Weight limits on Langstroth hive boxes?

[Anonimo22]

I haven't seen anyone ever ask this. Here goes...

How much weight can those Langstroth hive boxes actually hold?

When watching and learning, plus picking up a full honey super or deep you can tell there's a lot of weight there. And then I'm seeing people will sometimes have a deep with you know,...five or more supers. And you can see these really tall hives.

At what point do you have to worry about the boxes just busting open? Does that ever happen? And the wood doesn't look that thick either.

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

[van from Arkansas]

Brother Adam holds the world record honey weight per a single hive: 700 pounds.

Was this hive reinforced, I don?t know?  I have seen many a hive, langstrof 10 frame  in the 300 pound range, no problems.

Van

[CoolBees]

I would venture a guess - the weight that a langstroth hive can hold, exceeds the weight that a human back should be picking up. I'm very strong and can handle a full deep just fine, but I'm not going to get younger. Looking into the future, caused me to switch to 8-frame mediums now so that I don't have to worry later.

With that said - its still a good question: if you have 6 10-frame deep boxes, with the bottom 2 being brood-nest, and the top 4 loaded with honey, ... that's a lot of weight on those bottom boxes ... 

[paus]

I pulled some frames of honey and weighed some of the frames, they  weighed 11 pounds + an ounce or two each.  These were in a ten frame setup.  The Dean of beekeepers in NE TX told me he had weighed some frames that weighed 13+ pounds in a 9 frame hive.  Do the math 11x10 = 110 pounds plus box.  13x9=117 pounds.  I "USETA" ,my favorite word according to my wife, be able to easily handle that weight and that very well may one of the contributing factors that causes me to not be able to do that sort of thing any more.

[van from Arkansas]

Cool, very smart!

Paus, I understand exactly I USED TO shortened  to useta.  That is hilarious, I am in same boat!!

I packed out elk quarters, 3 hams, 1 shoulder with lose meat, 3 trips, up hill, in my early fifties, you would not believe how far so I am not even going to mention.  A friend packed out 1 shoulder and rack with me.  Three trips I made packing elk quarters; all day and into the night.  Exhilarating, built confidence, assured my stamina, made me feel proud; now I feel pain; osteoarthritis and lumbar wedging is my diagnosis via bone scans.  So, think ahead like MR. COOL, read his text above!!!

Now I how do I lift hive bodies: one frame at a time.  I carry a wagon with empty hive body frame and load a frame at a time until I have all ten frames loaded in the wagon.  Then away I go pulling the wagon with a full deep.  I USETA lift hive bodies, now hive frames.  I am still enjoying life, just a little bit slower, but having all the fun.

blessings
Van

[Michael Bush]

Boxes don't "bust open" unless you drop them.  Box weights:
http://bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#lighterboxes

[The15thMember]

I agree with Michael Bush.  As long as the boxes are structurally sound to begin with and the hive is nicely stacked with the boxes directly on top of each other, I can't see a bottom box ever just bursting.  With all the weight evenly directed straight down, the wood should hold for really any hive.  I'm not good with numbers, but I'd think that the weight that would burst a box in such a situation would have to be something like a ton or two.  I can't see how a real life beehive would get tall enough and heavy enough to just shatter the wood of the bottom box.   

[CoolBees]

Van - I'm guessing I'm a few years behind you. But packing Elk out ... well ... it's just gotta be done!!!  ... ... and I'm gonna pay the price for it too! 

My wife asked how long I'm gonna keep chasing them - I replied "until my body won't let me".  ... with that said, I do prefer the ones that are uphill, and closer to a road ...  but for some odd reason, those aren't the ones I find!

[Ben Framed]

I also agree with and Bush. I might add, the base should be the most important consideration. A good steady, sturdy, strong, level base.

[Michael Bush]

I do think some people misjudge the weight when building a stand.  A hive could easily end up weighing 200 pounds and some end up even higher.  If you have a stand with 14 hives and they all weigh 200 pounds, that's more than a ton, in fact almost a ton and a half...

[Ben Framed]

Van - I'm guessing I'm a few years behind you. But packing Elk out ... well ... it's just gotta be done!!!  ... ... and I'm gonna pay the price for it too! 

My wife asked how long I'm gonna keep chasing them - I replied "until my body won't let me".  ... with that said, I do prefer the ones that are uphill, and closer to a road ...  but for some odd reason, those aren't the ones I find!

