees due to drowning. I then borrowed a feeder from a friend that has been modified with hardware cloth heavy screen which allows the bees to crawl down to the syrup and crawl back out. Result, no lost bees. I have since added new hives and will be modifing the BM feeder in the same manner. |
| - J A, NC |
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floats are too big |
| I have the old style slatted floats, in my old feeder, which work fine. the new floats seem to swell in the syrup and get stuck to the sides of the feeder. Result: lots of drowned bees. Brushy Mountain, please consider the swelling problem and either reduce the size of the floats or make them of something that doesnt swell in syrup |
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Good idea, poor performance = lots of drowned bees! |
| This feeder fits right on top of hive and is easy to fill with little disturbance to the hive. However, the floats don not work and your bees will drown and then you have a nasty and stinky mess. Im not talking about losing one or two bees, you will lose 50-100 bee every time. The wooden portion on the float becomes saturated and heavy w/ syrup then you get bees on top of the float and it just sinks and they are trapped or once the syrup runs low they crawl though grating on float because the wooden float actually elevate the grating 3/4 off bottom so theres still plenty of syrup to drown hundreds of your bees. Suggest buying another hive top feeder with mesh gate that protects your bees or jar/pail type feeder. If you would like a similar type feeder without all the dead bees, check out Miller bee supply. They have a similar product but instead of using float the put hardware mesh to protect bee. Hope this review is helpful to anyone looking at purchasing this feeder |
| - B Beasley, NC |
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Wonderful Feeder |
| Its easy to refill, and the quite a few bees can feed at the same time allowing them to consume the syrup faster.
Im a little surprised at one of the other reviews that stated they experienced significant bee loss. I think I lost about 5 to 10 over 3 feedings. Its practically bee idiot-proof and much better than the plastic, multiple function feeder where I did have a problem with bee drowning. |
| - ERIC, AR |
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how to drown your bees |
| I dont claim to be a Master bee keeper,and and I did consult with a brush mt. Rep. before writing this review to make sure I wasnt dowing anything wrong when using the top feeder. Each time I have checked the feeder I find 150 or more bees drowned and the ones that are in the feeder alive are strugling trying to get out but cant because they are coated with syrup. The BM rep. told me this was normal.Iremoved my feeder and will find another way to feed.This feeder was defeating what I want to do, keep my bees healthy and alive not kill them. |
| - Jim Stiwinter, NC |
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Great feeders |
| I have top feeders with the slatted floats and theyre great. I dont loose any bees due to drowning. |
| - Scott, MO |
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