I am a new beekeeper with two FlowHive 2s in Kent, UK. I installed nuc’s in each hive 3 weeks ago and the colonies have really taken off. I have just added a second brood box as the eight frames in both hives were pretty well occupied. There are a lot of bees and brood in all stages.
What I have noticed is the the trays have a lot of condensation in them (just checked them after putting them back clean a couple of days ago -no rain). Is this normal, or do I have a ventilation issue?
My hives are completely standard with the normal open mesh floors.
Hiya @Swin777 and welcome to the forum. I’m not sure if you’re talking about the coreflute sliders that are in the screened bottom boards, or referring to frames - the wooden rectangles that bees build combs in and are 8 or 10 to a Langstroth box? If it’s the former, it’s probably okay. If there’s a lot of pooling water then you should check the hive and maybe make an adjustment for ventilation at the top.
If it’s the latter, please call them frames so you’re in sync with the rest of the beekeeping world - and then tell us more about this condensation you’re seeing!
We have all had this to varying degrees and has bee well documented. Go to the search box in the top right corner and type in Condensation and you find lots of discussion and solutions.
My thoughts are there will always be condensation due to the fact the bees evaporate water from the honey to ripen it.
The degree of condensation is the key and a judgement call. Too much water go for more ventilation in a manner you feel right, after reading all the solutions.
Both - thanks and yes I did mean the slider. I have now found some of the other posts on condensation. We are having cold nights right now and the bees are collecting a lot of nectar. So I think that this is just condensation. I will try taking the tray out during the warm parts of the day.
- and then tell us more about this condensation you’re seeing!