Alan, you two are to be admired.. That is something I have always wanted to do since a boy growing up reading Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield. Do either of you have experience with horses?

[Acebird]

The box could easily support a car, so tons but a stand made from cement blocks and two by fours not so much.

[Acebird]

with that said, I do prefer the ones that are uphill, and closer to a road ...  but for some odd reason, those aren't the ones I find!

Could be the uptick in desire for four wheel utility vehicles.  I am all for machines to keep the body young.  No need to grow old too soon.

[CoolBees]

... Do either of you have experience with horses?

Phillip - I personally, can't stand horses. They annoy me highly. My hats off to those that can wrangle them easily.

[van from Arkansas]

Van - I'm guessing I'm a few years behind you. But packing Elk out ... well ... it's just gotta be done!!!  ... ... and I'm gonna pay the price for it too! 

My wife asked how long I'm gonna keep chasing them - I replied "until my body won't let me".  ... with that said, I do prefer the ones that are uphill, and closer to a road ...  but for some odd reason, those aren't the ones I find!

Alan, you two are to be admired.. That is something I have always wanted to do since a boy growing up reading Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield. Do either of you have experience with horses?

I usta train Quarter horses.  Owned 11 at most.  I cannot tell how many times I have been bit, kicked and throwed.  As a boy, I bounced when throwed in my 50ties I hit the ground with a ker-splat and that hurt. 

Van

[TheHoneyPump]

Mid-summer the hives here are routinely anywhere from 300 to 450 lbs each just prior to the pulls. Odd one up to 550 lbs.
Keep the equipment in good repair, good condition, and will never have issues.  If old equipment, it should be intuitive to put the best ones on the bottom and the rotten ones on the top.

Putting the engineering hat on for a moment.  Assuming solid pine/spruce materials.  With a good base, sturdy joints, and vertical load (no Pisa towers), that bottom-most box is capable of supporting a tremendous amount of weight. A rough calculation indicates upwards of 100 times what a even the  heaviest full 8 deep box high hive will weigh.

No, boxes blowing apart on the hive are not a concern.  Stacking empty supers in the storage shed floor to ceiling is not a concern.  Stacking full honey boxes in the -hot room- , best keep them under 15 boxes high.

As mentioned, what the boxes are set onto is much more of a concern than the strength of the boxes.

Hope that helps!

PS: one of my main yards at a friends who was a guide horse wrangler for many years. He was responsible for catching, handling, tacking, etc the team string of 25+ horses. In his retirement he is down to two which he keeps in one set of corrals. The rest of the pasture has turned into the bee-farm which he lets all the clovers and wildflowers grow for the bees.  An awesome spot.

[Ben Framed]

Van - I'm guessing I'm a few years behind you. But packing Elk out ... well ... it's just gotta be done!!!  ... ... and I'm gonna pay the price for it too! 

My wife asked how long I'm gonna keep chasing them - I replied "until my body won't let me".  ... with that said, I do prefer the ones that are uphill, and closer to a road ...  but for some odd reason, those aren't the ones I find!

Alan, you two are to be admired.. That is something I have always wanted to do since a boy growing up reading Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, and Sports Afield. Do either of you have experience with horses?

I usta train Quarter horses.  Owned 11 at most.  I cannot tell how many times I have been bit, kicked and throwed.  As a boy, I bounced when throwed in my 50ties I hit the ground with a ker-splat and that hurt. 

Van

The reason I ask is, a good pack horse or two would be a real asset to you fellows when packing out ElK or any other big game. I also use to train horses and dogs Mr van. My family comes form a line of cattle folks on my daddies side.. I found that the old saying a person can learn a lot from animals rings true. I also found that horses, like people, are individuals. Each having their own personality. After an accident a few years ago, I had to give up my horses as I was not able to attend to them as they deserved. I do however still have my tack, and on occasion dream of horses! Just another GIFT from GOD. Horses, and the dream of the same.  I realize that we have gotten off subject talking about elk and horses and I should hold off of this subject on this thread as I have had a complaint by another member to the moderator here before because of this drifting away form the subject, so I will lay off the horses and elk for now on this thread. If you or Alan or anyone else would like to continue the conversation of elk and horses I would encourage each to start a new thread for we want to keep in line with the rules. 

Blessings.
Phillip