Solid and well-made of an underrated native wood, exhibiting a particularly attractive grain pattern. Overall, this bowl is beautiful in its simplicity. Highly recommended.
Janet from UK
Portal Technical and Installation
Comparison
| THE SALBANY | THE NUC | SALBANY OS | SALBANY OS NUC | FIg 8 ’22 | FIG 8 NUC ’22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portal Shape |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Outer Face |  |  |  | |  | |
| Placement | Inside | Inside | Outside | Outside | Outside | Outside |
| Entrance Type | Upside / Down | Upside / Down | Upside / Down | Upside / Down | Downside / Up | Downside / Up |
| Usage | ALL | Supers, Nucleus Hives & Bait Boxes | ALL inc. DWIH | Supers, Nucleus Hives & Bait Boxes inc. DWIH | ALL | Supers, Nucleus Hives & Bait Boxes |
| Size W x H x D (mm) | 60 x 60 x 8.5 | 60 x 60 x 8.5 | 62 x 62 x 12 | 62 x 62 x 12 | 60 x 60 x 10 | 60 x 60 x 10 |
| Mount Holes | 2 x 4mm @ 44mm | 2 x 4mm @ 44mm | 2 x 4mm @ 50mm | 2 x 4mm @ 50mm | 2 x 4mm @ 42mm | 2 x 4mm @ 42mm |
| Entrance Size External / Internal (mm) | 25 / Slot | 25 / Slot | 25 / 25 | 25 / 25 | 25 / 25 | 25 / 25 |
| Minimum Passage Depth / Area (mm / mm2) | 6.25 / 125 | 6.25 / 113 | 8.0 / 190 | 8.0 / 152 | 8.0 / 176 | 8.0 / 144 |
| Profile |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| Install Dimensions | Salbany Original Dims (PNG) | Salbany Original Dims (PNG) | Salbany OS Dims (PNG) | Salbany OS Dims (PNG) | Fig8_22 Dims (PNG) | Fig8_22 Dims (PNG) |
NOTES:
- DWIH – Deep Wall and Insulated Hives.
- The area provided by a 25mm (1″) round entrance hole is 490mm2
- Inside Portals have a depth constraint of 8.5mm in order to fit between the side and frames. External Portals don’t have the same constraint and have increased the depth allowing more height in the passage to reduce the potential for pollen displacement.
Arrangement
Filipe recommends an inverted triangle of 3 on a brood box and then 1 or 2 on a Super. Split broods, Nuc Boxes and Bait Boxes can probably cope with a single entrance.
THE EXTACT POSITION OF THE PORTAL WILL DEPEND ON THE TYPE AND BOX. The following is based on the original Salbany installation to a Brood Box and for guidance only. Fig8s and OS will require different positioning.
- Top – roughly 80-100mm (3-4in) in from internal edge and 80mm (~3in) down from the frame rail.
- Bottom – centre left/right and between 60-80mm (2.5-3 in) up from bottom edge.
Treatment of Portals
Prior to installation we recommend that you treat the portals with a plant and animal safe preservative such as Protek Wood Stain or a Food Safe Linseed Oil.
Installation
The portals are provided with stainless steel wood screws. However, all portals require drilling of the Brood Boxes and Supers. Filipe recommends a 1 inch or 25mm Forstner Bit although a 25mm Spade Bit would also work. These affiliate links will open in a new window. The 25mm hole can be filled with a 27.5 tapered to 24mm cork.
Note: If you are working on insulated or thick wall hives where you are adding a tunnel then the hole will need to be larger. For cork we have had success at 35mm.
Due to the softness and wide grain spacing of Cedar great care must be taken drilling the wood to avoid tear out. I would avoid any hole cutting bits that screws itself through the wood as they are too aggressive for Cedar. It is easier to drill the boards before they are made up in to Broods or Supers. However, it is expected that many will be retro fitting to existing equipment.
Our advice is to do all the measuring on the inside face, run a super small pilot drill through to the outside before doing the final hole cut from the outside. This keeps all the pencil mark-up out of sight and the cleanest hole cut on the outside. Where possible cut onto a waste board or cut half two thirds through before finishing from the other side. Either way take care to avoid tear out.
