Ventilating the flow roof?

The roof space gets heated from the hive by conduction and is able to absorb more water vapour from the the outside. If this air comes in contact with a cool surface condensation will form.
Believe me, my inner cover was a mini swimming pool before ventilation.

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No convection (through leaks or fly screen) or radiation? Oh dear, my secondary school physics is showing throughā€¦ :blush:

Depends, but conduction is the main transfer if the feed hole is closed.
Of course if the hole in the inner cover is open then convection and conduction and radiation off the surfaces will all come into play.

Now youā€™ve made my head hurt.
I need to go sharpen the chain saw (hatchets are for wimps) or just watch the bees.:wink:

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I see. My innercover or crown board has insulation on it so no conduction. I guess thatā€™s why I have never seen condensation there. Thanks busso

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Hi I have put a round conical beeescape in each end of the roof and found that adequate it helps with ventilation and for any bees that might get trapped in the roof space

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Hi Dan, I have 2 flow roofs with the flow logo cut through. Love it, saved me drilling ventilation holes. I always stick fly screen on the inside where the holes are to prevent pests fitting through. No more mould in roofs and I keep the feeding hole open.
We had to cut out a huge honey bee hive from a dead tree recently and I was amazed at the sound of the wind rushing through the hive. They had excellent air conditioning.
The moisture from the beesā€™ honey fanning must go somewhere. You wouldnā€™t want mouldy bee bread either.
And donā€™t SHBs love warm moisture? Busso doesnā€™t have those yet.

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I have installed old style cupboard vents as my flow logos arenā€™t cut through. Works well
Mac

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@Dee helped me with her advice to insulate the roof a bit like she does in Wales, and the condensation seems to have gone immediately. I have used 30mm foam from Bunnings, but in an ordinary lid. I have retired my beautiful Flow roof , with the laser cut ventilation holes, for use down the track.

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Is there metal on the roof? That certainly needs insulation.
Does the foam capture the moisture or is there none?
Would you like to sell your flow roof?

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Could you just pop the flow roof into the other one? Look nice and even more insulation. Flow roof also helps sheet rain away from the hive boxes a littleā€¦

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@Webclan Yes- galvanised top and then thick plywood under. Then I added the 30mm foam. On top of the frames is the vinyl mat and then a gap for the bees to be on top of the mat to get pests. They can still propolise the roof down. The foam takes away the dew point so no water collects on it. My Flow roof is great - soon I will modify it so it wont blow off.

@Semaphore I like the idea of the Flow roof on top- thank you for that suggestion. Iā€™ll wait till they glue the current lid in place.

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Is your hive the cedar one? On that one thereā€™s some room for the roof to fit over the inner cover- on the hoop pine one itā€™s a tight fit and might snag on your tin roof. A mm or two of sanding and it should just sit right on your migratory lid

Hi Jack- I reckon it will fit perfectly. It is one of the early cedar ones and the current lid is just on the small side. Iā€™ll post a photo.

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Insulated lids literally just a mm too long, but plenty of room on the width. A small project down the track.

Hi Gerald, i live in Olympia and i am thinking of installing a screened vent in the roof with a little door iso i can close it during cold. This is mainly because if i have a feeder in the hive and it is hot there is a lot of condensation building up on the inside of the roof. Im a new bee keeper but a contractor and it makes sense to me but worried it might not make sense to the bees!

Tom.

Good to connect with local Flow-hive. All my upper vent holes are screened to prevent entrance of yellow jackets :honeybee: n wax moths thru the top holes.

Having a screened hole in the end peak keeps condensation from forming up here in our long damp Spring/Autumn/Winter n cools a dab in the Summer.

Hereā€™s a couple pixā€™s of the crownboard cut, screen gable vent plus screened inner cover (crown board hole). The roughly 2ā€ notch cut in the inner cover I keep upward during the summer n downward during winter as we use it for a upper entrance n small helpful moisture venting port. With the lower n upper entrances always in same direction to prevent a cooling wind tunnel effect thru the hive body.

Hope these are somewhat helpful.

Cheers,
Gerald

image g

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Hello,

 I live in New England, usa northeast, and will be setting up my first hive, cedar flow hive 2, with double 8 frame brood boxes this spring.

What I am trying to determine is if I should vent the top of my flow hive?

From my research in my area, bee keepers typically do ventilate their roofs as well as insulate them in the winter. I'm guessing this is because we have large fluctuations in temperature here, and often get dew or condensation. For example most of the trees here have in moss and fungi. 

Is there anyone from the Northern United States, or wirh simmilar climate beekeeping experience? I also live on a small mountain near some apple and peach orchards. 

Thank you all in advance, I am very excited to start beekeeping! My fianceā€™s family keeps hindereds of hives in the southern states.

Sincerely,
Luks

Hi Dawn, Nice to meet you. Are you looking some roofs?