Insulation in Winter

[Finman]

The only evidence I have is that I use none and have never had a winter loss

I doupt ablout your evidencies and calculation skills

 

[Istel]

Finman, what insulation is used by Finnish beekeepers?

When you say that with insulation the colonies last nine months - is that just an issue of how long the stores last?
Can cold kill a colony, for example if it has too much brood already?

I am still holding out for any scientific evidence if anyone knows any....

 

[user 6228]

Finman is getting an average of 16W which depending on the size of boxes/climate is either poor or average or good for poly. You should expect about 20W + for UK in wood for a average national colony. Poly in UK you should be at least get 16W. You need to be aiming for well well below 16W

 

[Goran]

"The Thermology of Wintering Honey Bee Colonies" on www.beesource.com I found. I started to read the texts I saw there. I have no intention to say pro or against, just this is interesting text...

 

[hedgehog66]

hi all....

what materials do you use for insulation ?

i guess household loft insulation is number one, but anybody used bubblewrap ? old fleeces ?? cotton clothes in poly bags ?? etc

i have a pile of poly chips i was going to put in polythene bag and stuff in roof - would that work ?

 

[Finman]

Finman, what insulation is used by Finnish beekeepers?
....

The longest time, I suppose, it has bee used saw dust around the brood nest. Often the saw dust gap was 10 cm wide. They were heavy hives.

Much of them use, and have long used, douple plye wall which have insulation material like rock wool or glass wool inside the gap.

Later polyhives have become popular

....

When you say that with insulation the colonies last nine months - is that just an issue of how long the stores last?
....

When we feed hives in September, hives get necatr and pollen from nature 8 months later. But they still must have sugar stores to get themselves to June.

....

Can cold kill a colony, for example if it has too much brood already? ....

Cold kills here in many ways.

If the hive has brood in December, it is automatically dead in December. No one can save it.

....

I am still holding out for any scientific evidence if anyone knows any....

it is only your problem. If the person does not learn from anothers' experiences, the life will teach



The whole body will suffer for stupid head

Do you need evidences for that?

.

 

[itma]

hi all....

what materials do you use for insulation ?

i guess household loft insulation is number one, but anybody used bubblewrap ? old fleeces ?? cotton clothes in poly bags ?? etc

i have a pile of poly chips i was going to put in polythene bag and stuff in roof - would that work ?

Use a crownboard with either no hole, or holes blanked off. (Just cover the hole(s) with pieces of thin flat scrap plastic - the bees will seal it.)
Put an empty super above the crownboard.
Put insulation in the super. Don't take away the last of the airspace between the insulation and the roof.
The roof goes on top.

Sealing the top of the brood box (and insulating above it), with an open mesh floor beneath it, prevents excessive dampness from condensation - and is forum winter orthodoxy (nearly 50% of poll respondents.)
In an exposed site, things can be done to limit the wind under the hive.


The ideal insulation seems to be building insulation board, made of polyurethane foam and faced with aluminium (heat reflecting) foil.
Trade names include Celotex, Xtratherm and Kingspan.
Its a very very good insulator indeed.
You can get a 1200x450x50mm board (a conveniently transportable size) for £5.59 from Wickes. Sometimes building sites throw away offcuts - but its not the ideal season for building work.
You can cut sections to fit a super with a cheapo saw, or even a breadknife. You might choose to tape round the exposed foam edges.

Forum search will give you lots of existing threads on the topic.

 

[oliver90owner]

what materials do you use for insulation ?

Apart from ther sawdust mentioned, let's not forget the WBC - double walled. The space has been filled with straw chaff before now. Beekeepers used quilts long ago and there are numerous mentions in older tomes/films as to the use of newspaper, carpet tiles and other materials. I think the OP needs to read wider. However, I do not intend trawling through my bee library for specifics. A waste of my time, particularly as the OP seems to be blindfolded to the basic physics.

 

[MuswellMetro]

e

hi all....

what materials do you use for insulation ?

i guess household loft insulation is number one, but anybody used bubblewrap ? old fleeces ?? cotton clothes in poly bags ?? etc

i have a pile of poly chips i was going to put in polythene bag and stuff in roof - would that work ?

Be careful of glass wool and rock wall insulation, not exactly food grade materials and trading standards and environmental health might have rather different views on it's use if glass dust ends up in the honey

in the 1950's and 60;s smy grandfather used straw in a super as insulation,in the 70''s he went more technical and used straw stuffed in an old pair of tights to contain the straw in the super

i use 50mm kingspan slabs 45x46cm edged in aluminium tape

i have considered treated wool roof insulation slabs as it is breathable but at £28 plus P+P a roll it proved to expensive

 

[user 6228]

Agreed, because they still have real nosema and varroa problems in hot places like say Greece or Cyprus ect.

but then it can get quite cold in both Greece and Cyprus in winter...
They even ski in parts of Cyprus amd Greece (people ski not bees ).

 

[itma]

Be careful of glass wool and rock wall insulation, not exactly food grade materials and trading standards and environmental health might have rather different views on it's use if glass dust ends up in the honey

Note also that one inch of Kingspan etc is as effective as two inches of glass/rockwool.
It is a very good thermal insulator.

 

[alanf]

Note also that one inch of Kingspan etc is as effective as two inches of glass/rockwool.
It is a very good thermal insulator.

Agree, other advantages are it doesn't get damp and sealing with tape stops woodlice/earwigs/ants making a home in it.

I saw Th0rnes were selling a recycled "chip foam" quilt in the sales. Similar to the stuffing used in sofas. It's obviously sold for the purpose but being an open cell foam, I'd think the problem would be that it could soak up leaks or any condensation. Last thing you want is a soaking wet cold sponge sitting on your crown board, not good for bees or woodwork.