I was driving home the other day and was thinking of different ways to keep moisture out of hives. Has anyone ever thought of using the little Damp Rid pack to absorb moisture in a hive?? Not sure if it would give off any gasses that would be detrimental to the hive or not? What do you think???
Keeping moisture out of hives?
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I really dont think you want to capture the water that is produced from bees metabolizing all that honey. Someone with the chemistry and math could calculate what it amounts up to. You need to get the moisture containing air outside the hive before it cools to the dew point and condenses. Moisture grabbing salts are ok for a gun case or something like that but once saturated they do nothing further. The bees are continuously producing moisture; gallons of it! You need surface area where the outside air can uptake that moisture.
I am considering to put a plant water absorbing gel bag on top of a quilt box.
The clear gel is non toxic according to the package. The water absorbing ability is
huge. So that might do the trick. But our winter is mild and not much moisture build up
inside the hive either.
The clear gel is non toxic according to the package. The water absorbing ability is
huge. So that might do the trick. But our winter is mild and not much moisture build up
inside the hive either.
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Evaporation is the way I go. Both upper and lower entrances with a well insulated lid. (1-1 1/2" rigid foam) Nothing to absorb moisture and retain it. I have no condesation issues and live in a wet climate.
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Also, Topping the frames with sugar or sugar blocks will put that condensation to good use.
Also, Topping the frames with sugar or sugar blocks will put that condensation to good use.
The problem is that you can't keep moisture out of the hive when the bees are constantly producing it. It's impractical to come up with a solution that will absorb all of the moisture they will create over the winter. What you CAN do is let the moisture out of the hive so it doesn't condense...
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When they are raising brood they need 50 percent humidity. Excess ventilation and dehydration are great for stressing the brood. When there is no brood and the probability of frost is high they do not need moisture.
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I put a popcicle stick under one corner of the lid, works well!
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I have bottom and small top entrance. I use a quilt box with a couple of inches of cedar chips. Above the chips is a generous amount of ventilation, without additional insulation. We get down to about zero several days a year, so it is not particularly severe winter.
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Combien doit mesurer l'entrée supérieure et l'entrée inférieure ?
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Here's how you keep moisture out of hives:
1.Make sure the R value of the insulation on the lid is high enough to prevent humidity inside the box from reaching dew point and condensing on the under side of the lid.
That is all. No need for anything fancy...valadie or quilt or otherwise....2"foamboard will suffice....less as you go south.
Humidity within the hive is a good thing...moisture...not so much. ...People tend to confuse moisture and humidity.
Having icicles form out of your upper entrance is not a sign that your are solving moisture issues...of course there are icicles .....when warm humid air meets cold, condensation forms.... That's physics.
I have closed all upper entrances ...installed broodminder humidity sensors.....double boxes running 84% humidity at the top while the bees are in lower box and 58% in single box configuration.
The lid remains dry as a bone as we have not crossed to dew point.
1.Make sure the R value of the insulation on the lid is high enough to prevent humidity inside the box from reaching dew point and condensing on the under side of the lid.
That is all. No need for anything fancy...valadie or quilt or otherwise....2"foamboard will suffice....less as you go south.
Humidity within the hive is a good thing...moisture...not so much. ...People tend to confuse moisture and humidity.
Having icicles form out of your upper entrance is not a sign that your are solving moisture issues...of course there are icicles .....when warm humid air meets cold, condensation forms.... That's physics.
I have closed all upper entrances ...installed broodminder humidity sensors.....double boxes running 84% humidity at the top while the bees are in lower box and 58% in single box configuration.
The lid remains dry as a bone as we have not crossed to dew point.
Les entrées supérieures et inférieures devraient être d'environ 250 mm dans mon climat.
Around 1" in diameter for both the upper and lower entrances in my climate.
I agree with many here who have stated that what's needed is high R value insulation on top (significantly more than the sides) and only one opening at the bottom. Humidity and moisture are both good because high humidity is hard on the mites and moisture gives thirsty winter bees a much needed drink of water. And as someone stated above, the colony thirst is likely to increase when brood rearing starts and may very well be a limiting factor to brood rearing if moisture is vented out the top, especially if you also have a bottom opening because there's nothing worse than a thru draft not just for bees but for any living animals.
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