Interior Hive Insulation Suggestions

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Location
S.E. Cornwall
Hive Type
National
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Enough
Hi folks,

I have a few spare undrawn frames in my 2 hives....if I remove these, what can I use to fill up their space so as to make it more heat economic for the bees? Any ideas??
 
I only have 7 frames of drawn comb so i have filled up the gaps at either side with two blocks of 4" of kingspan. I had to wrap the edges in duck tape otherwise the bees would be likely to chew it some what.
 
i made up some insulated dummy frames, standard DN1 side ,narrow top bar tack on hardboard ( rough side out) ,solid bottom rail, filled with sheet polystyrene
 
I only have 7 frames of drawn comb so i have filled up the gaps at either side with two blocks of 4" of kingspan. I had to wrap the edges in duck tape otherwise the bees would be likely to chew it some what.
What is kingspan and where do I get it??:confused:
 
This is Kingspan:

Hedgerow Pete has often talked about it on the forum so I will leave it to him to point you in the right direction regards cost/usage.
 
I've made plywood dummy boards with lugs to prevent slipping and glued 1" polystyrene to one side.

I'd used them last year too and everything was fine then. This year because of the mild weather the bees are more active and are chewing the polystyrene............hmmm. Next year the edges will get painted, but I don't think I can take them out and do them now.

Frisbee
 
Open to the bees soft poly will just be chewed out sorry to say.

A quick fix is Fablon, which is still available.

Best thing I find is is 3mm ply over the insulation.

Insulated dummies have been in use for donkeys, nothing new here at all but very good sense for the bees.

PH
 
With regards to 200mm of insulation with seven frames: I would make sure the insulation was sealing to the cover board - just to reduce the heat loss as much as possible. Nearly half the cover board will then be out of the equations, and that above the bees should be insulated anyway.

With just a frame at each end removed, I would not be so concerned (if the colony were strong) and just replace each with an insulated dummy - but I think full-width insulated dividers are the better option, especially if we are talking 'big nucleus' here.

Make provision now for feeding candy later.

One of the reasons for me going to extra deep frames was the better (perceived) wintering as a) each frame holds more stores b) the bees can munch vertically with less risk getting separated from lateral stores later in the winter (happened a couple of times, possibly) and c) bees are further from the floor for most of the winter (away from the OMF).

So my next Q is: are you using OMFs? If so I would consider restricting them a little if the colony is only nuc sized.

Regards, RAB
 
there are several manufacturers of insulating board, this stuff, http://www.xtratherm.com/ is available from most builders merchants. we have just used a load in the wife's new Studio. (travis perkins have in stock)
here's another brand, http://www.celotex.co.uk/.
I don't work for either of the companies, btw! ;)
 
It might for someone else. I found ventilation with solid floors (wooden single-walled hives) a bit of a lottery and was right pleased to have changed to OMFs. I must say my experience in that area was as a 'new beek', and recounting the real problems (over the 'perceived') may be difficult for me. I changed to OMFs for ventilation issues rather than varroa control at the time.

Regards, RAB
 
Open to the bees soft poly will just be chewed out sorry to say.

Yes.......course it's just the bottom edge on the one closest to the entrance, and some hives are worse than others. The other day I could hear a rustling noise and on closer inspection the bees in the naughtiest hive were walking to the edge of the entrance and spitting tiny white bits over.......:rofl:

A quick fix is Fablon, which is still available.

Best thing I find is is 3mm ply over the insulation.

I'll probably ply them next year.

Insulated dummies have been in use for donkeys, nothing new here at all but very good sense for the bees.

PH

I made my first lot last year, course it turned cold quicker, with this mild weather the bees are a lot more active, I don't suppose that has helped. I don't feel much inclined to go in and disturb them now, so they will have to keep on chewing.............

Frisbee
 
I had a friend who made nucs from Floormate, which was a softish insulation, and very neat they were too, as he was an engineer.

I think the bees took about two weeks to chew through and create their own entrances. Oddly some colonies are far more prone to it than others.

PH
 
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hahaha-024.gif


I bet he was gutted...........all that trouble.

Frisbee
 
He was quite amused and then smoe judicious use of gaffer tape sorted it out.

PH
 
Its amazing what you can do with duct tape.

Please note my signiture below.

Has anyone made a duct tape hive before? There are many forums discussing the ablity to creat almost anything out of duct tape.
 
This is Kingspan:

Hedgerow Pete has often talked about it on the forum so I will leave it to him to point you in the right direction regards cost/usage.
Mr. Hedgerow Pete?? Where are you?!

Send me your address mate in a PM and I'll send you some of those cuttings.
If they don't take, I'll take some more next year for you...
 

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