Built Slotted Rack Today

[FatherMichael]

Want to give my bees the best (children are all grown and on their own  ); so, built a slotted rack today for the only hive I have right now, an 8 frame garden hive in the back yard made of Eastern Red Cedar.

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[Ben Framed]

Your craftsmanship looks like fine work. Will you briefly describe the use or purpose of a slotted rack?
Thanks,
Phillip

[FatherMichael]

Your craftsmanship looks like fine work. Will you briefly describe the use or purpose of a slotted rack?
Thanks,
Phillip

Thank you, Phillip.

When I got through and described it to Mary she said it is like a bee lobby!

It is inserted between the bottom board and brood chamber.  It creates a relatively draft free air space so the queen will lay eggs plumb to the bottom of the frames just above it.  When it gets really hot the bees can hang out there instead of bearding outside and it provides staging for those that fan to circulate just the right amount of current within the hive.

I'll need to rebuild my cover because it is both ugly and lacks ventilation -- we're not on the South Plains here were it cools off after sunset but in the Permian Basin where our summer nights stay hot.

I built it combining the old fashioned way of having the slats perpendicular to the frames but in the contemporary way with a 4" board at the front over the entrance.

This hive has top space only so the frames go to zero.  Therefore, I built the top of the slotted rack with 3/8" space. Then, going down we have the 3/4x3/4" slot pieces and next 7/8" of clear space (the lobby).

My entrance is 3/8x5 inches; so, not much air, either cold or hot, getting in!  But the key is how to manage it.  That is what the slotted rack helps to do as I understand it.

For hive cover ventilation I'm thinking about 7/8" screened holes that can be plugged with wine bottle corks!  LOL

[van from Arkansas]

Father Michael, Blessings.  The bee lobby is above the entrance?  The solid board on the bee lobby is directly above the bee entrance with the slats towards the back?

Health to your bees.

[Ben Framed]

"When I got through and described it to Mary she said it is like a bee lobby!"

I like the way your Mary described it! Lol  This sounds promising to those of us who do expertise bearding. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Phillip Hall

[FatherMichael]

Father Michael, Blessings.  The bee lobby is above the entrance?  The solid board on the bee lobby is directly above the bee entrance with the slats towards the back?

Health to your bees.

The lobby is just inside and "ceiling" is higher than the entrance, yes. The picture shows it upside down.

Yes, the solid board is above the entrance.

[CapnChkn]

I've never used one, and thought it useful in the North, where the bees may have an advantage in cool weather.  You will have to keep us up on how it's working for you.

[The15thMember]

I use slatted racks on all my hives.  They help to keep the hives cool in the summer by giving the bees a place to fan near the entrance, and they help keep the hives warmer in the winter by providing a "dead space" of air right inside the entrance.  Here's a good article about them.  https://www.honeybeesuite.com/slatted-racks-everything-you-need-to-know/     

[amymcg]

I've been considering going back to slatted racks this year myself....

[FatherMichael]

The two thin walled hives in our backyard (one with bees so far) need any extra help we can provide.

Trying to figure out a roof system that can be vented in the heat of the summer but also insulated in the winter.

The Paradise hives have a screened bottom that can be closed up and vented covers with plugs.  But they are insulated from the jump, being made of hardened polyurethane foam.  That's a lot of moving parts!