Bees, Bats and Beyond
Massachusetts Bee and Critter Removal Services
Assisted Heating
OK, so now that we
have the bees wintering over in good health and plenty of food we try
our best to make them feel happy. So we buy them a forced hot water
home heating system.....No......Not really. But if you want to help
your bees make it into spring in better condition any way to retain
heat within the hive should help. The bees will try to maintain heat
within the cluster but this requires energy and energy comes from the
honey they eat. By possibly locating the hive in a well protected
location as well as insulating, preventing drafts and perhaps applying
some form of heat into the hive should help. Anything we can do to
help the bees stay warm should help them save energy thus saving food.
There are various ways to deliver heat into a hive but before getting involved in heat deliver you should make sure the hive can hold the heat. Usually insulating the hive with tar paper could suffice. Just how much insulation depends on how much time and money one has to invest in the little critters.
There are various ways to deliver heat into a hive but before getting involved in heat deliver you should make sure the hive can hold the heat. Usually insulating the hive with tar paper could suffice. Just how much insulation depends on how much time and money one has to invest in the little critters.
In the following pictures I will try to show the construction and installation of a "heat-tape" tray which I use to deliver heat through the bottom of my hives.
Be advised that any of the following discussions and explanations on this page are for informational purposes only. The use and installation of heat-tapes or any other electrical devices could be hazardous if not installed correctly. The possibilities of allowing the instrument to get wet or get chewed up by rodents and/or other animals could affect the use of the product and could become dangerous. If you decide to install any of these devices do so at your own risk. The author of this web page takes no responsibility for any damages or injuries sustained through the setup and use of these products.
I would also suggest that you read the instruction manuals for each device and pay attention to their warning labels.
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The following picture shows a simple galvanized wire tray which holds the heat tape and slides directly through the hive's front bottom entrance. After inserting the heat-tape tray into the hive and on top of the bottom board I then close the front entrance with an entrance reducer/mouse guard combination board. I am using this design
at present on my old SBB's. The new design of SBB will have its own
heat-tape tray built into it and will slide from behind the hive and underneath the top screen.
In the above picture you can see two 90 deg. pieces of curved electrical conduit on either side of the entrance. I am presently using this system on three of my hives to deliver one continuous heat-tape from hive to hive. This allows me to use only one controller for all three hives.
I have two types of controllers. The orange one you see pictured above is an older model I had for some years now and it was made by EASYHEAT. It puts out 3 Watts of power per linear foot. The other model I recently purchased is the Frostex made by TYCO. This model has a built-in "test & reset" button.
