Heat leak of different wall structure with brood

[Finman]

.
I have 2 different polyhives and a third hive type is 30 mm solid wood.

I measured the heat leak via wall with Black and Decker heat leak detector. = the surface heat of hives.

It is night now and clock was about 00:30

An empty hive wall was about 4 C or 3.5

Honey Paradise boxes 4.5 - 5.5

Nacka hives, which have thin "mirror" area in walls. The thickness may be
1.5 cm in mirror and Paradice has 3 cm (no mirror). Nacka had about 6 C.

Surprise, 3 cm solid pine wood 8C

these all hives had upper box full of brood.
There were strange differencies in wall temperatures but that above were typical diffrerencies.
Some polyboxes were 7C.
.

In two box hives upper box was 6 C but lower box was about 3.5 - 4.5.
It means that heat stays in upper box and it does not much move down to the lower box . Lower box is almost same as empty box.

Conclusion: there is a big diffrence between different polyboxes.
I did not expected that.

 

[BeeJayBee]

That's interesting.

Are all the boxes the same colour?

 

[user 6228]

That's interesting.

Are all the boxes the same colour?

yes, you need to correct for the surface emissivity when using infra red thermometry.

 

[Finman]

.
I know that emission. Different surfaces give a little bit different numbers.

Boxes are about same color and I measured different colours too to notice what it affects.

 

[itma]

yes, you need to correct for the surface emissivity when using infra red thermometry.

One simple way to do that would be to paint a small (5 cm x 5 cm) patch with the same matt black paint. And measure from close enough that that is all that the sensor is reading from.
Otherwise I would hesitate to draw firm conclusions about different materials.
There is a continuing problem though that the test patch may be in a different position relative to the bees for different hives. Maybe measure from the test pach and then measure an average from all round it, so that there is a calibration between that paint/material and the black? That might indicate the offset to apply to other measurements on that same hive/paint/material.

 

[Finman]

.
My idea was not get problems with those measurements.
It is not worth to be so exact.

What the 100 meters runner do with that 0,1 second time what he saved in running.

Forget the whole story (ridiculous)

 

[Finman]

.
The more meaningfull question is what is the situation of bees in there hive and where the brood is and how much. truth is out there!

 

[BeeJayBee]

.
The more meaningfull question is what is the situation of bees in there hive and where the brood is and how much. truth is out there!

If you took a measurement at each side of each hive, and averaged it ...? Would that work, without the need to paint a patch on each side.

 

[oliver90owner]

To compare materials you don't want bees in the box. As reported above, all surfaces must have the same emissivity and/or appropriate precautions to ascertain true values.

Alternatively you could check the U values or conductivity for each material from published data tables? KISS is somewhere.

 

[Finman]

If you took a measurement at each side of each hive, and averaged it ...? Would that work, without the need to paint a patch on each side.

What I do with that knowledge?

I practically looked two different polyhive constructions, do it has differencies. They have.

I was not doing "material U value" research.

I had two alternatives: to by that or that. And that was 6 euro box and that 7 eurobox. They vere both used. I choosed 6 euro box but Now I know that 7 euro bos has much more better insulation properties.

But 6 euro box has more stiff material, even if it is 20 years old.

But I have not noticed differencies in wintering or in food consumtion. But heat leaks. That I can see with that tool.


Nothing more.

DONT MAKE THINKS SO DIFFICULT:

 

[Finman]

.
Doe it makes difference?

If you use mesh floor, you loose much from insulating value of walls. When I use 15 mm upper entrance, I do not know what it makes to ventilation and energy/food saving. However, bees are alive in spring.

there are lots to reasearch but interest is week.