Snelgrove board to run 2 different colonies?

[tchu]

Is it at all possible to permanently run 1 colony on top of another one, separated only by a Snelgrove board? If so, how do I actually do it? Where do the supers go?
Has anyone done it? Does anyone know any good website link? Want to have 2 colonies at home but space is an issue.
Would appreciate your input. Thanks I’m advance.

 

[Hachi]

...

 

[user 819]

It can get to be heavy work once the supers are piled on between and lifting the heavy brood on and off.
Not intentionally all year round but many of us will have run a rolling Demeree for a good part of spring into summer.

 

[PeaBee]

I have seen splits run all season and over wintered on boards ontop of their parent colonies. Saves on roofs and space but can be heavy work for inspections and a pain to feed. Supers go on as normal and the board goes ontop of the bottom colonies supers. It can end up a bit of a tower block.

 

[tchu]

I have seen splits run all season and over wintered on boards ontop of their parent colonies. Saves on roofs and space but can be heavy work for inspections and a pain to feed. Supers go on as normal and the board goes ontop of the bottom colonies supers. It can end up a bit of a tower block.

Thanks. So it’s floor, bottom bb, queen excluder, supers, Snelgrove board, top bb, queen excluder, supers, crown board, roof; is that correct?

 

[PeaBee]

Thanks. So it’s floor, bottom bb, queen excluder, supers, Snelgrove board, top bb, queen excluder, supers, crown board, roof; is that correct?

Yes exactly.

 

[tchu]

Thanks.
To help with the problem of lifting heavy weight, I thought of using a polystyrene brood box, supers and roof for my top colony, whereas the bottom one would remain in wood 14x12. However, I enquired about the compatibility of a Maisemore polystyrene hive with a wooden national and was told that “I am afraid a national wooden will not fit over poly hive due to them being different sizes”.

Does anyone have any experience of this and know of any compatible polystyrene hive that could be piled one top of a wooden British national?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Thanks.
To help with the problem of lifting heavy weight, I thought of using a polystyrene brood box, supers and roof for my top colony, whereas the bottom one would remain in wood 14x12. However, I enquired about the compatibility of a Maisemore polystyrene hive with a wooden national and was told that “I am afraid a national wooden will not fit over poly hive due to them being different sizes”.

Does anyone have any experience of this and know of any compatible polystyrene hive that could be piled one top of a wooden British national?

Standard Abelo (Lyson) polyhives are an exact fit. I use the mark1 type with the deep roof but have clear crownboards under the roof rather than the poly crownboards with loose discs over the vents.

 

[ericbeaumont]

compatible polystyrene hive

https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/national-hive/poly-hives-national/national-poly-hive-with-2-supers-new/

 

[pargyle]

You will tire of this arrangement very quickly as it is going to be a PITA to do inspections ... if you are that limited for space where are you going to put the top box and supers when you are inspecting the bottom brood box ?

You really need to find a way of making enough space for a stand that will take two separate hives that way you will be able to comfortably move the supers from one hive onto the roof of the other whilst you inspect the other and then vice versa. Even with poly brood boxes they are very heavy to lift once the colony has built up during the season and by the time you have moved potentially, three supers and a brood box plus the snelgrove paraphenalia you will have bees everywhere; inspections will take far too long, you will begin to wish you had never started and the bees will probably think the same.

The bottom line will be that you will build up a resistance to doing inspections and you really won't enjoy the beekeeping experience.

You need to re-think your beekeeping plans ....

There is no problem with having two hives sat side by side on a double stand ....

 

[Amari]

Thanks.
To help with the problem of lifting heavy weight, I thought of using a polystyrene brood box, supers and roof for my top colony, whereas the bottom one would remain in wood 14x12. However, I enquired about the compatibility of a Maisemore polystyrene hive with a wooden national and was told that “I am afraid a national wooden will not fit over poly hive due to them being different sizes”.
Does anyone have any experience of this and know of any compatible polystyrene hive that could be piled one top of a wooden British national?

