Open mesh floor versus solid floors?

[Finman]

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We have crematoriums.
.

 

[For want of a better word]

but not with a bonfire as they no longer have the means to light it

or matches for ventillating hives it seems



Christmas Brandy arrived... needs testing!

Nos da

 

[user 6228]

You cant equate a house door to a hive entrance as the properties of fluid flow dont scale that way.

 

[Finman]

or matches for ventillating hives

Yeah, those indiders' fluid flow things. Hole thing too.

 

[REDWOOD]

If I open an up stairs window, down stairs gets cold and up stairs remain warm, if I open the front door down stairs gets cold straight away and up stairs gets gradually colder, I have yet to dig up my floor and put a mesh in, somehow I don't think Mrs REDWOOD would think thats a great idea in the name of science. What you do is up to you, OMF or solid take your pick but I don't think you need top ventilation with OMF and perhaps you do with solid floors. There is no wrong or right just use the system that suits your beekeeping and your bees. Personally I don't think OMfs do much for lowering the varroa count and it is far more important to treat bees on a regular bases. I do often wonder how one removes the dead varroa with a solid floor, I Should imagine a small hoe with a long handle.

 

[For want of a better word]

If I open an up stairs window, down stairs gets cold and up stairs remain warm, if I open the front door down stairs gets cold straight away and up stairs gets gradually colder, I have yet to dig up my floor and put a mesh in, somehow I don't think Mrs REDWOOD would think thats a great idea in the name of science. What you do is up to you, OMF or solid take your pick but I don't think you need top ventilation with OMF and perhaps you do with solid floors. There is no wrong or right just use the system that suits your beekeeping and your bees. Personally I don't think OMfs do much for lowering the varroa count and it is far more important to treat bees on a regular bases. I do often wonder how one removes the dead varroa with a solid floor, I Should imagine a small hoe with a long handle.

earwigs eat them

Nos da

 

[REDWOOD]

I hate them beasties.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I do often wonder how one removes the dead varroa with a solid floor, I Should imagine a small hoe with a long handle.

The bees remove them and keep their floors reasonably clean.

 

[REDWOOD]

The bees remove them and keep their floors reasonably clean.

Another beekeeping ponder solved

 

[Finman]

Nowadays our construction orders commands to install quite a thick layer of styrox under the house and aroud the cellar. 100 years ago most of houses were built over the stones that space under floor ventilated and floor does not rotten. With that construction old houses were cold and drafty. Even now, when floor is insulated, quite a big part of energy escapes via cellar.

It is good to inspect, what we know about house energy leaking. It helps to understand what is happening in beehive.

Even Derekm studies the insulating values of each material, but he is not able to look the energy loss of the whole hive. I have not seen any research about the whole energy system of beehive.

 

[For want of a better word]

Solid floors are OK if vented positively or negatively from below... to prevent Radon gas accumulation... in granitic areas.

We have Radon gas monitoring devices in our cellar, the Skibber had to have not only a Radon sump installed below the floor, but also a sealed Radon gas membrane fitted covering the floor and walls up to roof level, because granite is used in the 15th century exterior wall construction.

Perhaps I need to consider ensuring a Visqueen Radon membrane is incorporated into all of my hives solid floors in future to prevent Radon gas percolating into the colonies?

Mytten da

 

[user 6228]

...
Perhaps I need to consider ensuring a Visqueen Radon membrane is incorporated into all of my hives solid floors in future to prevent Radon gas percolating into the colonies?

Mytten da

you make hives out of granite?

 

[madasafish]

Solid floors are OK if vented positively or negatively from below... to prevent Radon gas accumulation... in granitic areas.

We have Radon gas monitoring devices in our cellar, the Skibber had to have not only a Radon sump installed below the floor, but also a sealed Radon gas membrane fitted covering the floor and walls up to roof level, because granite is used in the 15th century exterior wall construction.

Perhaps I need to consider ensuring a Visqueen Radon membrane is incorporated into all of my hives solid floors in future to prevent Radon gas percolating into the colonies?

Mytten da

We live in a house built with millstone grit rock walls.

I measured the background radioactivity over the past thirty years on and off in rooms where the ventilation was poor and the door closed for 24 hours. No different from outside.

I hardly think hives would accumulate radon when kept outside. Radon gas is very dense and accumulates at low points. So hives kept off the ground would be free.

(I assume this is serious and not a windup)

 

[charlievictorbravo]

you make hives out of granite?

It does not matter when the hive is made of granite, wood or PIR. Every building contains radon but the levels are usually low. The chances of a higher level depend on the type of ground. Public Health England has published a map showing where high levels are more likely.The gas comes out of the ground. This emergence of the carcinogenic gas depends on the underlying rock. Here are maps to show where the problem areas are : http://www.ukradon.org/cms/assets/gfx/content/resource_2686cs3a0844cee4.pdf

Hives with solid floors or open mesh floors should be ok provided they're not resting on the ground. Houses, however, are a different story! - especially in Kelliwik.

CVB

 

[user 6228]

It does not matter when the hive is made of granite, wood or PIR. Every building contains radon but the levels are usually low. The chances of a higher level depend on the type of ground. Public Health England has published a map showing where high levels are more likely.The gas comes out of the ground. This emergence of the carcinogenic gas depends on the underlying rock. Here are maps to show where the problem areas are : http://www.ukradon.org/cms/assets/gfx/content/resource_2686cs3a0844cee4.pdf

Hives with solid floors or open mesh floors should be ok provided they're not resting on the ground. Houses, however, are a different story! - especially in Kelliwik.

CVB

here its not Radon but plutonium dust we worry about and its in bee flying range

 

[Thymallus]

It should be compulsory to have large radioactive warning stickers posted on all hives in affected areas and all jars of honey produced from them should carry a similar warning.....

 

[Thymallus]

And the solution for all those worried about their bees breathing in radon gas and plutonium particles, you need a few 1000 of these. Fitting may take a little while.

 

[Finman]

I've been experimenting with putting the varroa board into my open mesh floors hives and noticed vast differences in terms of development from 3 seams of bees in a national brood box to 8 seams within a week. ?

Like I wrote, this is not possible within a week, because brood cycle is 3 weeks and laying needs one week.

If you have a 3 frames bees, a swarm, it takes at least a month that colony starts to grow.

I was writing here that you may do your own trials, hives on mesh floor and hives on solid floor and proper ventilation.

But like above, if you do not know basics in beekeepeing, you may find what ever from your experiment.

Even experienced guys lies to themselves that everything is perfect. But the result, the honey yield, tells something else.

Bees forage in rain, they gather pollen around the year, nature is blooming, hives are 6 box tall (sory frames), storm and 15C temp and mesh floor works fine.

Difficult to say, are British beekeeper really willing to learn anything new, because everything is absolutely fine in that palm isle.

Plam trees in Sometseth

 

[Finman]

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Native night bee in Tamar Valley. It can forage in total darkness with its own driving lights.

 

[Swarm]

Those ain't Palm trees they're Cordylines.