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NEW ZEALAND BEEKEEPER, JULY 2017
WIRING IN HONEY HOUSES: LESSONS FROM LONDON HEALTH AND SAFETY Frank Lindsay, Life Member We’ve all seen the housing block in central London go up in flames last month, with horrific results. Although the investigation was just beginning when I wrote this, it’s thought that the building burned very quickly because of its aluminium composite cladding. AliClad (or a similar product) also is made from aluminium with a polyethylene core. AliClad is used to line honey houses, along with freezer panels that contain a polystyrene core. Both are highly flammable when melted. Polystyrene is known to dissolve the wiring insulation over time when in proximity with each other. The affected insulation looks like old perished rubber, which is why the Electrical Wiring Regulations state that for freezer wiring, a purple-coloured insulation (cable) should be used and it should be in conduit where it runs through the polystyrene. How many honey houses have had this installed correctly? If it hasn’t been installed properly, there’s no recourse to insurance after a fire. Installation—the right way Rinnai/Bosch gas water heaters must be externally mounted and must be 1200mm from any open door or window, as carbon monoxide given off by the heater can enter the building. If not installed correctly, this is a possible insurance issue in future.
NORTH CANTERBURY BEEKEEPERS CLUB This hobbyist club has an excellent website for beginner beekeepers, with great photography detailing wasp and wax moth species. There is also a very practical beekeeping calendar. Meeting dates are listed. Visit http://www.ncbeeclub.org.nz The Club President is Alan Crighton, 03 327 6788.
- Noel Trezise
SOUTH CANTERBURY
With the large amount of rain our region experienced in March and April, there was a surge of pasture growth. This provided more than enough feed so that farmers did not have to use supplement feed so early. Queen’s Birthday weekend brought a southerly shower of rain and along with it a good covering of snow on the hills, and now frosts. Beekeepers have been busy with winter feeding and varroa treatments. Access to heavier ground sites has been more difficult due to wetter ground. I have noticed the presence of varroa to be lower and random. We had a well-attended ApiNZ-run field day in Geraldine. It was good to have this in our area bringing beekeepers and suppliers together. MPI’s proposed mānuka standards and GREX (relating to movement of honey supers) was held in Christchurch on 17 May. This brought together many beekeepers and others associated with the industry. Many concerns were mentioned, such as good mānuka samples failing the draft definition criteria, the new standards and the implacability of GREX as written. I must admit to being a little confused regarding clover honey production this year. My first honey extracted was as dark as I can ever remember producing. My last extraction produced beautiful white clover just like we used to get. There must have been some pasture clover producing out there somewhere. We have had two years of clover root weevil, although the parasitic wasp is now making inroads into controlling it. Droughts and the continuing use of urea have also checked the weevil’s growth to some extent.
- Noel Trezise
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