I have two Masie poly hives, the rest are wood. I can mix and match both BB and supers if push comes to shove (not ideal) - the external dimensions are not the same but the junctions are bee-tight. The wood roof will not fit over a poly box.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You will tire of this arrangement very quickly as it is going to be a PITA to do inspections ... if you are that limited for space where are you going to put the top box and supers when you are inspecting the bottom brood box ?

You really need to find a way of making enough space for a stand that will take two separate hives that way you will be able to comfortably move the supers from one hive onto the roof of the other whilst you inspect the other and then vice versa. Even with poly brood boxes they are very heavy to lift once the colony has built up during the season and by the time you have moved potentially, three supers and a brood box plus the snelgrove paraphenalia you will have bees everywhere; inspections will take far too long, you will begin to wish you had never started and the bees will probably think the same.

The bottom line will be that you will build up a resistance to doing inspections and you really won't enjoy the beekeeping experience.

You need to re-think your beekeeping plans ....

There is no problem with having two hives sat side by side on a double stand ....

And can you imagine the absolute chaos when you need to conduct an artifical swarm? and where will you put the resulting splits?
Not to mention the hassle when treating for varroa
And what about autumn feeding?
How are you going to monitor winter stores consumption? hefting is out of the question
And what happens if you think the bottom box needs emergency feeding?

I've only two bits of advice I can give.
1. Don't do it
2. Find an out apiary

There is a third but I think you can probably guess that.

 

[pargyle]

I've only two bits of advice I can give.
1. Don't do it
2. Find an out apiary

There is a third but I think you can probably guess that.

Totally agree ... there are some ideas that will work, some idead that might work, some ideas that will never work and some ideas that you should never have thought of in the first place ...

I think the latter in this case ...

Make your circumstances fit your beekeeping not your beekeeping fit your circumstances - the latter is a recipe for a disaster... if it is too difficullt to reasonably and sensibly keep bees at home then perhaps the OP should not be keeping bees at home ?

 

[North End Bees]

Wally Shaw has some hives on this arrangement.
To inspect he has to climb a stepladder and pass the boxes down to his wife!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Wally Shaw has some hives on this arrangement.
To inspect he has to climb a stepladder and pass the boxes down to his wife!

And for someone who's nearly a thousand years old, that is some achievement.

 

[SaraR]

Is it at all possible to permanently run 1 colony on top of another one, separated only by a Snelgrove board? If so, how do I actually do it? Where do the supers go?
Has anyone done it? Does anyone know any good website link? Want to have 2 colonies at home but space is an issue.
Would appreciate your input. Thanks I’m advance.

A few years ago, I did vertical splits and then kept the two new hives on top of eachother for the rest of the season. I got new floors and roofs in time for the autumn, so I haven’t overwintered any hives in highrise fasion, but it worked well and didn’t add too much hassle at inspections. Although with two or three supers each, they soon got quite tall and heavy to work on my own. Top tip is to make sure you don’t end up with the heaviest super at the very top...

 

[polymath]

And can you imagine the absolute chaos when you need to conduct an artifical swarm? and where will you put the resulting splits?
Not to mention the hassle when treating for varroa
And what about autumn feeding?
How are you going to monitor winter stores consumption? hefting is out of the question
And what happens if you think the bottom box needs emergency feeding?

I've only two bits of advice I can give.
1. Don't do it
2. Find an out apiary

There is a third but I think you can probably guess that.

Could not dissagree more. Any colony today that i go to with more than brood over 10 frames will get a demaree, then run as a two queen hive post summer flow if the top hive mates. here is a picture of the types and under each one is the research done on it. this season i will be running one hive as Nabors, and the rest if the top queen mates as Moeller/Hogg. There are a great set of three Australian bee magazine articles on history and productivity improvements. Also you can find the original research through google. As for artifical swarm, easy take queen out and merge colonies or take queen out and let them create a new one.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Well you're not running two entirely separate colonies from day one, which is what the OP is proposing, are you?