Bee Cosy

[user 6228]

derek

that is a frightening thought!

Those 'things' hanging in the shadows of the first "Aliens" film did look like imagos

The bees really do send infra-red radiation into the cold night sky and so into outer space... but is any one out there listening? and are the bees sending a distress signal? .. So just to be safe, keep your bees fed, happy, insulated and covered in foil

 

[richardbees]

d

bugger the bees - I'm now going to wear a tinfoil hoodie!

 

[Chris - BeeCosy]

After all the highly useful input contributed above nearly a year ago I thought I would update all on my winter 2012 and 2013 season with my BeeCosies!

I went through winter 2012 with 4 colonies and lost none with one of the worst winters for years - with losses in the North East 35% on average.

My colonies were strong enough to split in early June and also swarm in early July. I now have 10 colonies to take into winter 2013. Happy Days.

So I reckon my 4 BeeCosies have already paid for themselves!

 

[For want of a better word]

spraying it black

Mick's advice was Paint it black... he even wrote a song about it !

 

[VEG]

So I reckon my 4 BeeCosies have already paid for themselves!

They may have got through the winter without them though.

 

[user 6228]

After all the highly useful input contributed above nearly a year ago I thought I would update all on my winter 2012 and 2013 season with my BeeCosies!

I went through winter 2012 with 4 colonies and lost none with one of the worst winters for years - with losses in the North East 35% on average.

My colonies were strong enough to split in early June and also swarm in early July. I now have 10 colonies to take into winter 2013. Happy Days.

So I reckon my 4 BeeCosies have already paid for themselves!

Lets stick to hard heat engineering facts. What is the measured change in watts per degree K in the top 25% volume compared to not having this device?
Please note I have the kit to measure this, and am researching this topic.

 

[Swarm]

 

[user 6228]

[xxxertd

 

[VEG]

echo in here

 

[PBee]

Lets stick to hard heat engineering facts. What is the measured change in watts per degree K in the top 25% volume compared to not having this device?
Please note I have the kit to measure this, and am researching this topic.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKbg7CfG7i4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKbg7CfG7i4[/ame]

 

[Worldsend]

Is this thread an advert for a bee cosy ?

I thought we didnt do adverts

 

[Suzi Q]

After all the highly useful input contributed above nearly a year ago I thought I would update all on my winter 2012 and 2013 season with my BeeCosies!

I went through winter 2012 with 4 colonies and lost none with one of the worst winters for years - with losses in the North East 35% on average.

My colonies were strong enough to split in early June and also swarm in early July. I now have 10 colonies to take into winter 2013. Happy Days.

So I reckon my 4 BeeCosies have already paid for themselves!

Lol, me too, went through winter with 4 colonies lost none, split and now have 10 and a few nucs, BUT, I didn't waste £260+ on Bcosy's, £20 on a sheet of insulation board did the trick.

 

[sail819]

Enough of the science ...... Do they look pretty?

 

[Loolabelle1]

If it helped to keep my wooden hives dry, which is the main problem in winter, not the cold, then it would be good but much too expensive for me at that price.

 

[thorn]

I picked up a plant warming jacket in Aldi today for £1.79. It claims to "retain temperature to protect against frost". It's not waterproof, but if I can secure it I'll give it a go on one of my hives, unless someone points out good reasons why I shouldn't.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

My version of a Hive Cosy

The idea of keeping the wind off the hive surface and giving some insulation is appealing but the cost of BeeCosy is not insignificant.
On the other hand, something homemade could save the Beekeeper a lot of cash.
Here's my version. This is made of 50mm (2”) urethane foil-covered insulation. The joints are formed with some construction adhesive that I already had and wooden dowels. It is wrapped in 50mm duct tape and has an aluminium roof to shed rain.

The total cost was £5.50 – the insulation was rescued from a skip, Aldi sold the tape for £2.50 and the roof material came from a caravan in a scrap yard for £3.

I made it last week and intend to remove the existing roof from my 14x12 hive and slide this over the whole hive, once all the Autumn manipulations are finished. The outside dimension of my hive is 640mm and the i.d. of the Cosy is 650mm, so there's a theoretical 5mm air gap around the hive. The only place not insulated is, of course, the under floor entrance.

Nearly up to DerekM's high standards! I'm quite pleased with it.

CVB

 

[pargyle]

The idea of keeping the wind off the hive surface and giving some insulation is appealing but the cost of BeeCosy is not insignificant.
On the other hand, something homemade could save the Beekeeper a lot of cash.
Here's my version. This is made of 50mm (2”) urethane foil-covered insulation. The joints are formed with some construction adhesive that I already had and wooden dowels. It is wrapped in 50mm duct tape and has an aluminium roof to shed rain.

The total cost was £5.50 – the insulation was rescued from a skip, Aldi sold the tape for £2.50 and the roof material came from a caravan in a scrap yard for £3.

I made it last week and intend to remove the existing roof from my 14x12 hive and slide this over the whole hive, once all the Autumn manipulations are finished. The outside dimension of my hive is 640mm and the i.d. of the Cosy is 650mm, so there's a theoretical 5mm air gap around the hive. The only place not insulated is, of course, the under floor entrance.

Nearly up to DerekM's high standards! I'm quite pleased with it.

CVB

That's looking good CVB ... I just picked up 10 sheets of 50mm Kingspan 1200 x 450 for next to nothing from a neighbour who had over-ordered so that's going to make my next two hives ... great material.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If it helped to keep my wooden hives dry, which is the main problem in winter, not the cold, then it would be good

I think you can now buy waterproof covers for the hives -
a lot of discussion on here the past month about putting Mac's on the hives anyway - seems to be a hot topic at the moment, I my give it a try when I find a reliable outfitter

 

[itma]

Sssssh, don't tell anyone, but, rather than selling matchsticks for increased ventilation, a certain national beekeeping association is now offering (in their online shop) "Insulation" for hives ... whatever that might be!





Looks like poly cladding for your wooden hive. Costs about the same as a Payns brood box ...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

My mother in law is a dab hand with a knitting needle and has made some wonderful tea cosies over the summer - maybe I can persuade her to Knit me a set of hive cosies - with a Mac on top the bees would be lovely and snug