I agree with Boston bees. Also you can always run double brood with a few less frames, just dummy them down with a bit of foiled insulation made to size, or just plain dummy boards. 8 over 8 was a system used by some keepers in scotland, primarily with smith hives as I recall, don't know if anyone regularly still uses it these days. This extract is from stuff written by Ian Craig. These would have been wooden hives.
"A queen excluder and the first honey super are put on top. This super should be of drawn comb so that when the flow starts, honey will be stored in the super and not allowed to restrict the space in the brood chamber. (See Fig.4). If you have been working on the single brood chamber system you might want to experiment with the sixteen- comb doubling system which I advocate. If so, this is the time to double your colony. In the unlikely event that you have spare drawn combs, these should be used, otherwise you will have to use five frames containing foundation. Put the foundation in the top brood chamber and feed three litres of spring syrup to simulate a nectar flow in order to get the foundation drawn. Don’t super the hive until the feeder is removed or syrup may be stored in it. Be aware that on the year that you first double a colony it will be at the expense of the spring honey crop unless it is a very good year, but you should reap the benefits during the summer and in subsequent years. The advantages of the double brood chamber system are:
- Adjustable---11combs(or fewer) to 22combs.
- Good air circulation and ventilation.
- Easy to manipulate–no combs propped outside the hive.
- Easy to check for swarm preparations.
- Room available when most required–for expansion in spring and to accommodate bees, brood and stores in autumn.
- Frames are interchangeable between the two chambers.
- Foundation can be drawn in the warmth of the top brood chamber.
- Safety valve in case of late supering–this should not be allowed to happen. After a week of the honey flow more breeding and super room should be provided.
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. I started off with them because it all made perfect sense to me...except I had never actually tried to build/handle the frames. I gave them away to my brother and went over to Langstroth which I much prefer - an expensive mistake but at the time I only had about 4 hives. For me double national would be better than single 14x12 but it's a personal preference.
