clear crown board question

[fullframe45]

Can someone help me regarding space on the clear crown boards i am in the process of making up and possibly only for winter use.
I have several 4" wooden ekes to fit my polly national hives and a quantity of 5mm perspex to fit . My main reason is for winter to keep an eye on whats happening with the bees .I keep reading about turning the eke over to the deeper side if fondant is needed and i understand that .But if the space that is meant for a block of Kingspan is upside down and the 10/8 mm beespace is on top where does the insulation go ? Or does it not matter how deep the spaces are in winter. Hope i have explained this right. Thank you

 

[Erichalfbee]

The insulation goes permanently stuck in the roof.

 

[enrico]

Put another eke or super on. It doesn't matter what the gap between the insulation and the roof is as long as the insulation is as close to the bees as you can get it!

 

[fullframe45]

Ok so all my roofs have Kingspan/insulation glued in and my ekes are 4" deep and i have 50mm insulation to fit in the eke so that is double insulation as normal. So that when i fit my 5mm perspex in the eke i am left with a 45mm gap roughly.What i want to know is can i leave this gap all winter to allow me to add fondant if needed because if fondant is needed i can just flatten out and lay on top of the frames. in the 45mm gap.Or is this too much space . I have seen this done on another well known site but cannot find out the measurments. Thank you

 

[drex]

When they start comb building as it warms up you will get brace comb in that gap. The space under my clear boards is 15mm. I can still get a good dollop of fondant in there and even though theoretically I should, do not get brace comb.

 

[fullframe45]

So i can allow a space more than.Say 8 or 10 mm for placing fondant if needed in winter. Thank you that was what i wanted to know.

 

[enrico]

So i can allow a space more than.Say 8 or 10 mm for placing fondant if needed in winter. Thank you that was what i wanted to know.

I would only leave a space WHEN you apply fondant. If they build any comb in that space you are sunk for adding fondant! Design something you can use IF you need it. If you feed enough in autumn you shouldn't need it!

 

[drex]

As soon as I start opening hives, the need to look in without disturbance goes, hence the clear boards with the extra space come off and conventional boards go back on

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Can someone help me regarding space on the clear crown boards i am in the process of making up and possibly only for winter use.
I have several 4" wooden ekes to fit my polly national hives and a quantity of 5mm perspex to fit . My main reason is for winter to keep an eye on whats happening with the bees .I keep reading about turning the eke over to the deeper side if fondant is needed and i understand that .But if the space that is meant for a block of Kingspan is upside down and the 10/8 mm beespace is on top where does the insulation go ? Or does it not matter how deep the spaces are in winter. Hope i have explained this right. Thank you

I make my clear crown boards with bee space one side (normally as the underside unless flipping to provide room for Apiguard trays) and 25mm the other. A piece of 25/30mm kingspan fits into the 25mm side at all times when in use but can be lifted out of the recess to look through the clear polycarbonate into the hive without lifting the crown board. Keeping the kingspan in contact with the polycarbonate stops it being a cold surface to cause condensation. To feed fondant I have a 25mm hole in the poly (normally covered) but by uncovering and inverting a container over the hole via a gap in the insulation as shown in the picture. I use Abelo deep roofs over the lot.

 

[Apiarisnt]

https://www.theapiarist.org/perspex-crownboards/

 

[fullframe45]

It was the apiarist site that i first saw how he fed fondant in winter and the reviews on here about how handy clear crown boards are .
So for a newbie like me to be able to see what the bees are doing in winter would be a good help.Also if i mess up feeding syrup in late summer/autumn i can always feed fondant.But i just could not work out what the space was from his instructions how to make it. I am only interested in using this for winter and just use wooden CB rest of the year. Thank you.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

It was the apiarist site that i first saw how he fed fondant in winter and the reviews on here about how handy clear crown boards are .
So for a newbie like me to be able to see what the bees are doing in winter would be a good help.Also if i mess up feeding syrup in late summer/autumn i can always feed fondant.But i just could not work out what the space was from his instructions how to make it. I am only interested in using this for winter and just use wooden CB rest of the year. Thank you.

Nothing wrong with using the same board all year round. Lift the insulation anytime, peep through the clear polycarbonate, replace insulation. No disturbance to the colony. It's reassuring to touch the polycarbonate and feel the warmth of a healthy colony too.

 

[North End Bees]

I am only interested in using this for winter and just use wooden CB rest of the year. Thank you.

Insulation keeps the heat out as well as in.
With the two heat waves we had last summer, I was glad to have kingspan under the metal roofs.

 

[fullframe45]

Thank you ,for all the comments apreciated.