FAO DerekM

Is this up to your standard's ..lol.. i may have done a mistake but i will find out next spring..it's 50mm kingspan around the body and 100mm on the roof .. the bit on the inside roof is cut out out take feed if need be...above that is 50mm kingspan it's all masticked and taped together and totally air/water proof..
This is a dummy hive by the way .. my main one is elsewhere..

Is this level of insulation necessary? My hives (one wood, one poly) survived just fine last winter although it was quite mild. Should I be creating kingspan outer covers?

Nice work!

bpmurray said:

Is this level of insulation necessary? My hives (one wood, one poly) survived just fine last winter although it was quite mild. Should I be creating kingspan outer covers?

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For what they cost and the little effort they take to make is there any reason not to ...

A large number if Beekeepers have known for years that there is no such thing as too much insulation ... what harm can it do your bees to keep them in a more insulated environment - particularly in winter.

itchy said:

nice work!

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+ 1 ...

I attended Dereks presentation last night and I was particularly interested in one of the points Elaine raised about them not being attacked by woodpeckers (which is a big problem around here). I think this is due to the reflective sides which will scare them off, but, I notice you have painted over this. Do you not have a woodpecker problem in your area?

You should tape the the interior joints and all exposed cut surfacea

B+. said:

I attended Dereks presentation last night and I was particularly interested in one of the points Elaine raised about them not being attacked by woodpeckers (which is a big problem around here). I think this is due to the reflective sides which will scare them off, but, I notice you have painted over this. Do you not have a woodpecker problem in your area?

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There's only Great Spotted Woodpeckers in this area and in small numbers they do seem to like the fat ball's and nut feeder's so finger's crossed they leave well alone..

derekm said:

You should tape the the interior joints and all exposed cut surfacea

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I did think about that Derek but each joint has a generous bed of clear silicone so there's very little exposed surface but then again i did use 1 1/2 tubes on it.. lol.. i will tape the inside joint's though when it next comes of..
Thank's
Steve.

Millet said:

I did think about that Derek but each joint has a generous bed of clear silicone so there's very little exposed surface but then again i did use 1 1/2 tubes on it.. lol.. i will tape the inside joint's though when it next comes of..
Thank's
Steve.

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Its not just the insulation factors, the little so and so's will tunnel in if given a chance although this less likely in the outer shell. but then ...

Itchy said:

Nice work!

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pargyle said:

+ 1 ...

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Thank you..

Millet said:

Thank you..

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You can make some for me as you appear better than me

If you where near by i would.. i enjoy making thing's and messing about and them celotex insulation boxes only take around 1hr to knock up.. the only down side it cost me £23 for a 8ft x 4ft 50mm thick sheet and £4 for mastic i did get the aluminum tape for free though.. regardless of the price it's supposed to be a bad winter on the Northumberland coast so in doing this has give me peace of mind.. what ever happen's from now until March/April is in the hand's of the god's..

B+. said:

I attended Dereks presentation last night and I was particularly interested in one of the points Elaine raised about them not being attacked by woodpeckers (which is a big problem around here). I think this is due to the reflective sides which will scare them off, but, I notice you have painted over this. Do you not have a woodpecker problem in your area?

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Are you doing this with your hives B+?

I was at the talk too - food for thought, but I found the information on the summer insulation most interesting.

I like the idea of doing this but loathe the idea of having a dozen of these things hanging around my garden for the rest of the season.

Is there a fabric version of this I could use?

I'm moving to polys over the next few seasons so this become less of an issue.

daroco said:

Are you doing this with your hives B+?

I was at the talk too - food for thought, but I found the information on the summer insulation most interesting.

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I don't have a problem with the general idea. As Derek said, the idea of adding more insulation has been around for a very long time. He has just quantified it.

As Ken Gorman said, they used to have double walled WBC's with quilts, etc on the top that were there all year around. This is just the modern equivalent.

I would really like to read the paper and calmly work through the numbers before making any decisions. Last night felt too rushed for me and I don't like presentations that brush all the numbers under the carpet.

domino said:

Is there a fabric version of this I could use?

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Do you know anyone who can crochet? They could make you the hive equivalent of a string vest

jenkinsbrynmair said:

Do you know anyone who can crochet? They could make you the hive equivalent of a string vest

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String vest and a flat cap on my hive .... perfection

Millet said:

This is a dummy hive by the way .. my main one is elsewhere..

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Well done.
I have two deployed in the apiary just now. I left them unpainted.
Instead of a cut out for fondant in the roof I have a separate crown board cover, made out of the same thickness of PIR.
This year I have also made three x 300mm deep PIR roofs.
There must be a market for deep moulded poly roofs. I wish one of the poly hive manufacturers would churn some out; pretty useful for adding feed while keeping the weather off. I don't like the idea of leaving the joint between crown board and brood box open to the winter weather which is what happens if you have to feed fondant, say, via a super.

domino said:

I like the idea of doing this but loathe the idea of having a dozen of these things hanging around my garden for the rest of the season.

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Leave them on all year round, keeps heat in during the colder months and can stop the hive overheating if there's ever any hot weather. Helps them to ripen honey more easily too.