Beehive lifter Kaptarlift® PRO

01 · 100 KG, AND NO MORE

What fits and what does not

A production hive with full supers weighs between 80 and 100 kg, and that is where this machine works. What falls outside its reach are concrete stands, full pallets and anything above those 100 kg.

If your usual work goes past that figure, this is not the tool — and it is better to know before buying, not after.

02 · WHERE IT GRIPS AND WHERE NOT

By the body, not by the super

The FlexiGrip jaws adjust from 38 to 70 cm and are rubber faced. They clamp on the body or the brood chamber, never on a super: a super held on its own separates from the rest as soon as the hive is lifted.

On polystyrene, clamp only as much as needed — the rubber already grips and the material marks easily. And centring the jaws slightly above the centre of gravity gives stability when tilting.

03 · THE BATTERY AND THE DAY

4 hours of work, 6 to charge

The lithium-ion battery is removable, with about 4 hours of real running time and about 6 to charge. Being removable is the point: it charges in the workshop or at home without leaving the machine plugged in out in the field.

With all-wheel drive and wide pneumatic tyres it moves on wet grass and rutted tracks. In deep mud or on a steep slope it still moves, but there you drive with your head.

04 · MEASURE BEFORE YOU BUY

68.5 cm wide

Overall width is 68.5 cm, which passes through most gaps. If you work between narrow terraces or with hives close together, that is the dimension to measure in your own apiary before deciding.

The machine measures 167 × 68.5 × 48 cm on a galvanised frame. It travels up to 6.5 km/h with electronic control and reverse.

05 · MOVING HIVES IS STILL MOVING HIVES

The machine does not change the handling

A hive is moved with the entrance closed and the stack strapped — floor, brood box, supers and roof — and no barrow solves that. What changes is that you do it alone and without carrying the weight.

And the timing is the same as ever: first thing or at dusk, with the bees at home. Less drifting and less stress for the colony.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Check two dimensions: that your hives weigh under 100 kg and that 68.5 cm of width passes where you work.