Preparing for winter question

[drstitson]

"a sheet that would probably cover three hives cost about £4."

1200x450x50????

That'll do TWO hives, leaving enough for filling dead space behind a dummy board in a brood box (upto 14x12)

 

[bellabee]

itma, what do you use for insulation? Ply? As per above?

Erichalfbee, do you have any pictures of this set up?

Ok so let me get this right...

OMF leave as is, cover hole in CB with tape (mind bees don't stick), use ply for insulation, leave a gap between the insulation and roof so no mould?

Many thanks

 

[bellabee]

kazmcc >> "but I didn't know what I was doing then"

Teehee, this is us now.... next year will be perfect

 

[kazmcc]

kazmcc >> "but I didn't know what I was doing then"

Teehee, this is us now.... next year will be perfect

This is what I keep telling myself LOL. Do you know what though, with all the problems, and all the mistakes I've not doubt made, the bees are still buzzing and have coped with me very well

Next year will be better

 

[bellabee]

kazmcc>> Teehee, I guess it is every beekeepers right of passage, learning by the seat of our pants, and when we have spent time researching what our little dears are up to on here, then gone out and sourced some soft of contraption, edited the contraption to fit our hive... They have usually changed their minds about what they are up to and done some thing else!!

When ever we leave our bees with a problem, they seem to sort it out between them. They know what they are doing!!

Glad your bees are good. x

 

[oliver90owner]

Last year, I had one colony on a solid floor with a solid crownboard (insulation over). Long story short - season ended abruptly at the end of Sept due to a hospital appointment so it had to stay like that for the winter.

I managed to lever up the brood box sometime in November and inserted about 3-4mm of spacer to hold it up. I also tilted the hive very slightly to be sure any water ingress would run out. Long levers were the order of the day as I was still only supposed to lifting a maximum of about 3kg - ha ha.

The hive was perfectly dry when inspected early in the spring (late winter, actually), when I found I needed to remove stores frames for extra brooding space. Can't remember when I lowered the brood box but certainly as soon as the bees were fairly active again. It finally got it's OMF just prior to moving it to the OSR.

RAB

 

[itma]

itma, what do you use for insulation? Ply? As per above?

I'm only learning the practicalities myself!

Mine will have a completely open floor (but see further below), crown board and a super/shallow not quite filled with insulation board (therefore airspace above), then the roof with no modifications.
Having some thick insulation board stashed away from last year's roofing job, that's what I'll likely use even though it must be overkill.
The super should be just tall enough for two layers, so I can cut a 'plug' out of the lower layer to let me place fondant which will 'close' the crownboard feeder hole(s). I expect to be able to check and replace the fondant by opening only the roof and top layer of insulation board, minimising chilling the bees.
If I tape the cut edges of the insulation with (greenhouse) aluminium tape there should not be any crumbs of insulation to clear out of the hive!


Now, what's this that Erichalfbee is saying about having the fondant in a "container" or "tub"? ?? I thought the idea was to just slash the fondant bag and position the cut opening over the crownboard feeder hole ...
A "container" sounds much less messy. How would that work?


* My stand arrangement. Hive is on 4" high bricks at each side, which stand on a paving slab. I'll arrange some other bricks to slightly obstruct the 'wind tunnel' under the hive. Not to block it off - just to shelter it slightly from being a passage totally open to the winds.

 

[user 6228]

Baffled by reference to Kingspan. The Kingspan website talks about insulation for walls, roofs, floors etc of all sorts. What is the recognised Kingspan product for insulating hives, please?
Thanks

hoover : vacuum cleaner :: kingpsan :ally foil coated poyurethane foam

Any ally foil covered polyurethane foam will do (reticel, celotex) ... just ask at your local builders merchant j e w s o n s?

important its polyurethane not polystryene as polyurethane has substantial better performance

 

[DorsetB]

Also, don't be too shy to ask for broken or damaged sheets, or to have a look at building sites or skips, as long as the stuff is still reasonably clean. BTW you can wash it with soap and water, the foam sandwich does dry out.

I just got two sheets 20mm thick 2.4m x 1.2m Celotex with crumpled corners for £5.00.

If you do get damaged sheets, make sure that when cutting the size you need, that you still have the foil covering both sides.

 

[flytrapman]

Check out the skips at building sites or builders yards and you will find more than enough off cuts of insulation for hives

 

[oliver90owner]

important its polyurethane not polystryene as polyurethane has substantial better performance

I would have said of very little importance.

The internet quoted ratio is only in the region od R6/R5 (from Wiki, quote:followed closely by polyurethane and polystyrene insulation at roughly R–6 and R–5 per inch)

Unit costs are likely far more important. Cheap and cheerful, even if an extra 15% thickness is required, would be the way I would go.

 

[Erichalfbee]

itma, what do you use for insulation? Ply? As per above?

Erichalfbee, do you have any pictures of this set up?

Ok so let me get this right...

OMF leave as is, cover hole in CB with tape (mind bees don't stick), use ply for insulation, leave a gap between the insulation and roof so no mould?

Many thanks

I'll pm you some pictures later
If you look inside a wooden National roof you will see there are battens running just inside and on two sides there are ventilation hoes covered usually by a mesh.
If you cut your foam insulation to fit the roof it should rest on the battens creating a space for ventilation; ie you cut to fit the inside dimension of the roof.
If you cut to fit a super this will be smaller.
Use foam insulation not ply as insulation. The ply is the crownboard. RAB has pointed out that his have no holes. I'm not that confident that I won't need fondant though this year it looks like I won't...touch wood.

Itma
I put fondant in cote d'or ice cream tubs, leaving it a bees pace short of the top.The container keeps the fondant moist. When one is finished just swap for one prepared earlier if needed.

 

[itma]

...
I put fondant in cote d'or ice cream tubs, leaving it a bees pace short of the top.The container keeps the fondant moist. When one is finished just swap for one prepared earlier if needed.

So just 'cast' the fondant into tupperware, margarine tub, or whatever, filling to a beespace short of full, store with the lid on and just open and plant upside down over the feeder hole as needed!

Thanks!

 

[Susan1]

last year I had an OMF, covered holes in crown board and used no insulation as recommended by my mentor. Despite the terrible winter bees were fine. avingread everything here am thinking should I insulate. also although hives are nationals I havee slanted roofs on them, was thinking ofputting some fondant over one of the holes in a chinese take a way plastic box just in case.?

 

[Swarm]

No insulation used here.

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

No insulation used here.

Nor here - other than an occasional hefty tot of Armagnac when it is really cold (used internally by the beekeeper, of course!).

 

[MuswellMetro]

Nor here - other than an occasional hefty tot of Armagnac when it is really cold (used internally by the beekeeper, of course!).

150mm Kingspan in a 460x460mm slab for the Bees and a large gin&tonic with ice and a slice of lime for me

Despite the heat sink effect of buildings where i am in North London, it still gets cold at night as my hive are on a farm and the winter climate is more like Essex

 

[bellabee]

ericA, brilliant thank you, no I understand pictures would be great sometime when you get round to it. We are still treating for varroa. When do you start your insulation?

Thanks again

 

[Erichalfbee]

I put mine in when the mouseguards go on and I've stopped feeding syrup. Some people keep theirs in the roof all year. It doesn't get hot enough up here but if it did I might consider it.
The MB poly hives don't get any as the roofs are quite sufficiently insulating already.

 

[abi-e]

Thank you all for your advice - I will cover the holes in the crown board and add some insulation - Off to the DIY shop tomorrow - I assume it is easy to cut with a Stanley Knife.