Well Insulated Hives 01 24 2023

Whether you are using vertical or horizontal hives, don't skip this important feature many beekeepers are not using to keep their bees healthy and happy.
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[@Swarmstead]

Very good points. Up here in Pennsylvania I only insulate under the lid, with pretty good results.

[@rossmillard9804]

Why not just have the foam lid slide down over the box? Double the foam on top to prevent condensation and have a flat wood lid inside. Much simpler and will stay on in bad weather. Also, unprocessed wool is much lower in r-value. You're quoting wool batt numbers. Love where you are going with this!!

[@garyharp3729]

Way to Go Enjoy Beekeeping! I just ran across your channel tonight and I am always pleased to see fellow beekeepers making a point for insulating hives. Most of beekeeping culture teaches commercial style beekeeping which is geared toward what is easiest for the beekeeper and beekeeping supply resources with very little regard for what is best for our bees. Good on you for trying to do right by the bees and teaching new beeks a better path. In our supply stores in Montana 2" EXP is actually 2" but if beeks accidently add more insulation it won't hurt a thing. Cheers!

[@thornhedge9639]

A couple of questions: 1) you use your swarm traps as permanent housing for the trapped bee's? Not to small? 2) My understanding was that Polystyrene does not breath, and is therefore not suitable as an insulation layer around bee hives because it retains too much moisture; is this incorrect? Thank you for reminding me I need to get on to trap building soon. Love your content!

[@idahopotato5837]

Vino Farms on YT finds that they can mitigate the moisture themselves.

[@evafredriksson-lidsle4909]

I know a beekeeper who has all his boxes made out of only polystyrene. Bees survive the northern winters just fine and do well all year 😊

[@SeedFiddler-kp4eg]

From SE Washington State; a beekeeper here told me: a. Use 2" Rigid Foamboard all around your hive. b. Have only ONE small entrance/exit hole. NO flow-through ventilation. c. This set-up keeps the bees warmer. d; When the bees are warmer, they don't eat nearly as much. e. When they don't eat as much, they don't create as much condensation. Last winter we got down to 9 below zero. The lowest temp he recorded in his hives was 47 degrees. No condensation problem. No hive loss.

[@Fattu420]

Will be waiting for ur scientific lessons😊.. lucky i found ur channel.

[@theeclecticlife]

Nice video, I’m building my first hive! I live in Woodstock ga. I’ll Bee watching some of your videos!

[@donyork8641]

Great suggestions! Thank you!

[@jasong3347]

Happy you started posting again. Love your videos.

[@BrianCooper901]

Looks good. I see a lot of Vinofarm ideas in here as well. The styrofoam is not nominal like 2x4's. They make 2" insulation it'll have the 250 number on it instead of 150. Not sure if it makes that much difference though. Polyiso gets you R9.3 in 1.5" and includes a radiant barrier on some products.

[@bradwamsley3465]

Great video, just subscribed to your channel.

[@sonofthunder.]

like the sleeve ,tray ive seen fred dunns 5 frame nuc insulated top sleeve cover,im leaning toward just that basically a telescoping cover of poly styrene with deeper sides,just like your sleeve,keeps the dew point below the cluster in torpor,...i like the starter strip too on those deep frames,

[@alexayounginsong2641]

When wood becomes rotten, it generates heat, compost heat at constant 60 C (Celsius). Perhaps bees get benefit those heat, too especially during the winter.

[@maurorossi8708]

whoah!. I am amazed. 5000 km distance, old beekeeper in Atlanta making research and new beekeeper, in the european Alps optimizing house passive insulation for a living that reach almost the same conclusion. I am diy very well insulated lazutin either horizontal or vertical here.( but dadant. large not langstroth large..). thank you for the lime TIP. In exchange, I will highlight two small mistake: I dont know where you found the info but... its not correct1) the split betweenthe heat loss top / wall/bottom is NOT what you claim to be . I run the software that simulated heat house dispersion on a beehive.... and the other is on your wood construction: if you want a stable humidity you have to fully copy the nature. The wood grain(vein?) MUST go from down to up not from left to right! you can easily correct it on your next building. Last what you say about sheep wool is correct ONLY if the density of the wool is the one that was tested Hand pressing the wool doesnt reach the level needed but it will let the humidity move like the wood. So, sleeve can be easily done by 4 mm plywood box with sheep wool inside if you want to go full natural and easy to paint

[@Peter-od7op]

Im in va and my hives in shad had the most hive beetles.

[@zacharymagee9197]

The wood will worp. Check our Vino farms bee barn.

[@SeedFiddler-kp4eg]

Are you able to divulge what this herbal supplement is? Thank you for your detailed, simple insulation method is.

[@sanpoilstudio]

have you ever recorded the temp and humidity inside your bee hive , I'm wondering how you deal with humidity in the hive. I find humidity the worse problem.

[@apismnua8388]

Автору повага 🤝🇺🇦👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@bradbrown2168]

I built a Layens hive I have 2” dead space on the long sides. Suggestion for long term insulation the breathes. Straw? Attic fill? Fiberglass? Don’t want dampness setting in.

