For frames, low-carbon wire (galvanized and not galvanized) or stainless steel 12X18H10T or ASI 304 with a diameter of 0.5 mm or less is used .
Thin galvanized wire is used to strengthen the foundation, it is like reinforcement, it gives strength to the frames when they are built up, it supports and fastens the honeycombs so that they do not fall out of the frame.
If you use a wire with a diameter of more than 0.5 mm, then the bees can leave unsealed combs in places where there is a wire.
Many beekeepers recommend using wire less than 0.4mm in diameter, such as 0.3mm or 0.5mm beekeeper wire.
Such a thin wire for hive frames has its drawbacks - low strength due to the small diameter.
If a so-called "ram" has formed and you have not straightened it before tensioning the wire, then it may burst.
For this reason, it is worth considering whether to buy more expensive stainless steel wire, or nichrome wire?
But, if the beekeeper is skilled enough and experienced enough, then you can save money and buy cheaper low-carbon galvanized wire of small diameters.
The wire on the honeycomb frames is pulled before waxing.
Many beekeepers recommend stretching the wire over the frames in winter, and building up the frames with artificial foundation in the spring, just before installing them in bee colonies.
- For standard Dadon frames, experts - beekeepers recommend stretching the wire in 4 rows,
- For the frames of a multi-hull hive, the wire must be pulled in 3 rows.
- In the Ukrainian frames for beehives, wire is stretched in 4 vertical rows and, for insurance against gusts, two transverse rows of wire are added. This results in fewer rushes.
In order for the wire not to cut through the wooden frames for the hives and not to sag over time, the frames must be made in such a way that the wire, when cutting the frame, passes through the maximum number of layers of wood.
Before pulling the wire onto the frame, it is recommended to boil it in wax - the lubricant will be washed off from it, which always remains on the wire due to technological features.
Such manipulations lead to the fact that, in the future, the bees will gnaw through the foundation less, because the risk of them perceiving the wire as a foreign body, which is the main reason for the bee colony to gnaw through the wax, decreases.
What wire to buy for frames in the hive ?
Many beekeepers are wondering: what kind of wire to buy for tensioning frames?
The answer lies in the field of sanitation and hygiene.
Over time, various parasites accumulate in bee hives on honeycombs, which shorten the life of bees.
Therefore, after 5-6 years, the frames are discarded, and the wire is thrown away with them.
Therefore, ordinary galvanized wire is enough for beekeepers.
In addition, some practitioners say that stainless wire sags over time, but we are not ready to confirm or refute these statements.
We are suppliers of hive frame wire, so you can buy it from us.
You can buy wire for frames with delivery to Kyiv, Dnipro, Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Kharkiv, Kherson, Nikolaev, Odessa, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava.
We will deliver you wire for beehives to Vinnitsa, Zaporozhye, Krivoy Rog and other cities of Ukraine.
Frame wire price.
Wire for hives is quite expensive, but since you don’t need much, the cost of buying such wire is not large.
The price ratio of frame wire and 2 mm galvanized wire is approximately 1.8.
Of course, due to the fact that frame wire is bought in small quantities, its price will be somewhat higher than the wholesale price, however, therefore, in some cases, this coefficient will be equal to 2.