Success- Revolutionary Feeder That No One Else Ever Tried. Maybe.

[3-11-15-Disclaimer: This doesn't work.  I thought it would- and the first one did- but then it stopped working, and I made like 15 of them.  There is too much vacuum pressure in the jars, and it won't release in a long tube no matter how many small holes I drill. So its back to experimenting on this one]

I have been looking and reading about bee hive feeders- and drawing endless ideas of how I might make one that meets a few extra requirements.  I want to have a feeder that:

• Works with the vented tops I've made- which means, that I can refill without taking them off. During the winter, I have a metal tray built into the feeder that I fill with white sugar- and although I can't quite see how this works - it sure does- they devour white sugar, for the most part. And I think they convert this all to liquid sugar, as I see it in the comb.
• The problem is, that with that system. I have an open space, about 1 1/2 inches, above the top super, where the bees ball up in winter- and I have this feeling that it is really a positive thing. They do what they need to do to keep warm, to groom, and move. They aren't separated. And the space breathes. And- I seem to be having a series of healthy hives. So maybe this is helping? In any case, about now, they start making comb- not all of them- but they will soon. So this is a dillema- I need to get rid of the space, but want to keep it from November through January.
• I want to be able to see the level of feed- if I don't see it- I don't know they are empty, So interior feeders (though I thought about ways to flag this), won't work for me.

So- I thought about top feeders, and drilling a hole through my nice telescoping covers, but I really didn't want to  drill them- nor add an empty super to house a feeder, as that means I have to store all those frames that iI pull out. And they get busted up and the wax pops off the plastic frames.

Then I thought of trying to use a hamster or rabbit feeder. And drilling a side hole. But they drip badly, and I made one, and couldn't make it not drip.

Then I thought of using long tubing, and inserting it so it lies on top of the frames- so drilling a hole right on a seam- and then drilling that tubing with holes like boardman feeder  jar would have.  But I wasn't sure if a lot of holes would make it leak more, or less. 

So I took some tubing- beekeeper Jim Uhlman happened to drop by and had this serious roll of it in his car- and I bent a piece, and punched and drilled it (not easy to do with a small bit on a round surface)...and here's the story of making one (and end result- it's working!):

Bent copper tubing- with a soldered end. Drilling with a tiny bit (had to use a hex bit- tiny bits done fit_

Here is the finished tube-hard to see the holes, which I placed on both sides and the top t at about an inch on center- and hard to see that the end is soldered closed and shaped....

Then I drilled a 1/4 inch hole (instantly bees came out)- right above the joint (if I did it lower I'd drill through the metal liners I installed on the step in the hive). The copper is not the full length- I wasn't sure how much it would block the passage of bees- but the idea is, that this is like a sprinkler- though not sprinkling- and bees can gather on it and feed- PLUS its in the center of the hive and they don't need to go far. I don't quite know if these 1/4" holes will be a problem later...

I push the tube in- and install a V8 bottle- which has the proper rigidity (I tried water bottles and they were too soft and caused leaking). I drilled the lid with a 9/16th hole and a grommet that fits tight- the sort with a groove- and it seems to not leak. 

 Without the V8 ad. The sugar water is not quite mixed- I did it in a hurry. It sat this way for a few hours. Then- they started sucking it down. In the morning, tomorrow, I expect this to be empty. The bottle has a wire around it- with two loops that hang on nails= I am hoping this will be simple to pull out, spin, and fill with new syrup.