See through cover board

[thepliedes]

Hi peeps

Just wanted some of your considered opinions from your collective wisdom.

I was talking to a friend the other day about getting a glass/see through cover instead of a wooden crown board. He said this would be better to do in the summer than the winter because of condensation in the winter time. Do you agree?

How do you ventilate your hive in the winter?

 

[drstitson]

here we go again.

glass or polycarbonate are fine all year round.

the key is:

1. NO hole in crownboard - it's a CB NOT a clearer or feeder board.
2. decent 5cm+ insulation (eg kingspan) directly on top of the polycarbonate (in in close contact).

NO condensation problems - CB will be warm - condensation will be on walls if at all.

if you need to feed fondant over winter use a shallow eke and decent block (4kg+) of fondant.

NO extra ventilation needed for hives with OMF. No open CB holes. No matchsticks over winter.

DOI: my hives have PC CBs all year round. in 40+C summer heat and under 2m of snow.

 

[Rosti]

I use 5mm polycarb/perspex on my nuc's to make progress judgement based on frames in use easy with minimal intervention. No top ventilation!!! Never seen condensation (spring / summer / autumn only). My nucs are OMF and I assume that the air flow to the hive sides and down takes any moisture with it. I have not over wintered with perspex since I always leave nuc colonies with a perm slab of fondant over a wooden feeding board for insurance.

Edit add: I only use wooden crowns on my 14x12's so no full scale compariuson available.

 

[drstitson]

I did have condensation under the plastic cover in my occupied ****** nuc (the roof is fairly thin) over winter.

solved by knocking up a quick roof using some spare ply and a LS roof metal. There's 5cm kingspan inside.

apparently Payne's may thicken roof at next mould renewal.

 

[justme]

here we go again.

glass or polycarbonate are fine all year round.

the key is:

1. NO hole in crownboard - it's a CB NOT a clearer or feeder board.
2. decent 5cm+ insulation (eg kingspan) directly on top of the polycarbonate (in in close contact).

NO condensation problems - CB will be warm - condensation will be on walls if at all.

if you need to feed fondant over winter use a shallow eke and decent block (4kg+) of fondant.

NO extra ventilation needed for hives with OMF. No open CB holes. No matchsticks over winter.

DOI: my hives have PC CBs all year round. in 40+C summer heat and under 2m of snow.

:.) However, do not leave on frameless box as bait hive. I was called out last September to a 'swarm'. It had already filled a complete super with brood and stores, attached to the crownboard with no hole.
Nightmare getting them out, weather not good enough to do a cut out and stick in frames and bit late in the year for much else.
Was told, not a bait box, just left there as an ornament as had given up beekeeping years before. No entrance block though.

 

[drstitson]

surely in a frameless feral hive a holed CB would be even worse with wild comb both above AND below the CB, probably fixing the roof to the hive.