[Ben Brewcat]

Here's a pic of my current setup: two entrances, and the top box is a Tarheit ventilation box filled with insulation (the upper entrance is just below a fixed inner cover with hardware-cloth-sealed feeder hole in the middle). It does get pretty windy here, not extremely cold for extended periods but certainly extended freezes.

Are these two entrances too much airflow for a windy area? And if so, should I close off the lower one?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/Brewcat/winterventilation.jpg

 

[beecron]

What type of bottom board do you use? Is it screened or solid? Also, I'm curious about the shallow (or medium) on the bottom of the setup. If you know already that it will be exposed to windy conditions, protect it with shrubbery, or some other form of make-shift wind protection so that it doesn't take direct shots. Here in Ohio we have to worry about direct shots of northerly winds and protect from those. I don't know what your worst winter winds are, but protect from them.

 

[MountainCamp]

I wrap my hives with felt paper for wind protection, but more for solar gain. The wind will force air into holes / gaps in surfaces that it hits.
Wind infiltration and thermal cycle ventilation are two different forces.
Ventilation in a hive has a number of governing factors. For warm moist air to exit the hive above, cooler air must be drawn in from below. This thermal cycle pulls cooler air to the cluster where it is warmed and rises.
Too much moisture that can condense and fail back on to the cluster is one of the major problems in winter. I have never lost a hive to too much ventilation, but I have to too much moisture.

[ November 05, 2005, 07:08 PM: Message edited by: MountainCamp ]

 

[Ben Brewcat]

It's a screened bottom with the derbris board in place; it would nonetheless allow a small amount of air in I'm sure. That shallow was due to the queen getting trapped above an excluder for a time, so I put that heavily brooded shallow under there to hatch out and let the broodnest move up, up and away.

I understand the thermal cycle difference (I sound like a shampoo commercial)... my fear is I'm overdoing it to the point that the hive'll cool excessively (way beyond what's indicated to allow moisture to escape). I did use "human propolis" (clear duct tape) around where the ventilation box sits on the top deep as it sits poorly with significant cracks.

 

[Pat Brady]

Ben I think you will be ok with just one of those holes for ventilation, just enough to let the moist air escape. like Mountiancamp I use felt paper (roofing paper ) to wrap my hives.