View Full Version : Observation Hive Ventilation Question
jbeshearse
11-30-2009, 02:06 PM
I have built a 6 frame OH (2 frames wide by 3 frames deep using medium frames). This hive will be mounted outside at one of my house windows. The back side is covered with a removable Luan panel and Glass. The front side will be glass only. I supplied a top entrance the width of the hive (19 1/8") by 3/8” high. I included a screened bottom area also to mimic a SBB. The cutout for the screening is 2.25” x 15.25”. Additionally I added (3) ¾” ventilation holes on each side of the hive located at an elevation equal to the bottom of the frames. See the Observation hive in the DIY section of beesource, then change it to 2 wide, medium frames, replace bottom entrance with a larger top entrance and a screen on the bottom)
My question is: Is this too much ventilation?
jeb
Swobee
11-30-2009, 03:05 PM
Any means to add a sliding cover for some or all of the vents in case they prove to be too much? Depending on what orientation your window is, they could get overheated or cooled depending on time of year and time of day. It may be necessary to give them more ventilation some times and reduce it at others. I think an internal temp probe or some sort of thermometer would be a nice touch. You can monitor the temps in the brood areas vs. other regions of the hive. As an energy auditor/ consultant, I tend to turn simple things into a lab to gather data for temp differentials, etc. Habits derived from the job. Example: I have a meter on our home's water heater so that I can obtain data any time to tell cost per day, month, etc. of our domestic hot water among other things.
The bees will propolize it to control the ventilation. They are pretty good at controlling their environment.
jbeshearse
12-01-2009, 10:21 AM
Thanks for the replies. I am sure you are right that the bees will manage it as necessary.
jeb
The only issue I have seen is with a north wall entrance on an OB hive. When the north winds are howling, you need to provide a wind break in front of the entrance. I use a 1x6" board a couple of inches out front of the hole.