10F Plastic Langstroth body ANEL®

01 · WHAT THE PLASTIC BRINGS

Insulates all year and never rots

The wall is double, with polyurethane foam inside, and that cavity keeps the inside temperature steadier through heat waves and cold nights: the colony spends less energy on thermoregulation. The white is not decorative — it reflects the radiation and prevents the summer overheat — so there is nothing to paint. The material takes up no water, does not crack and does not rot: it stands outdoors season after season. At 3.9 kg a box, the difference tells on your back when you spend a day shifting supers.

02 · WHAT IT SITS ON

It stacks Langstroth, but mind the step

It is standard Langstroth and combines with the rest of the system, wood included. What is worth checking first is how it sits on the floor: the moulded handles make the box longer, its footprint does not match a wooden floor to the millimetre, and that leaves a step where water gets in. On the plastic bases of the same range it stacks flush and the problem does not arise.

03 · THE BOXES DON'T LOCK TOGETHER

Straps or clips, from day one

The top and bottom faces are non-slip, but there is no centring lip and no joint locking one box to the next: stacked, they shift with very little — an inspection, a shove, a gust of wind. The fix is cheap and part of the build: hive straps or closing clips between floor, boxes and roof. On migratory or exposed sites it is not optional.

04 · CLEANING AND MARKING

Scrub it, disinfect it, brand it

Propolis and wax come off by scraping or with pressure water up to 60 °C, and it takes bleach and the usual trade disinfectants. You can drill it, screw into it and brand it with fire to mark your equipment without weakening the box. It is food-grade plastic, food-contact certified and BPA-free, and the maker gives it a ten-year guarantee.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Frames are not included — they go separately, Langstroth 48 × 23 cm, straight or Hoffman — nor are straps between boxes. Supplied in white.