Dear Rune Stenseth and all Beefriends

Before some  years I designed and made a"wisdom" electronic devise for hive
heating. Why wisdom? I noticed that if I fixed  a heating temperature (not
power), returning to my bees after a week, or , maybe sooner, I used to find
the "stupid device" refused to heat my experimental hive. The reason was
found soon. Spring colony becomes stronger every week. Then the temperature
in measured point goes up and becomes higher than one preset by me. My
solution was to measure the warmth periodically. Using self made electronic
clock- timer I choused - daily. A temperature measuring time may be preset
by bee keeper (explore :-). This way you may choose the degree of
interference to bee life.  If measured in a daybreak, the lowest air
temperature round o'clock, I suppose, no electric heating will occur.

It seemed to me that I saved the honey used as a fuel by bees, especially
during great air temperature drops at night  in spring season and, as well,
helped the brood not to freeze.

The heater ( 100 x 300 x 3 mm plate ) was put on the floor in the middle of
a hive. The device can give a power in range of 0 to 10 Watt continuously up
or down. It works as follows:

1.  At preset by beekeeper time ( for e.g. at the midday) there was measured
a temperature in a hive under the ceiling. Measurement continued for e.g. 2
hours, preset by user. The highest measured temperature was saved in memory.
(Heating Forbidden at that two hours).

2. After that the hive was slightly heated. The sun goes down, temperature
in the measured place drops little by little and heating power rises trying
to restore the recorded temperature.

3. In the next morning sun goes up, outside and inside temperatures rise,
heating power falls down.

4.  At a preset time (electronic clock - timer) heating is interrupted for
e.g. for one hour i.e. heating is forbidden one hour. The hive temperature
goes down  to natural balance.

5. At preset by beekeeper time ( for e.g. at the midday) ... - Go back to
"1"

<The bees will feel: " Oh, nice weather, and they fly out"
<it's cold outside (poor Norway), so they will not come back.......
<greeting jan

They fly for a short time if heated much in a day time. It was with my
"Stupid heater"

>Hi ! I tried a heating system years ago. It was a disaster. Outside temp
was
>around 0 C. The bees in large number came out of the hive and froze to
death.
>It migth be a riski experiment. Attila

Use "Sophisticated heater" :). It heats in a midday little or not any.


>Do any of you have an idea of what our best strategy
>would be?
>
>
>Rune Stenseth
>Sekretfr Ullensaker Biroekterlag

Good Easter Holiday to everyone.

Sincerely Yours
Rimantas Zujus
Kaunas
LITHUANIA

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