Yes I’ve been looking at Leo’s designs too and saw his vent hole, but I thought that for water to drain out, a centre hole is not ideal because water can still pool on one side, or corner. I think the spaced planks is really the best solution.
Yep - I found that out the hard way in my first Long Hive build - I installed a central strip of mesh, as I'd had a 'central strip' in my former KTBH. Tunnel vision. Soon realised that error.
Change of subject - from your experience did you find that long hives produce the same, or less honey compared to a similar size vertical hive? I’m reading that they might produce less, not that it is a deal breaker for me.
Depends how they're run. If you run them in a more-or-less 'leave alone' mode, perhaps just expanding the brood nest from time to time, then they probably produce less - but - if you follow D.L. Adair's method: his so-called "New Idea" (which was a system of management, NOT a Long Hive - although he used a Long Hive to demonstrate it - thus most people at that time thought the "New Idea" and the "Long Hive" were one and the same), the harvest can be very high. Doolittle pulled over a quarter of a ton of extracted honey from one Long Hive run on Adair's principle.
In essence, Adair's method was - once the colony had enlarged prior to the main flow - to then reverse the position of the brood nest from being at the front of the hive, to being right at the back. By doing that, the foragers would then store honey in combs at the front, to which they had immediate access, rather than nectar needing to be carried right through the hive to stores combs at the back.
My plan at this stage is to not use a queen excluder, so not sure whether that might make the brood nest spread out a bit further, reducing the amount of honey frames that can be extracted.
The main problem faced by all Long Hive beekeepers is the formation of a honey barrier immediately adjacent to the brood nest. This is formed because the bees want a supply of honey and pollen as close as possible to where they are raising brood. Unfortunately the queen will not willingly cross such a comb, as she's looking for places in which to lay - so the brood-nest size is effectively limited to whatever size it happens to be when that first adjacent stores comb is established.
So - there are two ways around this (both requiring beekeeper management) - the first is to move the honey barrier further away, and insert a new frame or comb in it's place at the side of the brood nest. If you can be absolutely sure of fine weather conditions, then that frame or comb can be inserted directly
into the brood nest - but this risks chilling the brood if the temperatures should suddenly drop. So - additions to the
side of the brood-nest are always safer.
The second method is that of Adair - already mentioned - to completely remove and so 'disconnect' the brood nest from the stores combs.
BTW - if you ever want to use a QX in a Long Hive, all that's necessary is to insert a dummy frame in the appropriate position, ensuring that there's a gap of a couple of inches at the bottom. The Bienenkiste Beehive has such a QX in place permanently.
'best
LJ
