Need advice: preparing hive for package (ventilation)

1601 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Michael Bush, May 15, 2014

Jamie D

Discussion Starter · May 13, 2014 (Edited)

It is unclear to me exactly where I need to put more holes, if any. Here is the hive I have and what I've done so far is just 3 holes in the front:

Do I need to drill into the back?

See less See more

Save

1 - 6 of 6 Posts

stan.vick

· #2 · May 13, 2014

We all do things differently, but you need some ventilation in or close to the bottom and ventilation as high as you can get, your box seems to have it more in the middle.

Save

Jamie D

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 15, 2014

Thanks Stan. Should I put another hole on the cover, on the gable?

Save

JakeDatc

· #4 · May 15, 2014

I'd put one top left to make it all symmetrical and call it a day

we only have 3 holes vertical down the middle (along the lines of your disc) , they beard on really warm days but that's what they do.

what you could do is put some 2" foam insulation in the roof cavity to regulate that a bit, winter and summer.

Save

stan.vick

· #5 · May 15, 2014

Jamie D said:
Thanks Stan. Should I put another hole on the cover, on the gable?

The reason I say " as low as possible and as high as possible " Is because ( JMO ) when the bees are curing the honey they fan the dry air over the nectar where it picks up moister and becomes heavier, it will then fall to the bottom, if you have a bottom vent or screen it exits the hive, in doing so it creates a vacuum which pulls the dry air inside hopefully from the top so it doesn't have to be redirected by the bees. Where you actually place the vents are your decision, people have them all over the place. On my TBH I now place my entrances ( four 3/4 holes ) over my hand holds and just under my cover, the top of the hand holds are the landing board, I have partially screened bottoms.

Save

Michael Bush

· #6 · May 15, 2014

In Huber's New Observations Upon Bees, there is a chapter on ventilation that every beekeeper should read. Ventilation is neither as complicated nor as simple as you might expect. Bees accomplish a lot with only one small opening and often accomplish less with multiple openings.

"Fourth Experiment. Same as Third, But Two Candles.
I wished to see whether my ventilator would provide enough air for two lighted candles. They burnt for 15 minutes and then went out together. In another test where the mill had not been started they burned for 3 minutes only.

"Fifth Experiment. Increase in Number of Openings Decreased Actual Ventilation.
We tried increasing the number of openings in the side of the box, but were not successful. One of the two candles went out at the end of 8 minutes. The other kept alight as long as the ventilator was in motion. I had therefore not obtained a stronger current by multiplying the openings.

"These experiments show that in a place with an opening only on one side, air can renew itself when there is some mechanical cause tending to displace it, and this seems to confirm our conjectures on the effect which the fanning of bees has on the hive."--Huber's New Observations on Bees Volume II Chapter 8

http://bushfarms.com/huber.htm

See less See more

Save

1 - 6 of 6 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month