So when things warm up I plan on making some poly nucs as my next project. I don't plan on changing to poly hives for my full size hives, but I think it'd work great for nucs. I plan on using this stuff for construction.
http://www.menards.com/main/building-materials/insulation/panels/2-foil-faced-insulation-panel/p-1356991-c-5779.htmDouble faced foil. I will use foil tape to cover the rest of the uncovered surfaces. This way I won't have to worry about chewing or uv exposure or even painting. My main questions are about venting these things and entrances.
First I want to touch on entrances. I know there are various things you can do. Upper entrance, lower entrance, or holes drilled in the body. I am hoping that maybe there's an entrance that will cure my venting concerns. I have a few wooden nucs and two have a small lower entrance and two have a 7/8" hole drilled in the just above the center of the nuc. Will a drilled entrance provide enough ventilation for winter? Anybody use an upper entrance for nucs?
Ventilation is related to the entrance, but what does everybody think about venting with lower entrances? I read Dave Cushman's site and it says that they won't need any ventilation. I am pretty sure finski uses some sort of vent. Better to use a small upper entrance or some sort of screened floor? A full screened floor seems a bit drastic, but what about doing some screened holes in the floor? I think some just drill holes in the upper part of the hive body, but I am hesitant to do that.
One last thing and it's about ekes. I run these ekes in my hives that allow for an upper entrance and as a spot to place dry sugar for winter feeding. It basically has a 7/8" hole drilled in the front. A short ways behind the hole I put a piece of wood across which functions as a partition that keeps the entrance clear of sugar. Behind this bar I can fit around 10 lbs of dry sugar. My question about this is can I use my wooden ekes on my poly nucs or does this defeat the purpose of a poly nuc. I could easily make a few for these ply nucs, but I already have some made up. Also could this serve as the sole entrance in the winter and provide enough ventilation?
Thanks for the insight all!