Horizontal hive questions

I am a beginning beekeeper and am looking at getting started with horizontal hives of some type. I am considering the Tanzania TB and the horizontal Longstrath hive. Using the Longstrath frames requires an inner cover. Any thoughts on using top bars in a horizontal Longstrath hive? Would using top bars in a horizontal Longstrath hive create any ventilation issues? Presumably not since top bar hives do not have gaps between the bars. Also looking for input on the best location(s) for the bee entrance(s) into the hive. Thanks for any advice and info!

My experience is exclusively with Langtroth hives. You may want to check out Micheal bush's site in bee keeping. He has done top bar hives and Langstroth, and others as well. He has plans for the Kenyan topbar hive, which somewhere I got the idea is the same as the Tanzania? Often, his entrances are simply a cracked migration style lid.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm

Thanks. My understanding it that the main difference between Tanzanian and Kenyan TB hives is that the KTBs are trapezoidal in X-section and the TTBs are rectangular.

Hi Dave
Thats my understanding too . Have you checked out folks using The Langstroth without foundation ? or folks using the Warré Hive

David

Dave Skinner wrote:I am a beginning beekeeper and am looking at getting started with horizontal hives of some type. I am considering the Tanzania TB and the horizontal Longstrath hive. Using the Longstrath frames requires an inner cover. Any thoughts on using top bars in a horizontal Longstrath hive? Would using top bars in a horizontal Longstrath hive create any ventilation issues? Presumably not since top bar hives do not have gaps between the bars. Also looking for input on the best location(s) for the bee entrance(s) into the hive. Thanks for any advice and info!

If you aren't sold on that idea, both Warre and Perrone hives are easy to build.  I will only be using Perrone hives in the future.  I don't have proof, but it makes sense to me that having a hive that is very large will help them over-winter here.

The Layens hive looks good to me. That's what I think of when I hear horizontal hive, maybe because that's the web address. Good plans are available on the site.

Stacy Witscher wrote:The Layens hive...

That's an interesting site.  I may have to try one of those hives next.

Stacy Witscher wrote:The Layens hive looks good to me. That's what I think of when I hear horizontal hive, maybe because that's the web address. Good plans are available on the site.

I recently discovered the Layens hive.  I am going to build one from the plans and try it. I am all in on Warre hives now but I really like the Layens design.

Has anyone on permies tried one?