Half Comb Hogg's Cassettes


Mr. John A. Hogg is the inventor of Half Comb Cassettes.
"The Halfcomb cassette is prefabricated in one piece clear plastic with comb foundation embossed on the bottom. The foundation is beeswax coated. The box-like cassettes are designed to function as modules in modified standard 4 3/4" comb honey supers; they interlock “piggyback”, leaving bee access slots, to form columns of 10 each."

"Four of these make up the SUPERPACK of 40 cassettes (Fig. 2). The bees build deep-celled honeycomb (Halfcomb) directly into the cassettes from the bottom upward. The bottom of each cassette then serves to regulate comb depth in the next cassette."

  "The only task left to the beekeeper in preparing supers is to insert the SUPERPACK into the Halfcomb super (see Fig. 3), and to secure it with super springs. The beekeeper never handles the cassettes or its parts individually until after the cassettes are filled with honey and removed from the super to install the covers (Fig. 2a). There are no section frames (or separators) to handle or clean when loading, unloading or reloading a super, since the SUPERPACK self-supports in the super."

  "Loading and Unloading the Halfcomb Super: The two moveable followers (4) and (5) are free standing, to be installed and secured with springs each time the super is loaded with cassettes and removed to unload the super - always while the super rests vertically (on edge), as in Fig. 3."

  The Halfcomb super can be loaded in less than two minutes. Just set the SUPERPACK onto the fixed long follower against both the metal strip and the fixed short follower. The two moveable followers (4 and 5) are inserted and secured with the five super springs evenly spaced and with curls against the followers. That’s all! Unloading is the reverse of this—one stack at a time: Covers are installed on each cassette in turn while on the stack. The bottoms are cleaned as they are set down onto a new stack of interlocking cassettes. Make certain by sight and feel that the rabbets of the long follower (5) engage the corner posts of cassettes at the top of the SUPERPACK. This rabbeted follower rests on the metal corners to support the SUPERPACK and position it with 1/16" bottom space. With the super turned flat on the table (Fig. 5), press down so that all the cassettes are flush and resting firmly on the metal supports. Bottom and top spaces of 1/16" and 3/16" respectively total 1/4" between cassettes in supers or cassettes over brood, which is the correct bee space to avoid excessive burr comb construction on cassettes. "


Mr. Hogg's bee yard

A very strong colony similar to this one is your key to success!

Installation of Super with new cassettes.

There is no queen excluder!
But you have to use a queen excluder for Juniper Hill comb honey production plan (see below).

Installation of the inner cover for hive ventilation - one of the techniques for swarm-prevention.

Also an Inner Cover is essential in North for wintering wooden hives. It's installed on top of the hive beneath the telescoping cover. The hole in the middle allows moisture to escape and fresh air to be circulated throughout the hive - lowering the nectar stored in the comb.

Installation of Telescoping Outer Cover.

Because the cassettes are pre-waxed, the combs will be ready in 2-5 days.
The exact time period depends on the strength of the colony, honey flow and the number of supers.

The bees will start to fill the cassettes.

They like them very much.

Installation of the triangle escape board by Mr. Hogg.

This board is the most stress-free way (for bees and beekeepers) to remove bees from a super.

Bees will leave super in two days and you can take it out.

"The clear view enables the beekeeper to quickly judge readiness to harvest."

Screen board as a technique to prevent bees and yellow jackets from robbing honey

All of the cassettes can be cleaned while still in the super, placed on-edge and presenting single flat surfaces.

The need to handle cassettes individually later for cleaning is avoided. The removal of stacks of filled cassettes from the super is exactly the reverse of loading a super, also conducted while the super is on-edge. Covers (and labels) are then installed on the cassettes systematically while still on the stack. The bottom of each covered cassette is cleaned as it is set down onto a new stack, where they also interlock.

310 cassettes or 232.5 pounds of superior quality comb honey from one two-queen hive in one season!!!

"With natural honey comb exposed as stored directly by the bees, HONEY IN THE HALFCOMB presents an uncommon marketing opportunity in the high-end gift and natural food markets."

  ADVANTAGES:

This new form of honeycomb does not have the thickened wax foundation of other comb honey (especially Round) which gets in the way of many consumers.
The cassettes are less prone to leak on the shelf in marketing either in stacks or on edge.
The beekeeper will discover a radically new and efficient system of handling sections and supers.
The cassettes are handled in vertical stacks of 10 in or out of the super. All super manipulations are conducted on edge with the open side of cassettes up. This includes super loading, unloading, examination, and cleaning of exposed sides of cassettes while in the super.
The cassettes are never handled individually until filled with honey; covers are then quickly installed to complete the package for marketing.
The cost of freezing for wax moths can be by-passed by installing covers promptly. Prior to harvest, while on the hive, there are no cracks or cavities in which wax moths can hide eggs.
The clear plastic displays natural honeycomb just as stored by the bees, untouched by human hands. This has uncommon marketing appeal in the natural food and gift markets, as well as the consumer market."

The Juniper Hill Plan for Comb Honey Production

Link to related info - Comb honey equipment cost comparison

The Hogg Cassettes Club



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