[@rugerdogg5316]

Why is the space under the frames so large in the layens hive. I'm making a horizontal hive for langstroth frames should I make the gap larger?

[@Dlgeis]

I’m going to blow your mind. Take an infrared thermometer outside on a clear night (no clouds) point it to the sky and you will see crazy low temperatures, think 90F degrees below ambient. Space is absolute zero. At night time with a clear sky an uninsulated box looses an amazing amount of heat from its top surface. You are insulating the top surface to prevent that heat loss. You can point the infrared thermometer 10 degrees to the side of the sun on a 100f day and you will read 30f, the difference is that on a sunny day the incoming solar radiant heat is much greater. Start thinking in terms of radiant transfer rather than convective heat transfer and you will be Farr ahead of most.

[@Peter-od7op]

I tried hive beetle guard. Had no luck watched the beetle go rt in. Just what i saw.

[@bradbrown2168]

What is your strategy for water?

[@MrHighjumper83]

Curious how you would harvest honey with the Lazutin frames?

[@szcze]

I make them by connecting two halves, each of the size of a Langstroth deep frame. Note that the bottom part is not a real frame, it does not have a top bar, but it has a thin horizontal bar somewhere in the middle so that it does not fall apart and keeps its shape. The bees still can build continuous comb with this bar. Similarly, the top half does not have a bottom bar, but also has a thin bar in the middle. I cut the comb horizontally in the middle, where the two halves connect, and detach one half from the other to extract honey from them. HTH.

[@sledmaker02]

I like the idea of the Lazutin frames, how would you replace the old wax and honey from such frames?

[@groachslayer]

Wool is breathable, which is good to reduce condensation and humidity. But then you cover it with poly foam?

[@kathyhathaway8823]

I have a few questions about all this . What is your reasons for raising bees , (1) Honey, queens , the sale of Nucs or packages???. (2).How many colonies have you lost to cold weather??. (3) How much trouble have you had with those killer hornets you were talking about an what kind of traps do you use to trap them . ??? (4) How long have you been keeping bees an how many colonies do have .???. Just a side note to all new bee keepers a little something to help you and your money out . I do not care what kind of hive you want . Try to keep all your hive uniform to the most part 10 frame, 8 frame , Nucs, yes if your desire is a 8 or a 10 for your main hives yes you will need some nucs boxes for emergency colonies but just to help out to keep the cost down so thing will interchange with each other. I run all 8 frames boxes . I run deep brood boxes and medium supers boxes that way all my supers will interchange . THANKS

[@ronnie7701]

Very curious about ventilation.

[@sonofthunder.]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/qoe2q4Wjo7OWgJosi=OFB-cwsRlCWgYDRe

[@lambbrookfarm4528]

Long time no hear, glad you posted. Here in central New Hampshire it's snowing again. close to 24" on the ground. My bees are in insulated Layens hives, humming away.

[@brianbennett4374]

We're do you get those entrance from ? I Enjoy your videos. Thanks

[@91932net]

Dear sir, curious what supplement worked for ur hernia?

[@BAlanParker]

Hello. I am building an insulated hive. I don't like the frames being so close to the entrance. I live in Michigan. I am concerned about cold air blowing in through the entrance. What would happen if I added a spacer below the brood box and left a 12" empty space below the frames to get them up away from the entrance?

[@billmeek4777]

The bees will fill it with comb ,, then you have a mess ,, instead put some kind of wind Break close to entrance but don't block it tight , leave 2 inches

[@johnwilson3866]

Where can I buy lamb's wool? I googled it but I get sketchy web sites.

[@user-zt9mq5mx7b]

Horizontalhives.com. has it

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Condensation happens when warm moisture air meets cool air. Pushing the condensation zone towards the entrance and floor is the best practice. Make sure you have a floor vent and drain. So condensation don't become a block of ice making inside of the hive cooler.

[@user-zt9mq5mx7b]

If he's insulating the bottom as well, then, it would be even all the way around and no condensation. He has R 7.5 for the entire hive with the top at 23. Dr. Leo speaks of dessicant packs in the the bottom and Gene speaks of peat moss.

[@markeggenberger4984]

Glad to see you back in action, Gene! Sorry to hear of your injury, but glad you are on the mends. Looking forward to future videos!

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Great info about bee insulation About that bottom cultures some English boys can be informative . Like chandler who is famous on this suspect

[@ConcreteCaptain]

So glad to see you back on here, not to awful many natural beekeepers putting out content and I enjoy yours very much. I honestly am getting tired of dealing with my langstroth hives, they are just to much of a pain to get ready for our cold winters and even then they don't hold up like my Layens hives do. Plan on building some more layens hives this winter and retiring most of my langstroth equipment. Best wishes and looking forward to more videos.

[@Peter-od7op]

Most trees dont have upper vents

[@kevinseay3727]

Very innovative Gene. Good to see you! Thanks for the info.

