Glass or Wooden Crown Boards ?

[Hombre]

I believe that I took my base design from the Edinburgh Bee Keepers Association design on the Internet, then remembered only what I wanted and probably lost a bit in the process.

I have played around with
the landing board which varies from 9mm ply or Correx and is either as shown or extended outwards.
The entrance chute front plate is normally also 9mm ply, but I have one that uses Correx and one that utilises a strip of twin walled polycarbonate sheet. The Correx did have me thinking that I might be compromising the mouse proofing and so that option is now deprecated. I will be keeping an eye on the polycarb chute in case it becomes a bottleneck during a flow.

The mesh is secured to the sides and back upon 20mm ledges. This will change and be inserted in routed grooves on the sides and back wall.

The landing board needs to be made as shown to facilitate a standard size of insert to be used to shut up shop.

I also need to rework the back end and underneath so that I can insert a varroa board on a couple of runners from the rear. This year getting a sheet of Correx underneath was a major undertaking one the 14x12 boxes were full of stores.

Any constructive suggestions MM and I'm always listening.

The depth of the mesh below the top edge is about 20mm, so 29mm from the bottom of the frames.

 

[oliver90owner]

MM,

That type (vertical entry/exit from below) don't get blocked on a Dartington - unless the cluster is in the wrong place! That would be down to the beekeeper, if it was and it did. Not quite correct with the beehaus instructions, I fear.

Regards, RAB

 

[rich]

Not fiberglass?? I have used roof insulation inside polythene bin bags. Surely thats ok?

Hi Heather
I quite agree, if you have the fiberglass well rapped up with no openings, and use thick quality polythene so that the bees can't get at the fibers or they can't inadvertently find their way into the hive, it should be fine.

Rich

 

[barry]

this was our first winter and after some reading on here we entered winter as so, empty super on bottom-open mesh floor-broad box-crown board- b&q 3inch insulation board under the roof. did the acid couple of days ago then put eke on crown board with fondant. they were a small colony going into winter but seem to be going strong. hopefully this is the last of the coldest weather.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Hombre

i use frame runners as in the modified picture, and access them by a shortern rear wall, i like the hollow plastic tube entrance using the double walled glazing sheet, might experiment with that on the kewel or to make a wasp proof tube entrance on a standard block

RAB

yes, i agree, i have never had one blocked, but do find the bees in cold weather clear the floor first by just pushing them down the entrance rather than eject them totally out as they can on a normal flat floor, sort of out of site out of mind, but the first sign of warm weather they all get ejected out


Fibre glass : the new "Asbestos" expect in time you will get a grant to remove it from loft spaces: but that's an old cynical surveyor talking

 

[Hombre]

Thanks on that MM. I had something similar in mind, but would probably have overcomplicated it without your words of wisdom. I'll let you know how the twin wall polycarb entrance chute pans out.

I did notice one of my hives had a couple of days where large heaps of bees had been deposited on the landing board as they tidied up after the cold spell.