How full should the frames be before I add a super?

[Rurification]

I installed the hives April 3rd, foundationless, 10 frame deep.   

One of the hives likes to start a new frame when the last frame is about 20% full [or less].   They had started the 9th frame last weekend.    We've got a window on that hive and they are still nowhere near full on the last 5 frames that I can easily see through the window.   

Should I wait until at least 7 frames are FULL before I need to add a super?

[David McLeod]

For me my rule of thumb is 80/80. 80% of frames drawn and 80% capped.

[Vance G]

Where I have kept bees we have intense flows and when it hits, the bees can go from where you are now to plugged, with burr comb full of honey on the topbars, and you have lost opportunity.  When I have a box half drawn I throw on another.   Before adding put the center frames on the very outside of the super so the bees have more reason to finish the lower super instead of chimneying to the top.   If the flow ends for whaever reason take off the box if the foundation is still undrawn.  They can't fill space they don't have.  The caveat is, do you have hive beetles?  I do not and their presence may make my advice emprudent.  Beekeeping is local.  Believe the person you trust closest to your conditions.

[David McLeod]

I do have SHB, hence the 80/80 rule. I am very conservative on defensible space and will bust a colony down to a nuc or combine at the drop of a hat as I have found that to be my best defense against SHB without chemicals. Now if I am expecting an intense flow, not common, or on my Alabama hive I will drop two supers at a time on it.
If I were running outyards and large numbers I would have to drop two or more supers at a time just for the sake of expediency.

[Rurification]

The caveat is, do you have hive beetles?  I do not and their presence may make my advice emprudent.  Beekeeping is local.  Believe the person you trust closest to your conditions.

Brand new hives, no SHB that I've seen.

[Finski]

.
First of all bees need more boxes and combs when the colony crows.
One full brood frame produces 3 frames adult bees.

Rule of thump...

If you get one box capped honey, you need three boxes where bees dry up the nectar and then store  rippen honey from up to down.

80% drawn and 80% capped never heard but even hearn i do not understand the idea.
That system surely leads to swarming.

Last summer I had a hive on balance. It brought honey  30 lbs in two days. It meant that medium box was full in 2 days.
In one week it brought 100 lbs. Only rule is "extract and return empty boxes."
.

[hardwood]

Intense flows and (which are usually a good bit north of us and normally have less SHB problems) need the room asap. When I helped REDBEE up in S.D. last year it was not uncommon to throw three supers on at a time. To do that here would signal the death of that hive,

Scott

[Jim134]

Finski.....


 Do beekeepers in Finland have  SHB  :?


  BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

[David McLeod]

Okay, let's assume no SHB and a great flow. Pretty much what I had when I started, pre-tracheal mite, I ran double deeps three band italians and would stack three empties on top when I reversed well ahead of the poplar flow.
But those bees are dead and today I run single deeps with feral stock and probably have every form of mite, pathogen and pest kbown to man plus aome tbat probably ain't. I hold to it, if it ain't got bees on it then it's a devils playground. No empty space in my boxes if I can help it.
Yes, that makes me vunerable to swarming but running feral stock that are moderate layers and will actually lay according to season and opening the broodnest coupled with timely splitting holds it at bay.

[Finski]

Finski.....


 Do beekeepers in Finland have  SHB  :?


  BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

We have not small hive beatle. It is far from us.

.

[Rurification]

Thanks everyone!   That helps me think about it.   So glad for all of your experience.