Along with my poly nuc boxes I ordered some of Payne’s poly brood boxes, intending to use them this year with my own floors and supers. As with the nuc boxes, first impressions are good. Other reports on these had left me in two minds about them and I really wasn’t sure if they were going to be of sufficiently high quality. In fact I think I was worrying unnecessarily and I’m now fighting the temptation to order a few more before the sales end. The only real criticism I have is that I’d have preferred not to have handle recesses on the sides that are parallel to the frames and have thicker walls the entire way down.
The boxes come with slots already cut for castellated spacers, or they can be fitted with runners (my preferred choice). On the view of the bottom you’ll see that they also have cut-outs in the corners which are designed to locate on lugs in the Paynes open mesh floor which is a nice touch.
The really noticeable difference between these and the Lyson/Abelo boxes is the external dimensions. The Lyson boxes are the same size externally as a standard National. These are 15mm to 20mm bigger each way (though obviously not in height as that would muck up the bee space). I’ve taken some photos with a standard cedar super on top to show the internal and external fit. For me the largest problem this causes is that a standard National roof will not fit, but that shouldn’t be a problem I have to solve for a while.
Like the nuc boxes, these benefit from painting with water-based exterior paint. Once that’s done and the runners are fitted they’ll be ready to go.
 Top View |
 Side View |
 Bottom View |
 With Super |
 With Super |
 With Super |