is there a differance in frames

[teebo]

my question is can you use frames that were use for honey prodution as brood frames?

[Mklangelo]

Yes you can but the frames used for honey supers are often 6 1/4' deep. Those used in the hive bodies are often 9 1/8' deep.  I personally wouldn't use the shallower frames in the brood chamber simply because I don't want to limit the area that the Queen will lay and the workers will store what they need to raise young and overwinter.

I hope this helps and good luck!



:)

[shakerbeeman]

I will be using all medium size frames. I intend to leave three for the hive which should be plenty for the brood and food. I like the Michael Bush style of beekeeping and may learn some of his habits right off the bat. The one thing I am unsure of but lean toward is having the top entry. There seem to be supporting reasons to do this. Using all mediums will be easy because of dealing with all one size. One thing I am a little unsure of is the best way to fasten foundation. It seems to need a little less support than the large size if I am right. Perhaps the wired frames are not needed.

[Brian D. Bray]

I manage my bees very much like Michael Bush does.  We both use 8 frame medium hives throughout.
The medium frames are a little easier to use with starter strips and no wires.  Top entrances reduces moisture condensation in the hive to virtually nothing as the moisture exits through the entrance.  Used with screened bottom boards top entrances are ideal for controlling ventilation within the hive.

[shakerbeeman]

When you use eight frame does that mean the boxes are that size or you only put eight in a box bor ten? Thanks for your input. I perhaps should make my bottom board to have a sliding panel for ventilation or not.

[Brian D. Bray]

Generally there are 5 sizes of hives not counting queen mating boxes.
3 frame Nuc  Often used as queen mating nuc, storing a queen, or spliting a hive.
5 frame Nuc  Most often used in spliting a hive or banking a queen
8 Frame       8 frames per box in deep, medium, and shallow depths.
10 Frame     10 fraems per bos in deep, medium, shallow, and comb depths.
12 frame Imperial  The hernia special, usually found in deep and medium only.  They are not used very much anymore because they are very heavy.  A 12 frame medium weighs about as much as a 10 frame standard and a 12 frame deep will wiegh in excess of 100 lbs.  The width also makes it harder to handle. 

[shakerbeeman]

I bought two nucs to hold me over till I finish my hives. The nucs are 5 frame and each has two boxes stacked. I expect to transfer them as soon as the other 10 frame medium boxes are finished. It sounds like I should have made narrower boxes to accomodate only 8 frames and I will do that on the next ones. Convection and wintering over would be assisted by this size. My bees will be here on Tues. Should I leave the two boxes on my new nucs or start with only one?

[Brian D. Bray]

A 3 lb package of bees will just fit into a medium depth 5 frame nuc.  I would just use the one box to start then go to the second before transfering them to the 10 frame.  They will be better established that way and they will have less area to heat and work so that more bees can forage.  The Hive should develop faster.

[shakerbeeman]

Thanks again. That is as I expected but was unsure. One must need know why one does what he does.

I read on another topic that it may take only a couple weeks to fill the bottom frames. Is that a reasonable estimate? I need to keep moving on my hives which will each need two mediums I suspect. Keeping the same order it seems as all I need to due is transfer at the proper time. Simple right?

[Michael Bush]

>I read on another topic that it may take only a couple weeks to fill the bottom frames. Is that a reasonable estimate?

Not all hives are equal, but I just installed 20 packages in eight frame mediums with mostly drawn comb (six frames of drawn and three that are not, and yes that's nine frames because I cut down the end bars...) and most had filled that will brood, nectar, and pollen in 10 days.  A few had not.  If they were drawing that comb it would take them a lot longer, of course.  The packages i put into eight frame boxes of drawn comb on April 8th have filled two boxes and I just added a third onto most of them.

But the weather, the bees, the package, the queen and the beekeeper all play a part in this and often just one hive does far better then the one next door to it.