If you were among the first to order a BroodMinder, you may have already received your order. My own order has been delayed by a mailing address interpretation error, whereby Stamps.com suggests a variety of addresses other than the one I submitted, none of which work but all of which look nice. Or so I’m told.
I know the problem will resolve, but in the meantime, if any of you have impressions, comments, or data to share, please let me know. Since I cannot yet share my own info, I’d be happy to share yours.
As promised, I also set up a page where you can leave comments about the BroodMinder at any time. The page is labeled “BroodMinder” and a link to it can be found on the top menu of any page. You can leave comments there or, if you want to leave photos, spreadsheets, or other info about your BroodMinder experience, directions are on that page. Data sharing will also be available at BroodMinder.com.
If you don’t already know, a BroodMinder is a device designed specifically for bee hives that monitors and logs the temperature and humidity inside the hive once every hour. Wireless updates are sent to your Apple or Android phone or tablet so you can monitor colony health without opening your hive in freezing temperatures.
The folks at BroodMinder were shooting for a December 1 ship date for the new device and, much to their credit, the first ones went out right on schedule. I can also say I’ve been in contact with the company owner on several occasions and I’m quite impressed. Good people.
It appears that you can still order a BroodMinder device on the Indiegogo website for $60 plus shipping.
Please leave comments on my BroodMinder page. Thank you.
Rusty
Honey Bee Suite
The device is simply placed on top of the brood frames. © Broodminder.com.
still waiting for mine . . . . very frustrating . . . .
I ordered one in response to your post on the topic, and it arrived today. It turns out the iOS app hasn’t made it through the Apple Store review yet, so the app is not readily available. Visit the Support page on BroodMinder.com to find out that you can get a “test” version of the app if you are technical enough to install the app via TestFlight. I did this in the morning and sent them a note, and had my app by this afternoon – great response. Looking forward to placing one in a hive tomorrow and we’ll see how it goes.
Interesting – I’d like to get one to monitor humidity but is there guidance on what the humidity levels should be in a hive? Otherwise it would be meaningless for me to know. Thanks.
Karen,
I don’t know how much info is already out there on humidity, but that is one of the things we hope to gain by having people share their data.
Is there any way for the bees to propolize the sensors?
Christy,
The sensors are inside a protective sheath. We will see.
Hi Rusty:
I plan to make quilts for the first time this year. I was wondering if you think this would work:
I plan to put an Imrie shim which has a pluggable front vent/entrance hole in the front of it above the brood box.
I would put a sugar brick in the shim above the cluster.
On top of the shim I will have a medium super with either canvas or a plastic queen excluder stapled on the bottom. I would then fill the super with wood chips.
My question is this: If I have the ventilated entrance open in the shim would I still need vent holes in the super above it which contains the wood chips? Or am I better off plugging the entrance and drilling vent holes in the super?
Also I have screened bottom boards with closeable metal drawersd but I have usually closed them in winter. I could leave these open or closed.
Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks for your blog!!
Peg,
The vents in the quilt are to allow the wood chips to dry. You don’t want them soggy and wet, and they will dry as long as there is proper ventilation. So I would say the vents are more important than the upper entrance. I’m using both this year, but in the past I have just used the vents.
I usually leave the screened bottoms open, but a lot depends on your local climate. For the most part it is fairly mild here, so I get away with it. Under extreme cold, I would probably close them.
Received mine today, pulled the battery tab and it was reporting to my iPhone instantly. Very impressive!
Since it’s BLE (Bluetooth 4.0), it only transmits about 30 feet, so you need to be out in the yard to get a reading, but it sure beats opening up the hive to guess how things are. This is a wonderful first product from them.
HI RUSTY,
THERE’S A SIMLIAR PRODUCT FROM LEE VALLET TOOLS CALL THE KESTREL WIRELESS ENVIRONMENTAL DATA LOGGER . THREE MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM STARTING AT $95- .
Would love for you to review our system too Rusty! We focused on measuring flight activity data and giving beekeepers an easy way to view the entrance through video. Can we send you info, or have you seen it already?
Rusty,
The environmental data logger from Lee Valley Tools in Canada is $CAD 95 for a temperature only model and $CAD 159 for a temperature and humidity model. The unit looks like a automotive key clicker and is not sealed, but “moisture resistant”. Wireless interface – probably Bluetooth. With the Canadian to US$ exchange rate at about .75 that is about $69 US. I have not seen or tried the unit.
Tim
Thanks, Tim.
Mine have arrived, (I ordered two for comparison.) Unfortunately I am out of town until Thursday, so I will have to wait until then to get them installed and get some data. Anxious to seem them!