Hive Heating!!!

[ian steven]

Has anyone in Britain set up heaters in their hives with any sucess. I'm thinking of using heat mats of 7 or 14 watts (as sold petshops). Can anyone give me any info?

 

[itma]

Yesterday's thread -- http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=22841

 

[Hivemaker.]

And another...http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=22765

 

[Charlieb]

Has anyone in Britain set up heaters in their hives with any sucess. I'm thinking of using heat mats of 7 or 14 watts (as sold petshops). Can anyone give me any info?

I have used 12W vivacious heater mats in my hives, in winter, for a number of years now and they work well. I have them on the slider below the open mesh floor. They have reduced my winter losses considerably.

 

[Charlieb]

I have used 12W vivacious heater mats in my hives, in winter, for a number of years now and they work well. I have them on the slider below the open mesh floor. They have reduced my winter losses considerably.

Sorry for the typo should read VIVARIUM.

 

[Little John]

Sorry for the typo should read VIVARIUM.

Oh - it was only a typo then Pity - I was rather looking forward to where this thread might have been leading ...

LJ

 

[Finman]

.
Just now I have heaters in my hives. It helps hives to keep larger brood area.

New bees have started to emerge after winter but colonies are very small.
I move capped brood frames to small hives and heating keeps brood alive.

We have warm days but nights are cold.

 

[WelshPaul]

I used one this winter and my bees came on amazingly. 12v running off the mains with an inverter.

 

[eddiespangle]

Sounds like a good idea. Did you leave it running all winter and did you have to continuously feed?

 

[Finman]

Sounds like a good idea. Did you leave it running all winter and did you have to continuously feed?

colonies must have winter rest. Otherwise they do not see spring.
Winter heating must be so small that it does not brake cluster.

First of all use first insulated wintering boxes and keep cluster in tight room that heat does not escape.

.3 W is quite good in their winter. To use open mesh floor and then heat makes any sense.

I have heated 10 y and I know quite well how it works.

.

 

[thorn]

We never heard anything more from that fellow who was marketing an insulated jacket for hives. Did his hives not only survive but get off to a good start this year? Presumably not, or he'd have been on the forum trumpeting his success.

 

[Black Comb]

I think he was at the Spring Convention.

 

[La Folie]

Are you using the mats in wooden or poly hives?

 

[user 6228]

try insulating to 0.5W/K first. I think you will see the need to heat reduced remarkably.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I think he was at the Spring Convention.

he was at the Yorkshire BKA annual conference a week after but tbh I didn't even bother looking or talking to them as I find his product too expensive for my setup.

 

[Dishmop]

I used one this winter and my bees came on amazingly. 12v running off the mains with an inverter.

An inverter changes mains to 12v.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

An inverter changes mains to 12v.

The accepted definition is it changes the electrickery from dc (as in battery or solar cells) to ac at (usually but not always) 230 volts. 50 hertz.

 

[WelshPaul]

It's a little black box with a 3 pin plug on one end and a female cigarette plug on the other lol.

 

[Dishmop]

It's a little black box with a 3 pin plug on one end and a female cigarette plug on the other lol.

Transformer then.

You could use an old computer power supply for that.

 

[thorn]

he was at the Yorkshire BKA annual conference a week after but tbh I didn't even bother looking or talking to them as I find his product too expensive for my setup.

What's the cost of buying, installing and running the electric system that various posters are describing on this thread?