Does anyone leave these on their hives year around? How about in the colder climates vs warmer climates?
I leave mine on - and open - year 'round. Our winters here in central Indiana usually have several weeks of freezing temps, and often have a few weeks of frigid (under 10 degrees F) temps.
Mine are closed year-round. I use the screen for monitoring mites.
They are nice to have open if you are moving a hive. I moved a hive last week inside my car. I had the screen open on the bottom and had put a screen fastened to the top of the hive body to make sure that the had plenty of ventilation for a 4 hour car ride.
Quote from: indypartridge on June 05, 2009, 08:43:39 AM
I leave mine on - and open - year 'round. Our winters here in central Indiana usually have several weeks of freezing temps, and often have a few weeks of frigid (under 10 degrees F) temps.
I am assuming your bees survive the winters and if so then I should be able to do the same in Arkansas. We have a month or so of off and on freezing weather. I want to prevent moisture buildup and provide ventilation but was/am kind of nervous about leaving them on in the winter.
I only keep them off once the cold breaks in the spring until late fall. Previously I left them off during the winter and had losses. Every time I keep them on during the winter, I have 100% survival coming out of winter.
I tried last year, the winter was just too cold. I was lucky that I caught the hives in time. I had to insulate around the bottoms. I will be using them this summer but will go back to the solid bottoms for the winter. My location is Girard Pa.1 mile south of lake Erie.
I haven't tried screened bottoms yet, but I've gone to a very fine screen on top (much finer than window screen). My telescoping top covers have about a 1" to 1-1/2" overhang all the way around the hive box, so I built a frame for the screen that holds the screen flush to the hive and spaces the top up 1" or so above the screen. Last year I had problems getting the new swarm hives to move into the supers - This year, not only have the overwintered hives moved in readily, but so have the newer ones. I would imagine that a bottom screen would help ventilation even more and help cooling in the summer heat. But I was trying to solve the problem of hot moist air being trapped in the upper hive.
You will find 2 different opinions on this topic as you have already read.
Some say keep open, some say to close in the winter. I have tried both ways and they both have worked for me. You might have to have your own experience and then see how they do.
Most people leave them ON, but have a tray you can put in. Some put it in for winter. I do. If I lived somewhere it wasn't so bitter cold (-16 F is common) and windy (60 mph is a common occurrence) I might consider leaving them out. But I don't, so I put them in for winter, usually. Sometimes I don't get them all done and they sometimes survive anyway.
I got away from using them and going with a 2 entrance BB (2 inch opening on east and west sides with a vented top) and my bee's do so much better coming out of winter with big hives, I didn't relies it but found one SBB still on a hive this spring that I used it on late summer (removal hive) and that was the slowest hive by almost a month coming out of winter BUT WAS LOADED GOING INTO WINTER, that could have been just that hive but I have seen this the last few year and now only like the 2 entrance BB I use now, got the idea from a old man that past away (I didn't know him but talked to his son when I bought the equipment new that was never used, just stored) and he was a pollinator for 40 years, not the kind of pollinators they have today using pallets, he worked using single hive boom to unload his bee's. that just my thinking though and I like it better.
I could swear I just read this post on another forum...... 8-)
Quote from: RZRBCK BEE on June 05, 2009, 08:25:06 AM
Does anyone leave these on their hives year around? How about in the colder climates vs warmer climates?
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?action=search
Search on 'SBB', this has been discussed numerous times. So many times that a lot of folks are tired of typing about it :-\
QuoteMost people leave them ON, but have a tray you can put in. Some put it in for winter.
This is what I meant by keeping them on. I don't take them off for solid bottoms. That's too much effort.
Robo: How do you vent your tops? I have seen many methods, the most common of which being a few holes with hardward cloth over them on the top super. I think a top vent would be helpful and am searching out the various methods.
I leave my SBB's open year round. No problems noted.
Quote from: Pond Creek Farm on June 05, 2009, 11:37:53 PM
Robo: How do you vent your tops? I have seen many methods, the most common of which being a few holes with hardward cloth over them on the top super. I think a top vent would be helpful and am searching out the various methods.
Whoops, I meant TwT :-\
aw its nothing special, I use Walter T Kelly's molded tops (https://products.kelleybees.com/wtkprod/detail.aspx?item=863)that have wedges built in them, and also I have slots cut out of my inter cover (like a top entrance) with the top propped up a little with a couple shims.