Perspex crown boards and condensation

[Do224]

Just wondering if condensation is an issue with Perspex crown boards? I feel like it might be but perhaps putting some insulation directly above will help…

Wouldn’t want moisture building up over winter and dripping onto the bees

 

[Sutty]

I doubt it would be a problem with a slab of kingspan or similar on top

 

[B_north]

Not if you put more insulation above the cluster than on the sides of the hive.

There is a beekeeper in the Yukon, Etienne Tardif that has extensively researched this very thing. Lots of upper insulation keeps the condensation on the outside of the hive. I had clear plastic covers on my feeding rims last winter so I could monitor them and had nada for condensation

 

[JamezF]

Exactly so. It's not really the crownboard material that's the issue. It's the fact that it can have much colder air above it than below (possibly exacerbated by having a ventilated roof), thereby cooling the crownboard down which in turn causes water to condense on the underside. Insulate above the crownboard and there's far less chance of that happening regardless of whether you use perspex or wooden boards.

As posted above, I've read that because the hive walls may still be cold then condensation will form on the inside of the walls instead, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as the bees may be able to use that water to dissolve stores that have crystallised.

James

 

[B_north]

but that's not necessarily a bad thing as the bees may be able to use that water to dissolve stores that have crystallised.

I think that is now being considered by beekeepers, like me, who only have canola honey going into winter. The granulated honey needs the extra moisture in order to be dissolved by the bees. So some have successfully put plastic right over the cluster and as a result have seen the bees using the moisture that forms on the perimeter. The need for winter cleansing flights also seemed to decrease. When you have very few days for cleansing flights, some winters with none for months, needing fewer is a bonus.

It is normal for bees to do cleansing flights and die in the snow but some winters it is excessive. When you gotta go you gotta go, so some flights are happening in colder temperatures than they should resulting in many dead bees unable to make it back.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just wondering if condensation is an issue with Perspex crown boards? I feel like it might be but perhaps putting some insulation directly above will help…

Wouldn’t want moisture building up over winter and dripping onto the bees

Make sure the top is warmer than the sides so any condensation occurs down the sides.
I do see a little condensation in the corners of mine but only there

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think that is now being considered by beekeepers, like me, who only have canola honey going into winter. The granulated honey needs the extra moisture in order to be dissolved by the bees. So some have successfully put plastic right over the cluster and as a result have seen the bees using the moisture that forms on the perimeter. The need for winter cleansing flights also seemed to decrease. When you have very few days for cleansing flights, some winters with none for months, needing fewer is a bonus.

It is normal for bees to do cleansing flights and die in the snow but some winters it is excessive. When you gotta go you gotta go, so some flights are happening in colder temperatures than they should resulting in many dead bees unable to make it back.

Is this where the oft quoted sugar is better than honey for overwintering might be applied?

 

[B_north]

Is this where the oft quoted sugar is better than honey for overwintering might be applied?

Absolutely, but I find people in warmer climes often don't pay attention to where that type of advice is coming from so they feed willy nilly when they really could just be leaving their bees honey stores. I wish I could.

I can't remove all the canola honey as that is the last flow I have and they do store it within the brood area. My response has been to take off the honey in the supers as soon as possible and extract. Then, because I run deep Layens frames, I watch and let the bees use up some of their stores when the nectar flow slows. I watch carefully and when they get light I start feeding 2:1 syrup till they are up to weight.

I usually need to start that by Sept 1st so they can dry it down. Then, when it gets cold, I add the sugar feeding rim, but not till then or they settle high on the sugar too early and do not cluster down on the bottom of the combs where they should be in order to move up thru the stores as winter progresses. I had one hive last year up on the sugar all winter because of my foolish idea to be 'prepared' and put it on early before the really cold weather set in. They survived wonderfully, but I could not make them move down to their honey stores, it just was too cold. As a result they had 5 frames of unused stores out of the 9 I left them, but they sure went thru the sugar.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It must take a lot of dedication and skill to get your bees through every winter. We have it easy in the U.K.

 

[B_north]

It must take a lot of dedication and skill to get your bees through every winter. We have it easy in the U.K.

Oh I don't know, I think everyone has a different skill set that applies to their bees, one is not necessarily harder, just different.

The key is to have an open mind, listen, learn, and start with what is proven before you head off into the experimental realm.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The key is to have an open mind, listen, learn, and start with what is proven before you head off into the experimental realm.

Spot on