Condensation in poly hive

[bpmurray]

This has been a great lesson about the insulating properties of a poly hive's roof - the insulation has meant that there's no condensation today.

And for MartinL, my primary degree is actually in Chemistry: while the main byproducts of respiration are indeed CO2 and water, there's a lot more at play here. The actual condensation isn't a result of the production of these (water vapour is also produced by the evaporation of the huge amounts of ivy nectar being brought in), but more a function of the temperature gradient of the container. Since the super itself is a relatively large volume, the bees can't heat it as efficiently as they need, meaning that the crownboard is cold enough to condense the vapour. Adding the extra insulation allows the temperature to rise to a level where the crownboard is approximately the same temp as the rest of the super, eliminating the condensation problem.

 

[Finman]

.
No insulation more. IT is time to reduce the hive volume for cluster.

Now if bees fill one box with ivy honey, it granulates and next summer you have combs what you cannot use. Then you ask, how do you get ivy honey away from frames.

 

[Finman]

The colder it gets, the more condensation is produced.

So it goes. Dew point moves closer to the bee's heat source .

 

[bpmurray]

It's still forecasting 14-17C during the day for the next week at least - I'll nadir the supers and lock them down tight. The ivy honey is for the bees.