Just Langstroth supers?

[Bumbleblue]

Hi

I'm still very new to bee keeping. At the moment I have a commercial brood box with national supers from last year. Recently I got some Langstroths from someone who has given up keeping. I did a bit of searching about all different types of hives and configurations and was wondering, does anybody run langstroths with only supers? As I saw someone that does this, so uses 3 supers for brood part, as he thinks the interchange ability is crucial. Or is he talking ****?

Cheers

 

[drstitson]

check out the photo(s) posted by Rooftops. He uses all mediums ie supers (admittedly dadant rather than the smaller LS super).

 

[wightbees]

Same here i use Dadant supper for BB.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

I will be running a series of hives next year on this format, Farrar I think some call it or Illinois medium. It is a Langstroth medium also known as a Dadant super (it is about an inch deeper than a Langstroth super). I take the view it could off many benefits and if it doesn't work in my situation I just add extra brood boxes!

 

[RoofTops]

If you have the normal Langstroth supers used inthe UK then you probably would need three of them to give a decent BB size. I use Dadant shallow and two of those gives the same size as a Jumbo Langstroth. Each frame has about the same area as a National Brood frame.

It works for me but I am happy to accept there are those who prefer fewer, larger frames (14 * 12 or LS Jumbo) so all I can suggest is give it a try and see if you like the method.

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

langstroth deep supers are 9 5/8 deep
medium or Illinois supers are 6 5/8 deep
shallow Langstroth supers are 5 3/4 or 5 7/16 deep
Three mediums are equivalent to two deeps.
I have been running all mediums for two years now.
Many beekeepers on this side of the pond run all mediums to reduce the total equipment and allow interchangeability. With all mediums the bees can draw the comb for honey and then use the same super for brood. They are much easier to lift than deeps. Shallow supers are fine for quick honey flows or comb honey production.

 

[Bumbleblue]

Well that has definitely given me something to think about. Thanks for all the info, I shall have a ponder over what can work best for me

 

[BeeJayBee]

Probably not really relevant to you, but there is a pile of wooden Langstroth supers, and other bits and pieces, for sale on a well-known auction site at the moment. They're in Hatfield, collect only. Closing 21st January.

 

[Midland Beek]

Hi

I'm still very new to bee keeping. At the moment I have a commercial brood box with national supers from last year. Recently I got some Langstroths from someone who has given up keeping. I did a bit of searching about all different types of hives and configurations and was wondering, does anybody run langstroths with only supers? As I saw someone that does this, so uses 3 supers for brood part, as he thinks the interchange ability is crucial. Or is he talking ****?

Cheers

Well done for thinking like that ... stroke of brilliance.

A 'one size of box' hive system has a lot going for it, especially if you are not up to handing heavy weights. Dadant shallow is the obvious choice, and it is even possible to come across second hand Dadant kit at a good price becuse most in the UK want Nationa/Commercial hive parts.

But ... multiple boxes in the brood area can be a faff.

 

[oliver90owner]

was wondering, does anybody run langstroths with only supers?

OP, nobody runs just supers.

Hives are made up with boxes. Those boxes can be any size the beekeeper chooses. Usually the bottom box/boxes is/are for brood, so they are called brood boxes. Supers are placed over the brood boxes and the honey crop is mainly collected and stored in them.

The beekeeper historically used bigger boxes for broods, than supers (a sensible idea for various reasons). These days the beekeeper more often (compared to longer ago) opts to use either even bigger brood boxes or more than one brood box. Those broods may be the same size or sometimes a larger and smaller box. Some also use the same size box throughout the hive The one thing which does not happen is only using supers - there must be a brood box, unless the colony is queenless (even then their will likely be brood in the hive after a short time).

Just a nomenclature issue, but if you know and everyone else knows precisely what you are meaning, other new beeks (and some longer standing beeks) might be understood more easily, as to what they are referring to.

RAB