Brood + 1/2 to double brood

[simonforeman]

I have a very strong brood + 1/2 hive that has had its rape honey taken off, extracted and 3 supers added back on that they are refilling at a rate. Was originally 4 supers.
I would like to convert them to double brood but not lose any honey production or new box filled with honey.

Is it just as simple as add an extra box and move the QE down above the 2 brood boxes.
I have some drawn frames I can add to the new box?
Do I add the box above or below the original box at this time of the year?
Will I lose any honey production?

Thanks in advance.

 

[enrico]

I would add the new box at the bottom. If it is undrawn foundation then obviously they will use energy to draw it. If you put a QE between the double brood and the half brood you will get drones stuck in the top. I would leave that in place below the qe. They will move down as they fill that super with honey. Don't add any more above the qe until that one is quite heavy and the brood is gone.
E

 

[JonnyPicklechin]

The Wally Shaw article about swarm control on brood and a half has some good insights on how to manipulate boxes. The tip that stayed with me was something like "make sure you have 6 or 7 frames with the top of the brood meeting where you have the Q/E. This is where the bee keepers wants it." or something like that.

 

[Madge]

... Is it just as simple as add an extra box and move the QE down above the 2 brood boxes.
I have some drawn frames I can add to the new box?
Do I add the box above or below the original box at this time of the year?
Will I lose any honey production? ...

You can put the queen excluder above the boxes and below the super with brood. If there’s only worker brood in the super, there will obviously be no problem - but if there is drone brood, you’ll need to provide them with a top entrance. Add a shallow eke (really shallow) with an entrance above the queen excluder until all the drones have emerged.

As for the two brood boxes, I would divide the frames of the present box between the two. Move maybe two frames of brood to the bottom box, and keep the others in the top one. Divide food frames between the two, and add a frame of drawn comb to the sides of the frames with brood (top box and bottom box). Fill the rest with drawn comb, foundation, or dummies.

Look at Ian Craig’s article on the SBA website called “My beekeeping year”. https://scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/images/education/studynotes/MyBeekeepingYear.pdf