My home made KTBH

[The Apprentices]

The weather is warm again and I have been busy in the workshop again, this time making my own KTBH.

Having seen a few peoples set up's I am really impressed so I have decided to give it a go when I collect my first swarm this season.

The standard I opted for is just the same set up as the Kenyan but with a detatchable box mesh floor and oil drawer akin to my modified Warre's which I have also fitted triangle guides instead of using foundation.

This self building comb model works great against the varroa which get less of a hold on the bar top systems I have seen, due the keepers say to the smaller cell sizes made by the bees.

One guy monitors but doesn't treat for varroa with good results this way so far he says.

I have worked out how to introduce between the two systems if needed and have designed a queen introducing system for the top bar K.

 

[The Apprentices]

I have gone for the triangular comb guides on the recommendation from a keeper who has tried all the usual styles as he says the bees like the knife edge guide the best and the comb gets the best hold by the bees doing the gluing which he says is stronger than foundation in a groove.

Also showing the queen intro bar with guides to encourage comb building similar to other systems, which can be observed from above without fully opening the hive.

 

[The Apprentices]

I still have to make a couple of seperating/intro boards and a feeder which will be connected via the side of the hive next to the supers with a viewing filling/lid without having to open the hive.

Total costs so far for a full sheet of 18.00mm exterior ply and some PSE for the lid surrounds and base mesh box came to just under quid, the top bars and guides were from a recycled pine table top, this is for two hives.

 

[nosmoking]

Very nice. Good luck with it all.

 

[The Apprentices]

Very nice. Good luck with it all.

Thanks

The misses who's project it is can't wait until she drops her first swarm into it.
I made a couple more for her freinds pro bono and they are looking forward to joining their local clubs too.

One great big happy family

 

[Easy Beesy]

I so envy your ability. I'm so cack-handed when it comes to joinery. Best of luck and let us know how the swarm gets on in there.
Maybe you should advertise - there's definately a market out there.
Eb

 

[The Apprentices]

I so envy your ability. I'm so cack-handed when it comes to joinery. Best of luck and let us know how the swarm gets on in there.
Maybe you should advertise - there's definately a market out there.
Eb

You know I get far more enjoyment in showing people like yourself how to do it, if they are that way inclined and want to save a few quid, a few have done it in the past, spent a few quid on petrol, run up to the wood yard with me, got everything cut to size then back to the workshop to create things and job done, it is still far cheaper than retail therapy and a therapy all of its own, dovetails included.
We don't really need the money but as you say there couldbe a market out there its just getting the paying customers.

That reminds me, while we're on the topic of sales, I tried advertising one of my improved Warres in the for sale section here but it seems not to have been allowed as yet and other items have apeared since? I have even asked why but still no answer, have you ever had that happen to you.

But I will let you know how it all goes with pictures

 

[priono]

i was wondering if 18mm is thick enough for winter insulation. most people or diy plans recommend 22-24

 

[The Apprentices]

i was wondering if 18mm is thick enough for winter insulation. most people or diy plans recommend 22-24

There seems to be a few miss conception about hive insulation in that the hive needs to be hermatically sealed.
Rather than letting the hive breath, hot moist air rises so could be vented as the laws of thermodynamics allow, if not the bees need to force warm moist air that wants to rise back down and out the front door, all this takes effort and energy and stores.

Also what precipitation rises also condences which can be detrimental to hive integrity, this moisture needs to be discarded.

If you watch a colony of bees through a clear walled hive as I have with experimental systems, you will see the colony or balling that occurs during the winter months acting like that of a group of Antarctic penguins and in constant movement keeping the grouping warm, the bees do not heat the hive as such but themselves.

 

[tonybloke]

That reminds me, while we're on the topic of sales, I tried advertising one of my improved Warres in the for sale section here but it seems not to have been allowed as yet and other items have apeared since? I have even asked why but still no answer, have you ever had that happen to you.

I think that the auction site is for members who have subscribed / supported financially to the forum.

 

[priono]

apprentice: thanks a lot for that detailed explanation.

even if they just warm their bodies and not the entire hive, the hive helps them to do so. as you might now they give up heat to the surrounding as they heat the body and the surrounding (the hive) will keep that heat longer if its thicker and better insulated, hence the effort to keep yourself warm is much lower so will be the enrgy needed hence the sugar you feed.

i was thinking of building myself a tbh but i only have plenty 18mm pine and i actually thought it wont be enough. or would you say that ply has a better insulation than pine?
I thought opposite as pine is more porous than ply. am i wrong?

 

[mexbigshow]

apprentice: thanks a lot for that detailed explanation.

even if they just warm their bodies and not the entire hive, the hive helps them to do so. as you might now they give up heat to the surrounding as they heat the body and the surrounding (the hive) will keep that heat longer if its thicker and better insulated, hence the effort to keep yourself warm is much lower so will be the enrgy needed hence the sugar you feed.

i was thinking of building myself a tbh but i only have plenty 18mm pine and i actually thought it wont be enough. or would you say that ply has a better insulation than pine?
I thought opposite as pine is more porous than ply. am i wrong?

i made my tbh from 18mm ply and it is doing very well, overwintered with only 50mm polystyrene in the roof space.

 

[The Apprentices]

apprentice: thanks a lot for that detailed explanation.

even if they just warm their bodies and not the entire hive, the hive helps them to do so. as you might now they give up heat to the surrounding as they heat the body and the surrounding (the hive) will keep that heat longer if its thicker and better insulated, hence the effort to keep yourself warm is much lower so will be the enrgy needed hence the sugar you feed.

i was thinking of building myself a tbh but i only have plenty 18mm pine and i actually thought it wont be enough. or would you say that ply has a better insulation than pine?
I thought opposite as pine is more porous than ply. am i wrong?

Plywood has a greater physical barrier to moisture than bare timber does, which is one of the greatest enemies inside a hive.

There is a lot to say about the old WBC hives which creates a buffer zone between the two compartments and air itself is one of the best insulators of all.

Insulation is fine as long as what is trapped behind/between or inside it can easily escape, if not it is defeating the aim.

Natural timber has the best thermal properties for doors,we are talking joinery tech here, at 62.00mm and above.

Natural timber also lets moisture through and back out in a climatical scenario below these thicknesses, much of what I explain here is old tech and done millenia ago, but still in vogue compared to the non permeable plastics now coming into view.

Its all a matter of balance and what is basically a box out in the ellements I suppose.

If you take a living box like a hollow tree trunk this has the air insulator model surrounding the colony also the walls can be feer thick, also the irregulat shape of the comb prevents the wind tunnel effect that coridoors create, akin to a Warre sometimes from seeing inside a few now.

I'm en-route into making a double wall system based on the square box principle of the Warre that is still manageable as a single unit using double side walls which gives the bees an extra bee space to manourver throughout the hive instead of having to travel through the centre of the hive to gain access to the supers above, this will also act towards that air insulator akin to the WBC and much easier to build than any other current system, all done with interlocking router joints.

Still jo Warre advert showing that I posted yesterday, ahh well.