{"product_id":"stainless-steel-rotating-entrance-disc-68mm","title":"Stainless Steel Rotating Entrance Disc 68mm - 4 Position","description":"\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA Four-Position Hive Entrance Disc: Open, Excluder, Vent or Shut\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEntrance management is the cheapest hive management there is, and most of us do it with a bit of wood and some gaffer tape. Hiving a swarm and hoping it stays. Moving a nuc with a strip of foam jammed in the entrance. Shutting a hive while the neighbour sprays. Each one is a different improvised fix, usually done in the dark with a torch in your teeth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis rotating entrance disc does all of it with \u003cstrong\u003ea single screw and a quarter turn\u003c\/strong\u003e. It is \u003cstrong\u003e68mm across\u003c\/strong\u003e, made from \u003cstrong\u003estainless steel\u003c\/strong\u003e so it will not rust or go brittle in the sun the way plastic discs do, and it gives you \u003cstrong\u003efour positions\u003c\/strong\u003e: open, queen excluder, ventilation and closed. It is worth fitting one to every nuc you own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Four Positions and When to Use Them\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpen\u003c\/strong\u003e is for everyday foraging. \u003cstrong\u003eExcluder\u003c\/strong\u003e lets workers through but holds the queen, which is the setting for the first few days after hiving a swarm so the colony cannot abscond. \u003cstrong\u003eVentilation\u003c\/strong\u003e shuts the entrance to bees but lets air move, for shifting a hive at night or holding it closed while something gets sprayed nearby. \u003cstrong\u003eClosed\u003c\/strong\u003e is for an empty box in storage, or a few minutes while you move a hive a short distance.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy Stainless Rather Than Plastic\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlastic discs work for a season or two. Then the sun gets into them, the tabs snap off and the disc either spins freely or jams. Stainless sits flat, turns when you want it to, holds its position and does not care about rain, frost or a west-facing wall in February.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFitting It, and What It Is Not For\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt fits over a \u003cstrong\u003eround entrance hole of roughly 25 to 30mm\u003c\/strong\u003e, with one screw or nail through the centre so the disc can turn. That suits \u003cstrong\u003enuc boxes, mating nucs, poly hives\u003c\/strong\u003e and any brood box with a drilled upper entrance. It will not cover the wide slot of a standard Langstroth bottom board on its own, so on a full-sized hive pair it with an entrance block drilled to suit.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo not leave the excluder position on for more than a few days. Drones cannot get out through it, and a pile of dead drones in the entrance is a worse problem than the one you were solving. \u003cstrong\u003eOpen it before a virgin queen needs to fly to mate.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDiameter:\u003c\/strong\u003e 68mm (6.8cm)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMaterial:\u003c\/strong\u003e stainless steel\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePositions:\u003c\/strong\u003e fully open, queen excluder, ventilation, closed\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFixing:\u003c\/strong\u003e one screw or nail through the centre, so the disc can rotate\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSuits:\u003c\/strong\u003e round entrance holes on nuc boxes, mating nucs, poly hives and drilled upper entrances\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSold:\u003c\/strong\u003e singly\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Beekeeping Gear","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40037892096085,"sku":null,"price":5.49,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0062\/5029\/9477\/files\/large-stainless-steel-rotating-enterance-1.webp?v=1778746439","url":"https:\/\/www.beekeepinggear.com.au\/products\/stainless-steel-rotating-entrance-disc-68mm","provider":"Beekeeping Gear","version":"1.0","type":"link"}