I’ve been fine tuning the testing methods over the last couple of years and am currently getting a few boxes set up for temperature testing in 2024. To hopefully see some different patterns in the charts I’m going with boxes that have significant differences and might start with a chart for January 2024.
The test boxes here so far are the 25mm thick hoop pine box and the 50mm thick Cypress box. These are commonly used box designs with a significant difference so we can see differences in charts.
Photos: Setting up a few boxes with probes
Test: 17 December 2023
Preliminary Test 17/12/23:
- 2 hive boxes at 25mm hoop pine boxes
- 2 hive boxes at 50mm cypress boxes.
- Each box type seems to be consistent with each other.
Test: 22 January 2024 – 25mm Hoop Pine Box
Hive No.1. 25mm Hoop Pine box with wood roof. Full sun all day until 4pm. 35c ambient temperature.
Test: 22 January 2024 – 25mm Hoop Pine Box vs 50mm Cypress
Below: Hive No.2 and No.3. Temperature comparison 25mm Hoop pine box vs 50mm Cypress box. These two boxes are beside each other and get full sun until around 1pm in Summer.
Test: 27 January 2024
Image below: Surface temperature test. 35°c ambient. 12pm. Left 50mm Cypress box / Right 25mm Painted hoop pine box. The painted hoop pine is 4°c cooler on the front surface of the hive.
The large size number on the display is the result. 40°c for the Cypress and 36.2°c for the yellow painted hoop pine.
Image below: Surface temperature on top of the box. Left is the thick plywood “tropical lid” which is quite hot but does provide good protection because it has multiple layers and an air space. Right is the painted hoop pine box. Both boxes will benefit greatly from having good roofs on top.
The large size number on the display is the result. 57.9°c for the darker lid and 50.2°c for the yellow painted hoop pine.
Chart below: A hot one in Brisbane. Perfect for temperature testing! Hives in full sun from 8am to 2pm without roofs on boxes with an ambient top of 35°c. Yellow lines: 2x 25mm thick Hoop Pine boxes, Brown lines: 2x 50mm thick Cypress boxes.
The two 25mm Hoop Pine hives are very similar which is good because it’s a consistent result. The two 50mm Cypress hives brood temperatures are fairly different to each other so there could be a difference in probe position or colony strength. The tropical lid would really help keep the heat off the top for the Cypress boxes.
I think the 25mm hoop pine box painted yellow does a pretty good job and surprising well without a roof.
