What people say about plastic foundation / bee frames
-
I use plastic foundation with wood frame mixed with normal foundation. Just rub the plastic foundation with some beeswax and away you go. Another option would be rolling warm wax on it as said above, or just spray some sugar syrup on it.
SWN Beekeepers forum 2021
-
To be honest I have not noticed much difference. Started with a Langstroth, all plastic brood & 2 supers, put a Nuc in it and had no issues built up well and gave a bit of honey year 1.
Year 2 it was split some plastic brood frames went in with wax foundation and never noticed any issues. Bought 100 brood frames that year no issues. Now got some nationals as well but don’t use supers, I use brood boxes above a QX for honey. I don’t really use plastic in the Langstroth supers as I now have about 1000 drawn comb which I just reuse. Re brood frames it is so easy to scrape off the old wax, pop the plastic out, boil the frames, scrub the plastic and put back together
I don’t have access to heather but if I did I would use plastic pre drawn out from the OSR flow, extracted and then used for heather so it could be scraped off & pressed
Wingy Beekeepers forum 2017
-
We use full plastic frames, although these are for Langstroth and not National.
I have to say I love them and have many 1000's of them in use.
tidymeup Beekeepers forum 2009
Most beekeepers in the UK use wax foundation, and plastic frames are outside their concept field. Wooden frames with wax foundation look nice, and the bees draw comb well. I recommend you start with wood unless you have a particular reason to use plastic. Check the sustainability of the frames by looking at the growth rings. A plastic brood frame should last more than two decades, whereas a wooden frame will need to be replaced many times in this period. The longevity of plastic frames may mean that their carbon footprint is not so bad. After 20 years, when my frames come to the end of their useful life, so will I.
© Crown copyright Nice super
In 2024, I used wooden with wax foundation as supers and was impressed with how readily the bees draw wax. I will be using more in the future.
Summary
Plastic frames are durable and can be reused many times. With proper preparation, bees draw comb well. Cutting out QC requires a surgical technique. They do not blow out when honey is extracted. They are a fiddle to re-use except during a nectar flow.
Wooden frames require assembly. Cutting out QC is usually straightforward, but brace comb can be problematic. Wax foundation produces pretty honeycombs, but the surface of brood frames can be uneven.
Bees draw comb on wax foundation more readily, in advance of its requirement.
Page 1F-b
