Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: bee-nuts on September 24, 2011, 11:18:19 pm
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Im sick and tired of never having enough inner covers. Is it just me or am I lazy? Insulation on the top of hive is normal practice in the north for winter. I would like simpler hive covers, ones that allow hives to be side by side, and in one piece. I still want the bee space at top, want them insulated, etc. Ive been tossing ideas around in my head but im sure someone has already done what im thinking of which is something like a commercial cover, with bee space and a couple inches of foam in it.
Anyone have any pics or something like this that has already evolved in your yard so I dont have to change plans three times to get something I like.
? TY
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This is my cover:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopentrance.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopentrance.htm)
I just put a piece of styrofoam on top with a brick on top of the styrofoam for winter. It is simple gives me top entrances and I can put all my hives together for winter as it does not protrude at all on any side. It blows off less because of no overhang.
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I should have added I mean for this to be a year round cover. Insulation should work well in the summer too. I have heard one negative effect of a commercial cover is when it get real hot the comb directly under the cover can melt. So I just thought why not just have a permanent insulated cover. One less thing to worry about come winter.
I think just making sides like a bottom board with the groove to make a bee space rim, then pack in a piece of foam and then cover that with plywood and then paint well or aluminum.
Just wondering what others have done.
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>I should have added I mean for this to be a year round cover. Insulation should work well in the summer too.
You can leave it on if you like. I don't.
> I have heard one negative effect of a commercial cover is when it get real hot the comb directly under the cover can melt.
Never had that problem.
> So I just thought why not just have a permanent insulated cover. One less thing to worry about come winter.
Glue the foam on the wood, add another sheet of plywood on top of that. If it makes you happy. I'm too cheap and lazy to go to that much work.
>I think just making sides like a bottom board with the groove to make a bee space rim, then pack in a piece of foam and then cover that with plywood and then paint well or aluminum.
Too complicated for no return IMO.
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">I think just making sides like a bottom board with the groove to make a bee space rim, then pack in a piece of foam and then cover that with plywood and then paint well or aluminum.
Too complicated for no return IMO."
Agreed! A simple plywood and foam sandwich would be better.
But I would rather not have the ugly foam exposed on sides. So I think I might build a cover that is essentially a telescoping cover built 19-7/8 by 16-1/4 (no longer telescoping) and put foam inside it then put a thin piece of plywood over that to keep bees from chewing on the foam and figure it out so you end up with correct bee space over top bars. Then use short bungy cord hooked to hand holds to hold it on instead of rocks. Im sick of rocks anyway.
A square hive or hives put together like this would be much easier to wrap come winter too,
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The bees won't chew on the foam on the outside of the hive.
Here's a clip:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#topclip (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#topclip)
http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Clip.jpg (http://www.bushfarms.com/images/Clip.jpg)
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The bees won't chew on the foam on the outside of the hive.
I would be in a whole heap of trouble if they did :-D
I’m sick of rocks
I wonder if anybody has ever used those electromagnet door locks like you see at work to hold down their covers? One plate of ferrous metal and one plate with an electromagnet.
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I tried the screen door hooks. But the clip was easier and didn't require a matching piece on the box.
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I generally use 75 mm (3") polystyrene sandwich for the lids for my boxes. This is polystyrene between two sheets of colourbond steel. You can get these from coolromm manufacturers as scrap.
My bees are in Perth Western Australia. Winters very mild, can get down to 5 Degree C and up to 40 deg C in summer.