ZEST Hive products
The ZEST™ bee hive frame is patented and formed from moulded plastic. The spine of the honeycomb is
drawn naturally down by the bees from the tails of the T's that form the frame.
12 double B.S. brood-size frames are in a box. The ZEST holds 34 frames and 4 excluders.
The ZEST frames can be used in a British Standard double brood chamber permanently or for
transiting to a ZEST
The 4 ZEST Queen excluders are to be used as excluders, but they can be also be used as closure boards
with Corex or 6mm ply boards added in and backed with insulation.
Any box of ZEST equipment (12 frames or 4 excluders) is £60 which includes £10 P+P. UK only.
A pallet of 36 boxes of ZEST (forever) frames can be delivered direct to BBKA branches free of carriage
costs, giving a discount of £360 and a payment of £1800.
ZEST does More With Less
Price comparison for a square meter of comb area for a ZEST and a WBC hive.
The ZEST DIY hive components (excluding VAT & p+p).
3# boxes of 12# ZEST patented plastic T-bar frames £150
1# box of 4 queen excluders £50
1# 600x600x38 paving slab £12
6# Heavy duty 440x215x100 concrete blocks £10.80
1# 3600x40x20 softwood batten to make
2# 1300 and 2# 438 containment battens £3.36
27# 440x215x100 aerated concrete blocks £60.26
3# 1200x450x75 foil faced insulation boards £23.16
1# 2700x600 corrugated metal roof sheet £18.
£328 total cost of a standard ZEST hive with a total comb face area of 36# 400x350 = 5.04 sq.m.
Being £64.68 per square metre of comb.
The WBC hive components (excluding VAT & p+p).
£400 total cost for a standard WBC hive with 1 brood box of frames and 2 honey boxes of frames gives a total comb face area of 1.575sq.m.
Being £254 per square metre of comb.
This price comparison of 4 times better value for the ZEST hive takes no account of other ZEST savings such as on honey spinners (ZEST is cut and hang), maintenance and repair, even hive tools and smokers. The ZEST hive is an almost forever hive and can be entirely “letalone” being just for pollination up to 2 miles away.
It is not intended to be a commercial hive, but a bee friendly one which naturally suppresses diseases and common maladies by its design and is evenly spread throughout the country.
The plastic frame carrier frame that sat on the hive walls has been discontinued.
It formed a cold bridge effect and was very expensive to both make and send.
Bee entries are now free and more easily defended from intruders as follows.
1. Drill 18 diameter x 100 long bee entry holes at high level in the side walls. Close with wine corks when not in use.
2. Drill 12 diameter x 40 long bee entry holes through the 40x20 wood battens that contain the bee frame ends. Close with wood battens on walls when not in use.
Bill Summers. Retired Architect. Beekeeper since 1974