FAO DerekM

[Erichalfbee]

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.

I thought of that......then what do you do if you have 4 supers on? I made a couple of "super deep" sleeves then thought that if there are gaps where they join ......?
So abandoned the idea. Mine are deep enough to take two super then they have to come off.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I thought of that......then what do you do if you have 4 supers on? I made a couple of "super deep" sleeves then thought that if there are gaps where they join ......?

Or five or six supers over double brood, just make them even deeper, as you mentioned, but don't forget to seal them well, even on the inside... or the insulation value will be compromised.

 

[Swarm]

Or five or six supers over double brood, just make them even deeper, as you mentioned, but don't forget to seal them well, even on the inside... or the insulation value will be compromised.

Precisely, where do you stop? If we had Russian Winters and Saharan Summers, I could understand going to extreme lengths. We don't, and 2" of insulation fixed in the roof is perfectly adequate for anything the British weather has to offer.

 

[Millet]

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.

I did not want too paint it but i was unsure as to weather it would confuse the bee's or not..

 

[Thymallus]

Wouldn't it just be easier to install electric heating similar to this if you want to keep them warm?

You can see how well its working compared to the unheated hives.

And the wiring for the thermocouples is a real doddle to install.

After five years of tests done in the late 1950's they concluded that colonies of bees in good condition will over-winter at Madison, Wis., without packing or heating.

 

[Millet]

That look's easy.. i might give it a go..

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

just light a wee fire under the hives - plenty of scrap wood around nowadays

 

[Erichalfbee]

Or five or six supers over double brood, just make them even deeper, as you mentioned, but don't forget to seal them well, even on the inside... or the insulation value will be compromised.

I'm not finman .....

Precisely, where do you stop?

I happily stopped where I did.
Anyway....I like making things like that....or rather passing directions to my chippy/general factotum (husband)........he's quite compliant

 

[user 6228]

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.

you could try water proof fabric over sheep wool bats... you need about 75mm to 100mm thickness of sheeps wool.
in the end its a conductance value how ever you get there, PIR is just A convienent method

 

[Millet]

What is PIR in English word's ..

 

[domino]

What is PIR in English word's ..

It is short for PolyIsocyanuRate which is polymer it's made from.

 

[Thymallus]

It is short for PolyIsocyanuRate which is polymer it's made from.

I tried asking for PolyIsocyanuRate in my local builder merchants.....after the laughing subsided they asked me what I really wanted.
I still don't know.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I tried asking for PolyIsocyanuRate in my local builder merchants.....after the laughing subsided they asked me what I really wanted.

Try Kingspan or Recticel or Ecotherm or Celotex. Derekm believes Recticel is more dimensionally stable with better foil coating.

My 50mm Celotex deep roof (covers a 14x12 brood box and cover board) is left on over the summer and then covers the top two honey supers. OK, so it does not cover the sides of the brood box but it's better than nothing and keeps the top of the hive cool when the outside temperature gets over 35°C.

CVB

 

[Hawklord]

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..

Do I take it the hood fits directly on to the crown board, and the wooden hive roof is not used?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Do I take it the hood fits directly on to the crown board, and the wooden hive roof is not used?

Correct, the roofs can be gotten rid of as they won't be needed again.

 

[Thymallus]

Derekm believes Recticel is more dimensionally stable with better foil coating.

Thanks for the info...I did know, I was trying to point out that the use of the word PIR by DerekM is pretty meaningless to most beekeepers...and builders merchants . Factually correct perhaps, but unhelpful.
Like "dimensionally stable" how wonderful it sounds...but what does it mean.....You find the rear end of your horse in Andromeda and feed t'other end in Yorkshire?

 

[Cussword]

I thought of that......then what do you do if you have 4 supers on? I made a couple of "super deep" sleeves then thought that if there are gaps where they join ......?
So abandoned the idea. Mine are deep enough to take two super then they have to come off.

I've made mine deep enough for 1 deep brood and 1 shallow super for winter.
I've thought of making shallow sleeves to add with each super needed in summer when the "airtight" gaps are not as desperately important.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Ah....I still have two. I might use them and see if it makes much difference.

 

[Hawklord]

Correct, the roofs can be gotten rid of as they won't be needed again.

Some cheap rooves coming my way then.

 

[madasafish]

I've made mine deep enough for 1 deep brood and 1 shallow super for winter.
I've thought of making shallow sleeves to add with each super needed in summer when the "airtight" gaps are not as desperately important.

+1

Mine are for 1 Lang jumbo brood plus 1 shallow super...