If you have a problem lifting 3 1/2 kg at a distance of what, 30cm from your body, should you be keeping bees? A full super of honey to be moved every time you inspect the hive is far heavier. And some of us may sometimes have 3 supers stacked up.
Get a grip and adopt an easy method. Engagement of grey matter tells me that I can lift that brood frame from a distance of about 20cm (reducing the moment by about 1/3). That is easily achievable by using a frame lifter once the frame has been moved sideways (there is normally loads of space for these manoeuvres). Often there is so much room that once actually lifted from the rails the frame can be turned through near 90 degrees so the lift is actually only 1 3/4 kg maximum until you have turned it, before you need to actually lift it up.
Personally I don't find it any harder than bending over any other type. Ideally I would like my Nationals at the same height as I have made my Dartingtons, but with all the stores above the brood in the Nationals, it would not be a very easy proposition to move the top supers every week for inspection. I often use a spare hive stand on which to perch the up-turned roof, onto which I set the supers, so there is less lifting when rebuilding those layers.
To be honest, I never leave 3 supers on any hive for long - my back would not like it, humping all that weight about on a regular basis. If I were to have 2 layers of supers on the Dartington, the full ones are moved to the back. The small 1/2 supers of the Dartington design are easy enough to handle but they have their own shortcomings.......
All hive designs are a compromise. Get used it; it will not change. Use that particular design or choose another, your personal choice. I choose to run 2 Dartingtons and don't expect to make any more (but I never say never) and my others are all jumbo Nationals. The 14 x 12 Nationals are too big for me to be moving them around easily, but I consider that option a far better alternative than standard brood with a shallow brood on top. My choice. I have to be just that much more careful when moving my hives.
In fact I can use the Dartington carry boxes to temporarily split the brood into two for transport if necessary. There is a way around lifting heavy boxes.
The Dartington
Removing frames - see above.
Likewise there is a way around lifting 'heavy' frames all the time. I might ask why you need to keep lifting them? Only needed on the few occasions when something needs checking closely anyway. I rarely want to take out more than 2 or 3 frames at a regular weekly inspection.
Remove dummy at end, move frames along to split the brood nest and inspect a brood frame for eggs, young brood and capped brood. If all appears well, close up. If signs of swarm preparation are evident, artificially swarm. With the Dartingtons, that is simple enough.
Finding the queen is simple enough too.
As an alternative - slot in a queen excluder for three days, splitting the brood nest. She will either be in front or behind. Remove those frames ('behind' or 'in front') to two carry boxes. Very quickly it becomes evident which half is queenless. Search the other frames for the queen.
Artificial swarming - you don't need to lift many frames - plenty of space to slide them along if you can't manage to lift them.
Now if you think you want to run two colonies in a single Dartington, be prepared for some more (a lot more) frame lifting than 'as detailed' above. Have another couple of broods or nucs available for when artificial swarming is required - they will likely both go at the same time! You won't have the space to turn frames through near 90 degrees. You will have another colony at your elbow with supers on, every time you inspect. Just a nightmare way of justifying the large brood area as far as I am concerned!!
Now, I certainly don't follow all of the above all of the time. They are there as simple alternatives to continual 'heavy frame lifting'. If I don't find the queen quickly I adopt an easy method; I have the time. Rarely do I mark a queen.
Now all the above may seem hard work to some of the younger generations. I grew up on a farm where Dad made as few hay bales as possible (less space in the barn, fewer to carry to the cowshed. That meant they were heavy. I used to stack them on the bale sledge, pitch them onto the trailer, pitch them in the barn and carry them to the cowshed. Maybe I have a different outlook on 3 1/2 kg than some.
Regards, RAB
