Converting Brood-and-Half to Double Brood

[Cestria]

Mainly due to lack of experience and lack of equipment I've ended up with a brood-and-half hive. Reading and learning that this is a messy and undesirable way to keep bees I have thought about trying to convert this hive into a double brood box. Is there an easy way to this?

 

[oliver90owner]

Yes. Double brood it with the queen in the deep brood and the shallow brood above a Q/E. Check for queen cells and remove them (in the shallow) until no more can be produced. It may now be slow, dependent on flows, but it will be on double brood with a honey super in about three weeks (a bit more if there is any drone eggs in the shallow).

Normal summer weather might mean no warmth problems, but this year....it is however quite a strong colony on a brood and a half, so not as bad a s dumping a 5 frame nuc straight into a full deep with foundation.

I would likely place the brood centrally into both boxes and allow them to expand sideways onto the foundation, and if really cold put the new box below the current deep.

RAB

 

[drstitson]

agree with rab.

new box below, QE between old brood and super.

 

[itma]

... I've ended up with a brood-and-half hive. Reading and learning that this is a messy and undesirable way to keep bees I have thought about trying to convert this hive into a double brood box. ...

Not really sure that double is any less "messy and undesirable" than brood and a half.

The question of changing from brood + a half to brood + whole ought really to depend on your bees and how prolific they are.
Do they really need more brood space?

One thing that can make brood-and-a-half "messy" would be using the wrong frame spacing and spacing method.
If you use rails (not castellations) in the "half brood" and Hoffman-spacing shallow frames (SN4 or SN5) in there rather than honey shallows (SN1s or Manleys usually), then I really cannot see any difference between the "mess and desirability" of brood and a half as against double brood. The difference is in the extra brood space and the extra weight to be shifted during inspections.

Its very cheap and easy to change to rails, and if you have plenty of unassembled frames you'd only need to get some new Hoffman shallow (frame) side bars if you wanted to make a proper "brood shallow".

Before thinking "how", I think you should be seriously considering "why".