Our Small Scale Wintering Shed

[@SpiritualButNotReligious]

Thanks for the video! I just thinking about that for the future.

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

It doesn't need to be big, just needs to work

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Would a dehumidifier work ?

[@castlegroundsapiary5286]

Very cool. We are looking at making a space in our small bee shed for overwintering some nucs. Did your setup work well?

[@beekeepingniharingpukyutan3145]

Cool video and thanks for sharing bro

[@gregstewart2171]

Have a couple red bulbs inside, the bees don't fly as they do with the white lights.

[@stevemosloff323]

Verey nice to see. can you do something on what you are doing to winter your queens? also if you have tried things that have failed. We see alot of things that go write but not much on the things that go wrong. Thanks for the good info.

[@GrahamBartle]

How cold can it be outside before you have to supplement heat? I deal with 2 weeks of -40ç on average. Wondering if this would work for me?

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

That will be very dependent on the hive to area ratio, I think the heater kicked in at around -20 for our shed.

[@gwc3721]

Do you have supplemental heat?

[@buzz1356]

looks good

[@raulsantos6697]

Where are you located Cheers from toronto

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

South of Winnipeg, thanks for watching

[@gileshoney5796]

ah, very awesome! I am in the planning phase of one of these myself. I am hoping to build something that hold about 25 hives.

[@gileshoney5796]

@@BeekeepingInCanada The one I plan on using next year isn't much bigger. Hopefully, I have time this summer to insulate it and add some exhaust fans.

[@paulgroth5414]

I have about 70 colonies , 10 in the double nucs, rest are singles with a med, thinking of constructing a shed , 10 x 16x 8tall. Bees are mite free, I just feel that wintering indoors for a few months may work out , I am near lansing Michigan. Any suggestions?

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

I don't know much about weather in Michigan, but I imagine the lake effect can give you some fairly mild days in winter. We have the advantage?.... of stupidly cold constantly below freezing winters. If there are temperature swings the concern then becomes an ability to cool the colonies while also providing fresh air when your outdoor temperatures are above those that you want to hold in the shed.

[@maisygirl07]

Hi do you have to feed the bees all winter

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

They are fed heavily just before winter, to have enough stores by mid October to last through the winter without feeding.

[@johnbeese589]

Do you feel a need to run your system to expel CO2 when the controller doesn't require a temp or humidity change? Such as putting the fan on a timer?

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

Hi John, studies have shown that bees can withstand incredibly high CO2 levels. That said I think there is value in access to fresh air so they can regulate their cluster CO2 level in the way they prefer. I have upgraded my shed, and one of the items I have my electrician looking into for me is CO2 regulated idle control rather than a continuous exchange of air, this should save electricity costs as the continuous idle is not necessary on really cold days when we actually use supplemental floor heat.

[@johnbeese589]

@@BeekeepingInCanada so this is my first year using a shed. 16x7x7 refer trailer. I have 16 5f nucs and 20 10f colonies inside. Been two days with bees inside and my fan hasn't turned on for temperature regulation. Every hour and half I have a time clock run my fan for 15min. The shed has held at 32-33f with temperature outside 23-32f. I may purchase a CO2 reader and see how far apart I can set the time clock. I wasn't expecting to need heat but it doesn't appear what I have inside is going to get the shed up to 40f. And it's not cold yet.

[@johnbeese589]

That CO2 idle control sounds like the perfect solution. If you end up finding one and think of it, I'd like to check it out.

[@rayjohnson8329]

How long have you been indoor wintering?

[@aribabasi]

Hello there. Is the light always on?

[@BeekeepingInCanada]

No they are always off, no light in the shed.

[@Allan79789]

When you are running double nucs, how many frames per side and what material do you use for the divider?

[@Allan79789]

@@BeekeepingInCanada Cool, thanks. Great information. I am trying to decide between double Nuc boxes and 6 frame nucs. From whom do you buy your hive boxes or do you make them completely yourself. Do you do your wax dipping yourself as well?