To level or not to level.....

[Nonprophet]

Ok, going on the assumption there are no stupid questions for newbees...... :-D

I got my package from Glory Bee, nice local folks who've been beeking for many years now and helping lots of people get started. When I went to pick up my package, they did a demo on installing a package and one of the things he mentioned was that in order to keep moisture from building up in the hives that you should elevate the rear of the bottom deep 2". Here in the Eugene area we DO get a lot of liquid sunshine, but when I went to set up my hive I just couldn't bring myself to leave the rear jacked up 2 full inches--it just seemed/looked weird. So, I compromised some by putting 3/4" cedar blocks under each corner. In looking at dozens and dozens of pics of other people's hives I've never seen any tilted forward......so, I'm wondering what do folks think about this?

My girls are doing fine--they're building out lots of comb and I watched them today with binoculars and they're busy bringing in TONS of pollen on their legs! It's pretty rewarding to go over to some nearby apple tree blooms and see the girls busy gathering nectar....


NP

[Anybrew]

Hey there, all my Hives are tilted forward to drain moisture and to stop rain entering the Hives and laying on the bottom board.  The Bee's don't mind at all.

Cheers
Steve

[BlueBee]

2" seems excessively over engineered to me.  But some beeks like to over engineer  ;)

Mine are no more than 1/2" tilted forward by design.  As they sink in the mudd, things change over time.

[Joe D]

Most all mine have SBB's and are set up level.  I also have my hives under a roof, new and old yard.  I know lots say they need to be in full sun.  It makes it a little cooler in the summer and southern Miss gets pretty warm.




Joe

[buzzbee]

2 incches is probably overkill. You should be ok with what you have.

[tefer2]

I have mine tilted 3/4 of an inch.

[Michael Bush]

If I tilted them 2" they would fall over when I put the eighth or ninth box on...  even 3/4" is pushing it.  1/4" is plenty.

[Simon]

If you are building a concrete path or deck and you want the water to run off, all you need to is give the surface 5 degrees of fall.  That's what you can use the second line around the bubble in your spirit level for.  Mr Bush's suggestion of 1/4" would be pretty close to 5 degrees of fall and therefore should be near enough to perfect.  You don't want to tempt fate too much and have one of your hives fall over ...it makes a mess, the girls really hate it and they will tell you so.  :shock:

Simon

[Moots]

If you are building a concrete path or deck and you want the water to run off, all you need to is give the surface 5 degrees of fall.  That's what you can use the second line around the bubble in your spirit level for.  Mr Bush's suggestion of 1/4" would be pretty close to 5 degrees of fall and therefore should be near enough to perfect.  You don't want to tempt fate too much and have one of your hives fall over ...it makes a mess, the girls really hate it and they will tell you so.  :shock:

Simon

Simon,
Had no idea what that second line on a level was there for...Never gave it much thought I guess...thanks for the education.   :)

[Sunnyboy2]

my hives are level, but we get little rain.  It seems that a 2" rear elevation may cause problems with comb building as the bees festoon while building comb.  this may be more of a worry if one is foundation less.
I hope i can get to 8 or 9 high Mr. Bush.

[Kathyp]

tip a bit.  never measured how far mine are tipped.  not much.  whatever amount the stick i stuck under there made it.   :-D

not only do we get the rain, but we have long periods of it just being damp.  the inside of the hive will have some moisture, the top gets some, the sides....the more you can get to roll down an drain rather than drip down, the better off you'll be.

[Bees In Miami]

I tilt just enough so there is enough of an angle that rain doesn't puddle on the hive entrance.  No mathematics involved, just whatever I have handy as a prop.  Lately I have been using floor tile left over from a new floor, so less than half an inch difference from front to back. Enjoy your new bees!  (Curious to know, why binoculars?   :?) 

[Nonprophet]

(Curious to know, why binoculars?   :?)  

Lol, well, I wanted to see if they are bringing pollen in on their legs or not. I don't want to bother them too much, but when I stand back a few feet from the hive I can't see if they have pollen or not, so, I set up a chair about 10' from the hive entrance (off to the side a little) and then I could watch them up close flying in an out. It was quite entertaining watching them--sometimes they're not the best of pilots! lol! Also, by watching them through the binos it was very interesting to see the wide diversity of pollen colors they had collected--anything from beige, to bright orange, yellow, gold, and pink/purple. I don't think I would have been able to catch all that without the binos........

NP

[Bees In Miami]

LOL...Ok Nonprophet!   :laugh:  One thing that has worked for me spotting the pollen going in is to focus on the bees once they hit the shadow of the hive box.  The pollen stands out more as they hit the shade.  I get down on my haunches a few feet from the hive entrance to watch for the pollen.  But, now that I think about it, a chair and some binos sounds a lot more comfortable!   :laugh:  Have fun with the girls!! 

[fshrgy99]

How about a chair, binoculars, glass of wine, cheese and crackers, a good book ... 'honey could you bring out the chips ... honey?

[Nature Coast Beek]

All my hives are pretty much level. I also have foundation-less frames in the mix. I have no real issues with rain getting inside the hives, but if there's bee a significant rain event (tropical storm/cane) I simply slip a shims under the rear edge of the hive where it sits on the stand.

[dfizer]

I just built an 8' X 8' structure with 2 X 6s as the frame rests.  I have the inner ones 1 inch higher than the other ones since the hives face out.  If I had to do it all over again I'd probably go with a half inch or maybe 3/4's of an inch.  I'm certain that some amount of pitch forward will help keep water out especially when the rain and wind comes from the front of the hive. 

David

I am headed out to the bee yard and I'll take a pic to post... more later!

[dfizer]

I just built an 8' X 8' structure with 2 X 6s as the frame rests.  I have the inner ones 1 inch higher than the other ones since the hives face out.  If I had to do it all over again I'd probably go with a half inch or maybe 3/4's of an inch.  I'm certain that some amount of pitch forward will help keep water out especially when the rain and wind comes from the front of the hive. 

David

I am headed out to the bee yard and I'll take a pic to post... more later!