Keeping the Bees warm

[E1M]

Just a thought, would it be a good idea to make an outer shell of polystyrene wrapped and sealed in a plastic sheet to fit around the outside of the hive for winter warmth? Leaving appropriate openings of course.

 

[region2]

In housing insulation works well as long as ventilation is maintained. Often it isn't and people end up with condensation and mould. Apparently bees easily keep themselves warm in winter and damp is their biggest threat. I put insulation inside the roof year-round - Celotex (foil-foam-foil sandwich) - with cutouts for the roof vents to minimise condensation from the roof dripping down on the bees.

R2

 

[enrico]

Just a thought, would it be a good idea to make an outer shell of polystyrene wrapped and sealed in a plastic sheet to fit around the outside of the hive for winter warmth? Leaving appropriate openings of course.

Seems a bit excessive! Just insulate the roof. The bees are pretty hardy.......!

 

[BCBEE]

Hi E1m
I had often thought of this myself. I had though that as long as i didnt seal every nook and cranny up and allowed ventilation that some poly on the outer walls and the roof can only keep the place warmer and give the bees less work to do.

I am luck in that at work we use plastic strappex off a big roll and a special reusable buckle which i was thinking of using with the strapex to hold it in place.

 

[user 6228]

In housing insulation works well as long as ventilation is maintained. Often it isn't and people end up with condensation and mould. Apparently bees easily keep themselves warm in winter and damp is their biggest threat. I put insulation inside the roof year-round - Celotex (foil-foam-foil sandwich) - with cutouts for the roof vents to minimise condensation from the roof dripping down on the bees.

R2

Ventilation, condensation ... here we go again...

seal but arrange so that warm air cannot reach an "uninsulated from cold" surface.
Look at the UK building regs on insulation for inspiration/information


Apparently bees easily keep themselves warm in winter and damp is their biggest threat.

That is more an article of faith than fact.

 

[E1M]

What a silly B**

Seems that you nd I, BCB, are wrong.
Of course, the insulation could cause damp, not good for man nor BEE!

 

[Pete D]

Hi Ian,
I had my first winter last year and wondered how they would get on espicially when it dropped to minus 18 and didnt rise above -8 all day.
In my main hives std and deep nationals a mixture of cedar and ply I added an empty super box on top of the brood box, and stuffed it full of loft insulation,the crown board (holes covered) and roof. the roll of insulation was just the right width and I just cut it to length and it was cheap at b and q due to some goverment initiative.
I was able to add a slad of fondant straight on top of the frames under this and it was easy to check by just lifting 1 corner and peeling it up.
I also had 3 nuc's 14 x 12 which only had half inch ply wall thickness and no roof insulation which were buried in snow for a while and these all came through along with all the hives.
I usually think if it aint broke dont fix it but I may of been lucky and this year may do something different but reckon I have a couple of months yet to do this.
We are only 2 miles apart so should share the same weather although yours are nicely sheltered between building and hedge and mine are exposed to the winds which whip across the flat fens.
Pete D

 

[E1M]

Hi Pete,
Will drop your extractor round over the weekend, sorry for the delay.
You are right, last year was really cold, I think we are just getting panicky.
Our mentor, Gordon, would have just let them get on with things, I remember picking up our first colony from him and he took an old jumper out of the roof space.
We seem to forget that possibly they have been around longer than we have.

 

[region2]

I've often thought that there's a nice little space between the rails on the outside of a national brood box that could take 1" of Celotex insulation - that could nearly halve any heat loss through the walls. Probably won't bother tho'!

Here's a question - how come one of my hives had the varroa board 'blown' out the back and the entrance block nearly completely out the front? Is it just the wind or have the bees been experimenting with sugar (syrup) and fertiliser?

R2

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Thermally imaged some hives with Sellotax additions to walls last year and they seemed fine.

 

[oliver90owner]

I've often thought that there's a nice little space between the rails on the outside of a national brood box that could take 1" of Celotex insulation

Some of mine have those spaces filled with 25mm EPS. Been done years now (at least five) and it is still there. I cut it at the angle of the rails and it is self adhering as a tight push fit.

An insulated divider at each end would likely be easier, as 14 x 12s don't really need a full complement of stores frames for winter. This year they will be getting one (on the prevailing wind side only). The narrower (on the inside) MB Poly gets by with no problem.

 

[MartinL]

Just a thought, would it be a good idea to make an outer shell of polystyrene wrapped and sealed in a plastic sheet to fit around the outside of the hive for winter warmth? Leaving appropriate openings of course.

Similar to WBC then? William Broughton Carr didn't have access to expanded polystyrene, only wooden fruit boxes in those days!

I've come to realise that there is probably nothing left to be invented, just new uses/materials for old inventions.

After all, isn't Mr Dyson's patented machine just the Whittle jet engine in reverse or "suck mode"?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Whittle_Jet_Engine_W2-700.JPG

 

[Pete D]

I've come to realise that there is probably nothing left to be invented, just new uses/materials for old inventions.

After all, isn't Mr Dyson's patented machine just the Whittle jet engine in reverse or "suck mode"?




..and my ground source heat pump is a fridge running backwards....

Pete D

 

[region2]

..and my ground source heat pump is a fridge running backwards...

Correct! It cools the ground when the gas expands and then compresses it again to produce heat for your home. 2-3 x efficient compared to .9 for a gas boiler.

R2

 

[rockdoc]

"nice little space between the rails". I've also thought this would be a good place to push fit some of kingspan. Might give it a try on some of mine this winter.

 

[Pete D]

Yep I love it, during the summer the incoming temperature from the loop can be as high as 12c..........and what goes back out usually about 2-3c........untill it comes back at 12c.
During the winter when it works harder the ground is still 12c (except the first bit of the loop) and the fluid comes in at 2-4c (it warms on the way round) and goes back out at -2-3c.
Warm house, warm DHW, lower bills and happy cosy wife who doesnt fiddle with the stat !

 

[region2]

Considered it but (2 buts) - we'd need to have 2 bore holes as we're on chalk and don't want to dig up the garden and we'd need to upgrade all the rads apparently as the system works cooler so rads are bigger.

R2

 

[Erichalfbee]

My hives are on a site that can get windy at times.
I'll be insulating the side facing the prevailing wind and the top

 

[Pete D]

R2, yes I didnt have rads so installed 13 double panel rads at 30% oversize. All pipework is 22mm except where it shows. Works on higher volume / lower temperature.
We buried 400m of pipe 1.6m down, across the lawn, between the raised veg beds, under the willow hedge and out into the field. It could have been installed all under the lawn laying the pipe 'slinky' style but a long continuous loop is far more efficient. Bore holes are very efficient too.
Pete D

 

[E1M]

http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creat...me/guides/ground-source-heat-pumps-explained/

I've always been interested in them Pete.

Are they any good to install for the hives?