Kingspan for a hive?

[BeeJayBee]

I've managed to get some building site offcuts of 4" thick Kingspan insulation. There's enough to make a brood box, or two, and maybe also a couple of supers.

This was free, but even so I don't really want to spend too much on an experiment and I don't want to waste it, but can already think of a number of pitfalls, such as the bees mining into the stuff where the foil is a bit scratched. Should it be lined, if so with what?

Helpful ideas will be much appreciated.

 

[madasafish]

Fibreglass resin all exposed foam.

 

[MartinL]

The foam is never going to be robust enough to be used for anything structural, best used as designed I'd say.
For the past three years I've used Celotex offcuts to insulate my hives. Just put it on top of the roof with a couple of bricks to keep it in place, warmer in winter-cooler in the summer, job done!

 

[Skyhook]

A hive, a hive, my Kingspan for a hive!




Sorry.

 

[RoofTops]

You can make a hive from it but jointing the edges needs care. I made a top bar hive from 50mm stuff and it lasted several months - until the interior glue I had wrongly used gave up the ghost!

If you are going to make a conventional hive probably best to make wooden runners rather than try and rebate an edge.

I also used very long screws to hold it together until the glue set, but they are very expensive to buy and I only used them because I had them already for another job but if you look along the bottom of this page you will see cheaper alternatives: http://www.screwfix.com/p/fastenmaster-timberlok-screws-8-x-200mm-pack-of-12/52728 They cut quite well into the foam and providing they were only pinched up tight a bit they added good rigidity. If you cut the runners into a strip of wood these would be good used vertically to hold the runners in place - suitably countersunk of course.

 

[drstitson]

i'd save it for dummying down, on top of crownboards etc.

 

[madasafish]

i'd save it for dummying down, on top of crownboards etc.

Err

All wrong!

See

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=12099&highlight=diy+kingspan+hive

 

[MartinL]

You can make a hive from it ....,............
............. it lasted several months.

That was my point!

 

[oliver90owner]

All wrong!

See

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/sho...+kingspan+hive

I want a hive box that is never going to fail - well not within a 'normal' lifespan and certainly not one which may fail suddenly. I don't want bees and frames spilled all over the place. There are suitable materials and somewhat dodgy experimentalists. I will stick to the tried and tested ones, thank you very much.

Insulation is not the only criteria for hive construction materials. Try reading the 'Three little Pigs' as a sort of analogy

 

[madasafish]

All wrong!



Insulation is not the only criteria for hive construction materials. Try reading the 'Three little Pigs' as a sort of analogy

According to the Guardian TV Advert, the Three Little Pigs were involved in an insurance scam and the Wolf was framed....

 

[susbees]

Quite. Single brick was cr*p. Strawbale build, part of the future.

 

[psafloyd]

The foam is never going to be robust enough to be used for anything structural, best used as designed I'd say.
For the past three years I've used Celotex offcuts to insulate my hives. Just put it on top of the roof with a couple of bricks to keep it in place, warmer in winter-cooler in the summer, job done!

That's simple. Just put it outside?

 

[onriver]

This winter there was lots of building work on the street so I managed to source / scrounge enough offcuts to insulate all my hives over winter, including a cobbled together Celotex overcoat for my overwintering nuc - all worked my next plan, inspired by the forum, is to find big enough offcuts to create a solar wax extractor - just need the glass, kingspan to do the rest

 

[BeeJayBee]

Thanks for the link madasafish. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. I can't see any real harm in trying.

...my next plan, inspired by the forum, is to find big enough offcuts to create a solar wax extractor - just need the glass, kingspan to do the rest

I've probably got enough to make one of those too.

Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't mention the couple of polystyrene fish boxes I've managed to get hold of! They're just about the right length for Lang frames.

 

[MartinL]

According to the Guardian TV Advert, the Three Little Pigs were involved in an insurance scam and the Wolf was framed....

Isn't that nearly always the case with insurance these days!

 

[oliver90owner]

Quite. Single brick was cr*p. Strawbale build, part of the future.

There you go, not seeing the obvious.

The single brick was suited to purpose. The criteria in the story was resistance to being huffed and puffed. One worked, the other two were cr*p.

Suited to purpose is the underlying requirement every time. You get your specification first and then select suitable materials. Obviously straw was cheap, easy to builsd, had good insulation properties, etc. Just wasn't the right material for the job!

 

[talon-ted]

i have recently started making hives out of poly-uretane 50mm sheets. i had the idea and then came across derek's thread and used the info to improve my own version. very disappointingly he didn't answer my questions.

however i have sorted most of the teething problems out now and have bees in my mark 1 version.

i made all mine as langstroth's and am using all plastic frames/foundation from m*d*rn b** k'ng.

time will tell if they are tough enough.

mark