Double nuc

[Ben Little]

Hi i made a double nuc over a week ago and i was wondering if any of you had problems with moisture? i made mine like Mike palmer had in a video, but i don't have a screened bottom, and i don't know if that is going to be a problem or not.
I did drill holes on the opposite ends of the entrances for cross ventillation , but there is no bottom drains , just the entrances. I am a little worried about wintering , since i am new this year and i am trying as many different things as i can .

Thanks
Ben

[Deepsouth]

I don't know how your winters are but in my area they winter great. I found that nucs seem to winter better and build up quicker in the spring than full size hives. But i do live in Louisiana and our winters are pretty mild.

[BeeButler]

Ben, What did you make the D-nuc from, a 10 frame (2 deeps or one?) hive? I'm interested in the comments. I have lots of nuc boxes, and a hive or two that are loaded in the top deep (and now with a lot of brood in the supers (?!?!), and might think about consolidating one into a double nuc if it wouldn't be too disruptive this late - still lots of goldenrod here, though probably peak of post-peak.

[Ben Little]

i made them from regular 10 frame deep boxes , well the only difference is that in the center of the box and did a 1/2 " dado for a divider board . i also put a #8 screen between the divider with holes , so they can share the heat in a cluster. I did it like Mike Palmer , but i changed it a little bit , i also have a deep super on it that i put honey frames in from my mediums, so they have a place to draw comb and cluster , i spaced them with regular deep frames. i put on a queen excluder on the bottom box and the top deep is divided, but i wasn't too concerned about preventing drifting up in the top box, as Mike P says , they don't fight. and that appears correct, so i put on a Fat Bee Man feeder and they are sharing it : )
My main concern is moisture at this point and possibly overcrowding, because i haven't checked them in a little over a week, but they sure do like the feed i use, i like to use Essential oils like FBM and they will clean a foil pan in a day ! So i have 2 5 frame nucs in one box, the frames fit snug, but they do fit, you can compensate by using a thin 1/8 board for a spacer, which i might do next time , it just makes it harder to keep it flush for the queen excluder.

Ben

[BeeButler]

Ah, now I get it. Two nucs, side by side. I was envisioning a 2 story, 5 frame set up with one colony.
I would think as long as you have some top ventilation, as you say you do with the drill holes for each colony, you should be good. Maybe a slab of rigid insulation under the outer cover to reflect some of the heat back inward/downward and dry sugar or other moisture control underneath. Are you near the coast, or away from the wind/moisture?