alan riach
01-06-2010, 03:24 PM
It is generally reckoned that the standard National/Smith (& even more so WBC) broodbox is rather small for a strong laying Queen and for holding enough food to take a colony through a hard winter. This has led to beekeepers adopting the box and a half system (a brood box and a super full of brood frames -needs different size brood frames), double deeps (22 brood frames to examine) and various other rather awkward solutions.
There are alternatives to double boxes and it would be interesting to hear of beekeepers experiences of them.
There is an extra deep version of the National (Smith/WBC) frame called the 14 X 12 -the numbers referring to the National frames width of 14" and the extra depth of 12" (compared to a Standard National Deep frame which is 81/2" deep). The brood box is either constructed to suit or standard brood boxes can be increased in depth by adding a 31/2" addition. 11 of these frames give about 45% extra brood space compared to a standard National 11 frames. Similarly for a Smith (WBC's hold 10 frames).
A move to 14 x 10's only affects Brood frames and Brood boxes - all other equipment is standard
Some users have said that these ultra deep 14 x 12 frames are a bit awkward to handle & that the bees are reluctant to draw such deep frames. Any direct experiences?
We converted our Smith hives about 10 yrs ago from box and half to using British Commercial frames (16" x !0" deep). 10 of these frames can be packaged the long way in the hive by adding 11/2" depth to the brood box. The brood frames are then of course at right angles to the Super frames above the Q excluder, but the bees don't seem to mind.
This gives a brood area about 26% larger than a standard National or Smith deep and a few % larger than a Lanstroth .
Again this change only affected brood frames and brood boxes, all other equipment stayed the same. An added advantage is that a standard Smith frame can be inserted into a Commercial by cutting two small grooves in the side bar, giving a certain amount of interchange ability/ease of conversion.
The main advantage is that only 10 frames need to be gone through in an examination and of course there is ample room for winter stores. Staying with the Smith Supers limits the lifting effort needed for full supers.
The same move can be made from standard National hives although it’s not possible to insert a National frame with its long lugs inside a Commercial frame.
The original large format hive is of course the Langstroth and it is perhaps a pity that the Brits could not have swallowed their pride in the 19th century and simply adopted it as their standard.
Moving from British equipment to Langstroth is mighty expensive as it means a complete replacement of equipment.
The British Commercial hive gives even more space and is near enough to the plan area of a National to interchange floors, Queen excluders, cover boards and roofs.
abr
There are alternatives to double boxes and it would be interesting to hear of beekeepers experiences of them.
There is an extra deep version of the National (Smith/WBC) frame called the 14 X 12 -the numbers referring to the National frames width of 14" and the extra depth of 12" (compared to a Standard National Deep frame which is 81/2" deep). The brood box is either constructed to suit or standard brood boxes can be increased in depth by adding a 31/2" addition. 11 of these frames give about 45% extra brood space compared to a standard National 11 frames. Similarly for a Smith (WBC's hold 10 frames).
A move to 14 x 10's only affects Brood frames and Brood boxes - all other equipment is standard
Some users have said that these ultra deep 14 x 12 frames are a bit awkward to handle & that the bees are reluctant to draw such deep frames. Any direct experiences?
We converted our Smith hives about 10 yrs ago from box and half to using British Commercial frames (16" x !0" deep). 10 of these frames can be packaged the long way in the hive by adding 11/2" depth to the brood box. The brood frames are then of course at right angles to the Super frames above the Q excluder, but the bees don't seem to mind.
This gives a brood area about 26% larger than a standard National or Smith deep and a few % larger than a Lanstroth .
Again this change only affected brood frames and brood boxes, all other equipment stayed the same. An added advantage is that a standard Smith frame can be inserted into a Commercial by cutting two small grooves in the side bar, giving a certain amount of interchange ability/ease of conversion.
The main advantage is that only 10 frames need to be gone through in an examination and of course there is ample room for winter stores. Staying with the Smith Supers limits the lifting effort needed for full supers.
The same move can be made from standard National hives although it’s not possible to insert a National frame with its long lugs inside a Commercial frame.
The original large format hive is of course the Langstroth and it is perhaps a pity that the Brits could not have swallowed their pride in the 19th century and simply adopted it as their standard.
Moving from British equipment to Langstroth is mighty expensive as it means a complete replacement of equipment.
The British Commercial hive gives even more space and is near enough to the plan area of a National to interchange floors, Queen excluders, cover boards and roofs.
abr