Damp in Brood Box

[BernardBlack]

Double brood hive. Top box being drawn out, numbers gradually increasing. Some damp inside the top box towards the rear though.

No big gaps between boxes or crown board for water to get in. Thought it might be due to that area of the brood box not being occupied, as bees are busy on the frames towards the front/middle.

Any thoughts?

 

[eltalia]

Double brood hive. Top box being drawn out, numbers gradually increasing. Some damp inside the top box towards the rear though.

No big gaps between boxes or crown board for water to get in. Thought it might be due to that area of the brood box not being occupied, as bees are busy on the frames towards the front/middle.

Any thoughts?

Reads to myself as overly ambitious expectations in having
'low' numbers forced into a stack annd so creating a
ventilation issue..buuuuut....

Bill

 

[Poly Hive]

How many frames of brood were there in the "top box" before you added the bottom one please?

PH

 

[BernardBlack]

How many frames of brood were there in the "top box" before you added the bottom one please?

PH

All but 2 had brood. I had a dummy board in there as well.

 

[thedozzer]

Where is the brood cluster, as ours is bias to be at the front/sunny side of the box, so if the back never gets any sun, there could be condensation building up, and what way have you got your frames, warm way or cold way?
and do you have open mess floor?

 

[BernardBlack]

Where is the brood cluster, as ours is bias to be at the front/sunny side of the box, so if the back never gets any sun, there could be condensation building up, and what way have you got your frames, warm way or cold way?
and do you have open mess floor?

Cluster would be more to the middle and front in the new brood box. Other brood box, practically full.

Back would get some sun in the evening.

Warm way.

Yes, open mesh floor.

 

[Poly Hive]

Ok given you have a timber hive with an OMF floor are you using insulation over the CB and does the CB have holes in it?

PH

 

[BernardBlack]

Ok given you have a timber hive with an OMF floor are you using insulation over the CB and does the CB have holes in it?

PH

No insulation. Feeder over middle hole. Other hole towards the front is sealed.

 

[Poly Hive]

You may not know this but OMF floos were not invented for varroa but for improved wintering and squarely aimed at the damp issue.

HOWEVER the outcome of the research was and is that they (OMF) should be coupled with top insulation. Which seemingly you are missing for whatever reason. Look up Mobus on poly-hive.co.uk for more reading.

PH

 

[MartinL]

Reads to myself as overly ambitious expectations in having
…………………………………………………………………………………...buuuuut....

Bill

I've been to County Armagh several times, every time it was raining!

Given the latest weather in UK, isn't that the most likely cause?

 

[BernardBlack]

You may not know this but OMF floos were not invented for varroa but for improved wintering and squarely aimed at the damp issue.

HOWEVER the outcome of the research was and is that they (OMF) should be coupled with top insulation. Which seemingly you are missing for whatever reason. Look up Mobus on poly-hive.co.uk for more reading.

PH

I see. It wouldn’t get too warm with insulation in summer? I thought it was just needed in winter.

 

[Poly Hive]

Does insulation not work with hot as well as cold? Why do you think poly hives work so well?

PH

 

[BernardBlack]

Does insulation not work with hot as well as cold? Why do you think poly hives work so well?

PH

Hmm, good point

 

[BernardBlack]

I've been to County Armagh several times, every time it was raining!

Given the latest weather in UK, isn't that the most likely cause?

Yeah I thought so too. But no obvious gaps between boxes to let rain in, so I wasn’t sure.

PS. It wasn’t raining here today!

 

[eltalia]

I see. It wouldn’t get too warm with insulation in summer? I thought it was just needed in winter.

Nope.
You'd benefit - and so your bees also - from studying up "dewpoint" and
"thermal conductance" (heat leakage in R factor).
Standard hive body design anywhere on the Planet would be enhanced
with a minimum of 40mm EPS sheet incorporated into lids - or equivalent
R factor material above supers.
Our standard stack config is attached. Note how bees then control the
ventilation.

Bill

 

[BernardBlack]

I have some 50mm Kingspan I used in winter. I’ll use that.

 

[thedozzer]

I have some 50mm Kingspan I used in winter. I’ll use that.

that should be fine, anything that helps stop the heat radiating out of the top. PS the R value that Bill is on about is what we in the UK call a U value.