So the idea here was to make a really nice bee water feeder in order to keep the bees happy during the hot spell we are encountering. The designs for this are fairly simple, though I have to confess this is not my invention and I did see it somewhere online. The main concept is to have a horizontal feeder with a reservoir in the vertical tank and a small pump that circulates the water around the feeder.
For this I bought or found the following:
- 50 mm drain tubing x 3M
- 2 right angle pieces
- 2 end pieces
- 3x 50 mm brackets.
- 3 M of plastic tubing
- A cheap solar powered bird tale fountain kit from amazon.
- Gluegun stick
First step was to cut the 3 M tube turned into 1x 2M tube and 1x 1 M tube. This gave me the horizontal drinker and the vertical reservoir. Then I set about cutting the top section out of the 2 M tube. I decided to leave three rings in place so that the tube maintained its structural integrity. I had visions of the tube becoming very bendy and flexible, essentially twisting so that it no longer functioned as a water feeder.
I split the 2M section into 3 and marked a 2 cm band either side of the marker. This gave me a 4 cm support ring at three evenly spaced locations along the length. Cutting from the top down to the depth of the hacksaw blade allowed me to get a uniform depth.
Using an battery plunge saw I cut out the four sections. Quick clean up with sand paper and I had the top section done.
Gluing it all together with an angle piece at the bottom in order to be able to drain the system and to fit the pump. You can just see the blue tube that runs the entire length of the horizontal so that the water is pumped and then flows back. I have used the glue gun to make a small ramp at the end of the horizontal so that the horizontal can always be half full with water.
Installation on the side of the Apiary. turns out i needed a middle post to support the weight or else it bows. The little pump i bought will pump the water from the lower section up to the top along the length and release it at the closest end in the picture. This is powered by the solar panel. Stones along the length prevent the bees form drowning as they drink and the flow keep the water moving and fresh. rain will refill the system but I’ll take a bottle every time I go up there myself. This now should just keep the bees happy with water on all those hot sunny days to come.
