reusing supers

[jonnybeegood]

Dont know whos replying to what now?? Were you meaning my 14x12's Tom?

 

[Tom Bick]

14 x 12 the size of your brood boxes. It refers to the size of the frame It's also known as jumbo and probably one or two other.

 

[drex]

Yes, but if the majority of it`s frames was occupied by brood, then there is a need for an extra space for syrup isn’t it? I mean there is no guaranty that the weather will permit a late feeding, when amount of brood is reduced enough for BB to be filled up with syrup. So, personally I would prefer to feed them…let`s say in august (during an outbreak of rainy days, preferably ), using second BB, and when it`s full, I`ll set the third (or super) on in order to harvest honey the rest of the season, If varroa infestation is not in a high level( less then 5 dead mites drops a day?)How is the plan?

So, you are going to feed "syrup", then harvest "honey". Of course your bees will keep them separate.

 

[YorkshireBees]

May I ask you what do you mean saying “part filled supers”. Was it a cupped honey or not? If not – then the honey got moisture in it. So the bees treated it as a syrup, probably.
Meanwhile If it was a cupped honey… well…I would better eat it instead of bees or sell it. (If it was pure honey)
Did you raked the capping, anyway? And did you create any sort of a gap between BB and super? I`m still afraid that if there is a flow, the bees could start just to top the super up, cup the honey, and I could end up with a full super, not an empty one
Thanks

What I mean by part filled supers is exactly what it says. Supers that the bees have started to fill (including capped and uncapped honey) but haven't reach a point where they can be extracted (normally due to the end of a flow / season).

By adding these supers early ie before any flow and normally when I would probably feed the bees to build them up ready for the Spring flow I accomplished 2 things.

1. The bees emptied the supers to use the honey / nectar as food supplies.
2. I didn't need to feed them to help them build up faster.

It does require a little thought and understanding of when the flow starts and as it was honey and not syrup feed I have no worries that if the flow starts early the honey will be contaminated.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Would you like to start your own thread beeka? This has gone to **** & i still havent had a sensible reply, i cant make sense of posts with all these quotes & crap on them its hard to find where the reply is on some peoples posts, why have all the daft quotes on every post??

 

[BeeBeeKa]

Would you like to start your own thread beeka?

Sory jonny, I thought I was helping you in clarifying the superring up issues … with a bit of a fun
I`m leaving this thread on demand of topic starter, but those who wants to carry on this conversation with me, welcome to the thread, taking roots from here
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=450739#post450739

 

[Tomo]

Jonny,
for your information this is my experience in this my first full year of keeping bees in relation to your question (the brief version).
I took forum advice with regard to putting a full or partially full super underneath the BB in about late Aug/early Sep when it was still fairly warm here. The idea was that the bees would move the honey up into the BB. I then treated the hive with Apilife var which takes about a month. After speaking to a couple of wise old Beeks on a course I had a change of heart and decided to make a decision on what I found on the last day of treatment when taking off the Apilife var. I expected the honey (summer type) to be at least partially gone, but all was as I had originally put it on, with some new uncapped stores filling in the gaps. I then removed the super, span it off expecting a tainted flavour. The super stank of the treatment as you would expect, but I and a few others could not detect any tainting of the honey. This will now be used for an experimental batch of mead to see what it tastes like. I then fed my bees which took down a good 2 gallons into the BB which indicates that they had plenty of room had they wanted to move the super honey up. That is my experience this year. May happen differently for someone else or indeed for me. The Bees know best...... I wont bother again due to the foot traffic staining on the combs. good luck.

 

[jonnybeegood]

Thanks Tomo, i'm not worried about the supers on top as this is how its been done for God knows how long & i couldnt see them moving honey to the BB when that was full anyway. I think all the honey will be used up come spring anyway so i probably wont have a problem, thanks for replying

 

[Swarm]

Don't know who offered the advice Tomo but I'd only put anything under them once treatment was over and even then it would not be capped honey.

 

[MuswellMetro]

convert to 14x12 or commercial broods, then they are more than big enough to hold stores for a very long winter (without feeding fondant)

 

[jonnybeegood]

I have 14 x 12s i doubt the brood box alone would get them through a winter? I wouldnt risk it anyway, i would rather waste a super full of honey if it got my bees through it.

 

[YorkshireBees]

I have 14 x 12s i doubt the brood box alone would get them through a winter? I wouldnt risk it anyway, i would rather waste a super full of honey if it got my bees through it.

I disagree, when fed at the right time most of my hives in the past over wintered on just a standard deep.
I have only started doubling up the last couple of years as I always end up with deep boxes full of honey after demaree.
As I don't extract from deep frames, for various reasons, it makes sense to give it back to the bees as Autumn feed.

I do still have a few hives that are on single brood or single brood with a super below.

 

[jonnybeegood]

When i fed mine half the Brood box still had brood so they needed space to store it, hence supering up, theres no way my BB's would have lasted the winter alone.

 

[YorkshireBees]

When i fed mine half the Brood box still had brood so they needed space to store it, hence supering up, theres no way my BB's would have lasted the winter alone.

I disagree, when fed at the right time most of my hives in the past over wintered on just a standard deep.
I have only started doubling up the last couple of years as I always end up with deep boxes full of honey after demaree.
As I don't extract from deep frames, for various reasons, it makes sense to give it back to the bees as Autumn feed.

I do still have a few hives that are on single brood or single brood with a super below.

It's also worth saying that, as any beekeeper will discover, there are no absolute rules with bees! Learning and adapting from each new situation helps you become a better beekeeper.