Brood boxes and bases

[Aggravated]

Does anyone know why brood boxes and hive bases are made and sold separately. Would there be any advantage to combining the two, especially when moving the hive.

Agg

 

[tonybloke]

cleansing? creating double brood boxes? there's 2 reasons for a start, I'm sure you could think of more

 

[Poly Hive]

Because traditionally pre OMF floors got grotty over winter and had to be cleaned out.

Also if you cannot lift the BB off the floor the queen can hide there.

Further if you run two broods....

PH

 

[Aggravated]

Yes I agree, , when would you normally use two brood boxes, I thought that if the hive got that big it would be better to spit it.
Thanks

 

[Poly Hive]

Certainly not.

Just inspected one of mine on a double and she is comfortably running 19-20 frames of brood with three supers of cut comb on top.

My kind of queen.

PH

 

[REDWOOD]

The ability to under super, some beekeepers like to make their own floors with different entrances, some have landing boards and some don't, being able to turn the BB hot or cold way

 

[Poly Hive]

Or to sum up, practicability and flexibility.

PH

 

[REDWOOD]

Or to sum up, practicability and flexibility.

PH

Well said, In a nut shell

 

[Finman]

Yes I agree, , when would you normally use two brood boxes, I thought that if the hive got that big it would be better to spit it.Thanks

I use 3 brood boxes and I do not split then hives. I prefer to join them to get big yields.

What do you do with splitted hives, - nothing.

 

[BBG]

I use 3 brood boxes and I do not split then hives. I prefer to join them to get big yields.

What do you do with splitted hives, - nothing.

Where do the bees store most of the pollen and stores in this arrangement Finman?

We have one that stores most of it in the bottom brood box.

 

[Finman]

Where do the bees store most of the pollen and stores in this arrangement Finman?

We have one that stores most of it in the bottom brood box.

Every hives store pollen in lowest box. At the end of July it is full of pollen. Supers have pollen not at all.

In August bees consume pollen and rear wintering bees. In September pollen storea are almost gone.
.

 

[oliver90owner]

Boxes are boxes and may be used for brood or honey supers. Try not to assume deeps are brood and shallows are supers, because some out there use deeps for supers and some use shallows as brood boxes.

I have used extra-deeps as supers before now. Go figure!

 

[Finman]

Boxes are boxes and may be used for brood or honey supers.

I do not use excluder. Queens may lay where ever thay want. Then I move the brood frames down.

Old brood frames I move up. When brood emerges, bees fill comb with honey. After extraction I may take a comb off. After brooding it has no pollen to be casted off.

 

[oliver90owner]

I do not use excluder. Queens may lay where ever thay want.

So your boxes are all the same size anyway, but the topmost will still be only honey.

Much like how I operate except I use different sized frames in the bottom box compared to the rest (this which will be their wintering box). I do use a Q/E to get them back to one box later in the year.

 

[karen p]

This year I have come to the conclusion that a single national brood box is not always big enough. However I have concerns about the practicality of searching through more than one box for queen cells next spring, also the possibility of squashing the queen when putting the boxes back together again, although I suppose she is most likely to be on the comb. The other possibility would be 12x14 brood box. Any thoughts?

 

[tonybloke]

yep, I use commercial brood box, (16 x 10, short lugged frames) all other parts are national

 

[Tom Bick]

This year I have come to the conclusion that a single national brood box is not always big enough. However I have concerns about the practicality of searching through more than one box for queen cells next spring, also the possibility of squashing the queen when putting the boxes back together again, although I suppose she is most likely to be on the comb. The other possibility would be 12x14 brood box. Any thoughts?

The 14x12 is very popular especially with new beekeepers and the more experienced are turning to it also. I have one hive on the 14x12 frames and the others are on double brood (standard national) and one single national brood.

I have decided to stay with the standard bb it gives me more options, the 14x12 is ok but the handling of the frames I fined awkward and some are very heavy.....bless poor me

 

[oliver90owner]

The 14x12 is very popular especially with new beekeepers and the more experienced are turning to it also.

A decade ago they were decidely uncommon. Been around a long time and never became popular. I've been using them for a decade and possibly a bit, I daresay. Can't be sure exactly.

Robin Dartington used them in the middle seventies for his LDH.

Single or double brood. Extra deep or a brood and a half. They all have pros and cons, some more cons than pros. You just need to gather all the information/characteristcs of each format and choose the one that fits your requirements. Try it and see.

For 14 x 12 you only need a removable eke (under a deep box) and a set of frames, to try it out. Reversion to deep, or deeps, or a deep and a shallow simply requires removal of the eke and the frame change. Little actual cost involved, and if you were to change back, even the eke would likely come in handy somewhere sometime.

 

[tonybloke]

The 14x12 is very popular especially with new beekeepers and the more experienced are turning to it also.

A decade ago they were decidely uncommon. Been around a long time and never became popular. I've been using them for a decade and possibly a bit, I daresay. Can't be sure exactly.

Robin Dartington used them in the middle seventies for his LDH.

Single or double brood. Extra deep or a brood and a half. They all have pros and cons, some more cons than pros. You just need to gather all the information/characteristcs of each format and choose the one that fits your requirements. Try it and see.

For 14 x 12 you only need a removable eke (under a deep box) and a set of frames, to try it out. Reversion to deep, or deeps, or a deep and a shallow simply requires removal of the eke and the frame change. Little actual cost involved, and if you were to change back, even the eke would likely come in handy somewhere sometime.

or.................
use a hamilton converter, again an 'eke' which allows the use of commercial (16x10) frames in what was a standard deep box.
options, options, eh?

 

[karen p]

Thanks for your input. I will give it some thought.