# What Is Your Experince With Beeswax Coated Plastic Frames And Foundation?



## Hee Haw (Mar 23, 2006)

I here they have improved the wax coated plastic frames and foundation, and that a lot of commercial beekers are using it all the way now. Has it worked good for you are poorly? Have you tried it in brood and suppers? Black or white? Brushy Mt. is offering it for brood and suppers. What brands and where ordered has worked or not worked good for you?


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## Dahc (Feb 14, 2006)

We use the plastic foundations in 2 hives and top bar frames in the third one. We use the top bar frames so we can get a little more wax in a season but the plastic foundation frames give way more honey.

Before we had an extractor, we used to take a hot metal spatula and scrape the entire comb from the foundation and squeese all the honey out through cheese cloth. The foundations have held up very well even with that. I like the foundations and when something happens to these, that's what I'll replace them. Ours are almost 5 years old and seem as strong as the day we bought them.


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## foxtrapper (Dec 23, 2003)

I've got the one-piece large black units in my hive bodies. It's worked well for me. Some initial hesitation by the bees, but once comb starts getting built, they continue without qualm. 

My only complaint is that it's not as strong when it comes to prying up stuck frames with the hive tool. I've got several with ear damage from pulling them up, or pulling the one next to it up.

As for supers, I use shallows, and they don't have all plastic units for the shallows. Otherwise, I'd use them there as well. I do use plastic foundation in many of the supers, and have been pleased with it.


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## Timber (Jun 15, 2003)

I'm going totally with wooden frames with foundation as wax coated plastic inserts. My bees have chewed holes though the wax foundations. I've seen no difference in the comparison of these two. The total white plastic frames a different story.
On a winter killed hive first brood box, As I've ran out of wooden frames with wax coated plastic foundations in building the brood I put all plastic (wax coated) in them. This hive had just two woodens/with plastic inserts in it. 
The all plastic picture perfect beautiful brood cells with no overruns, but nothing in them clean as a whistle. The wooden were just had cells all over. The lower and top rails with some queen cells, These just looked ugly with the addition of some dead brood. Looks like all the effort was put into building up and around the wooden.

Timber


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## Dahc (Feb 14, 2006)

Oh, I'm sorry folks, I thought we were just talking about the plastic inserts. My bad.

I have never dealt with the completely plastic frames.


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## Timber (Jun 15, 2003)

Dahc, I don't think it's a bad. I think Hee Haw is looking into the possibly of plastic foundations which can be purchased separate, in a wooden frame, or totally plastic.

I've bought Mann Lakes plastic (yellowish as in wax in color) inserts with sprayed wax and wooden frames, I've had very good results with both honey and brood comb. Next I went with the total plastic (They came in white only at the time) for honey supers mostly for the easy clean up. I've did hear of ears failure in the extractor as Mann Lakes sold both a standard and the reinforced ears. I went with the standard, because I have an el-cheap-o two frame cage type. 

I'm sold on replacing all my wax with plastic, do know some old time diehards that are switching over. If that helps

Timber


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## Dahc (Feb 14, 2006)

Timber said:


> Dahc, I don't think it's a bad. I think Hee Haw is looking into the possibly of plastic foundations which can be purchased separate, in a wooden frame, or totally plastic.
> 
> I've bought Mann Lakes plastic (yellowish as in wax in color) inserts with sprayed wax and wooden frames, I've had very good results with both honey and brood comb. Next I went with the total plastic (They came in white only at the time) for honey supers mostly for the easy clean up. I've did hear of ears failure in the extractor as Mann Lakes sold both a standard and the reinforced ears. I went with the standard, because I have an el-cheap-o two frame cage type.
> 
> ...


I've never used wax foundations. They always seemed kind of weak. I think maybe you and I have the same extractor... lol. Cheap, white, chinese plastic thing? We've even left thing out in the weather for months at a time and it just keeps on ticking. It's 4 years old now so we did get our $100 out of it anyway.

I was talking to my wife about the bee supplies. She knows more than I do about what's available. She said she wont ever use one of the totally plastic frames. She said she's been hearing for a long time now that they warp up toward the ends. They may have developed stronger ones by now but I don't know.

We use the wood frames and plastic, wax coated foundations only except for the few top bar frames we built to get a little wax. We've never had nails come out (but we glue them too), never had one warp (noticably) and never had one break... well, there was one but it's because I dropped it on it's corner while it was full of capped honey. I don't think that counts.


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