[@eastsussexbeesandwildlife5801]

That was really helpful, thank you so much. Best wishes from your friends in the UK.

[@jkevincoffin]

Interesting concepts. I love your science experiments with the bees. I would love to have a video or two more to get your thoughts on making splits in your layens hives; whats worked best for you etc. thanks for all you do, i own a couple of your venmo beeking videos

[@Steve-pf2ph]

Thanks, good to see you back!

[@snvm69]

What about just a log

[@johnmiglautsch4587]

Yes, where have you been - Great to see you again :)

[@garybrohard3144]

Thank you for this information. I follow your train of thought. That is why I like the layens hives and the bee barn the is shown on Vino Farms channel. Have you tried coconut core in the bottom versus moss?

[@tfritz92]

Great video!

[@timothymitchell8310]

Oh! I forgot to ask. Will this be a hive just for bees without harvesting honey? Glad to hear that you are well.

[@heavymechanic2]

Last December the brutal cold winds froze lots of water pipes and my bees came through the storms like little troopers. I have a feeder box on top and I put in R-11 Fiberglass much like your top hat. The sides get no insulation unless the colony is kinda weak and those get a R-5 wrap. Some of my hives just get a piece of poly insulation board under the top cover, this includes NUC boxes.. Some people over engineer their beehive such as the bee-barn Vino developed.

[@almostagardener4549]

I have always enjoyed your videos glad to see you back. I had a question until the end of your video I was wondering if you were planning to super your new hive design and you answered it at the end of the video it sounds to me you are because the bottom box would be like a single brood box and it would be hard to harvest honey for the frames. I personally have four Layens hive three with bees and plan to build more.

[@deannawalts7901]

Nice to see you. You are one of my favorite beekeepers! I enjoy your style and I learn lots. I'm hoping to start up this spring 2023 and I like the Layens Hive. I've watched a lot of Dr. Leo and have read both recommended books. I know you have a layens hives, are you still happy with them? Just curious because you are using Lazutin frames here today. Thoughts and your comments greatly appreciated 🙏

[@joshuawaldner6880]

My styrofoam I get is 2 1/8 and they advertise it r10 and I use 4” in the cover

[@joshuawaldner6880]

Welcome back

[@andrewlay88]

Glad to see you back sir! Really enjoy your style and videos.

[@williamhass3205]

I always find your videos informative, however I question your use of Lazutin frames. I know you switched and endorse the Layens horizonal hive and wonder why you are now switching to the Lazutin hive. The Lazutin appears nothing more than an extra-large Langstroth frame. What is the benefit of Lazutin swarm trap over the Layens hive besides size?

[@bowlerguy219]

Glad you’re back Gene. I’ve missed your content and was worried something real bad happened to you. Thanks for all you do.

[@beebob1279]

Nice presentation. I've seen similar designs for Langstroth's and the beekeepers have had some issues with moisture warping the wood that's inside. I hope you will address this after a full season of using the insulation. Also, even painting this insulation will it keep from absorbing water? The sun and its affect on the styrofoam may be an issue. Let us know how that worked out after a year using this set up. Again, nice presentation. I'm enjoying your videos. My book keeping bees with a small has just arrived and I'm getting ready to begin reading it. The other two books on this style hive haven't arrived just yet.

[@timothymitchell8310]

It is really good to see and hear ya! Would creating that natural bottom also cause the bottom of the hive to rot? Please tell me your thoughts and really good to to see your Chanel.

[@postmanpatmgk]

Hello Gene and good to see you are back. Regarding insulating the hive and reducing the weight I strongly suggest checking out the work of Jim at Vino Farm. Here is a KZbin link, (31 minutes video) kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHPEY3p3itl3l8k What he has done is built-in all the insulation features you mentioned by building the hive out of 100% polystyrene. He has had really good results with fully insulated hives with zero ventilation. Like you, he tries to mimic the hollow tree environment for the benefit of the bees. It's starting to look like if Jim is correct, then we won't be using too much timber for our bee hives in the future. By the way since I rarely comment on videos I will include a link to another You Tube video you may find interesting. It's regarding chemical free varroa HEAT treatment that is supposing 100% effective. The video was made by Andy an Irish bee keeper using a bee sauna that is a method used in Eastern Europe that kills the varroa mite using heat. The mite dies when the temperature is 45 degrees Celsius, bees can tolerate up to 48 degrees Celsius. He puts the whole colony in a mesh drum and places them in his "bee sauna" at 47 degrees for ten minutes and all the mites are dead. He says there is no bad effect on his bees, in fact they are very healthy in Springtime and do better than the colonies that haven't been through the bee sauna. The video is 16 minutes long and the link is below. Good health to you in 2023, all the best, M.... kzbin.info/www/bejne/oJWTdGxue7Wne7M

[@LaurenAdams-cp3kn]

Well done, watching my hives inflammation fade day after day until they completely vanished was such a relief, I went with what I pointed out and within the first 10 days or so the urticaria/angioedema was barely visible! I just go'ogled the latest by Shane Zormander and after 20 days my skin has never been healthier!