mediums and shallows

randydrivesabus · July 17, 2007, 09:47:17 AM

I don't understand why there are mediums and shallows. Does anyone use shallows for honey supers?

Mici · July 17, 2007, 10:48:22 AM

well and some don't understand why there are deeps and mediums.
it was probably meant to be versatile but...soon it became just a meaning of ripping off newbees. you sell them a set of 1 deep, 1 med and 2 shallows and later you sell him all mediums :-D.
i don't use either

Scadsobees · July 17, 2007, 11:09:27 AM

I made a few and am trying to use them for comb honey production.

I could fit 4 of them in my extractor instead of 2 medium frames.

1 deep was determined by somebody to be the ideal size needed for the brood nest. A shallow is 1/2 a deep.

It is probably like anything else in life...everybody wants choices...

Kathyp · July 17, 2007, 03:36:31 PM

i use shallows for honey. got a good deal on a bunch of them. they are easy to lift and i can swap frames out faster. i had thought that i should have gone with all mediums, but the deeps for brood are not that heavy, so i have not had a problem. the shallows, even full, are not that heavy. with only a few hives, this works for me so far.

Understudy · July 17, 2007, 05:22:07 PM

I tend to stick with mediums. I don't have any problem with shallows. I just don't need to stock equipment for another size. It is nice to know everything is going to be interchangable. Just me being lazy.

Sincerley,
Brendhan

Michael Bush · July 17, 2007, 07:57:13 PM

Shallows are lighter and closer to the dimensions of a cut comb (4" by 4"). But I have a better chance of finding a perfect piece of comb with more to work with, so I still prefer the mediums for that. Plus I don't like shallows as well for brood as I like mediums.

I use all mediums.

Hopeful · November 19, 2007, 09:38:39 PM

Michael,

Are you saying that nne medium for brood and one for honey reserve for winter, and then three for honey harvest, would get the job done in a place like Oklahoma?

Michael Bush · November 19, 2007, 10:02:09 PM

>Are you saying that nne medium for brood and one for honey reserve for winter, and then three for honey harvest, would get the job done in a place like Oklahoma?

No. Three mediums would be typical for the brood area. Three or four more for supers. In a bumper crop year you might even get a hive that's ten boxes all together.

Hopeful · November 20, 2007, 05:33:24 AM

So a story and a half , however I get there, and then whatever the honey crop demands?

Michael Bush · November 20, 2007, 08:17:21 AM

Three ten frame mediums is exactly the same as two deeps. That would be two stories (assuming a story is a deep) wouldn't it? Four eight frame mediums is exactly the same as two deeps.

KONASDAD · November 20, 2007, 12:56:09 PM

Personally I want to go all mediums for ease of interchangeablity. BUT, I find w/ mediums in brood area there is way too much burr comb, the queen wont/hasn't expanded to the third or fourth medium im my apairy, lots more drones and they dont store as much for winter b/c some comb area is simply not there between the boxes and the like. I have been unsuccesful in going to all mediums as a result. The continuous foundation area of a deep seems to provide a more comfortable home for the bees in my apaiary. My bees w/ two deeps are way more prepared for winter than my bees thast have two mediums and a deep or one med and a deep. I wish i could go all mediums.

Brian D. Bray · November 21, 2007, 10:47:36 PM

If you're planning on going side-liner (and you are) the best thing to do is to make a choice that optimizes your euipments usage from the onset. The equipment that best meets that criteria is mediums. After harvesting honey from 100 hives your back will be thanking you all winter. The ability to move frames to any place in any hive you have also has its pluses.

A lot of people who sour on mediums do so because they try to operate as if the medium were a deep. Limiting a brood chamber to 2 mediums is counter productive and forces swarming and burr comb. A brood chamber of mediums is 3-4 boxes and with a vigorous queen can even be 5 or 6. For best productivity let the queen have as much brood area as she wants prior to and during the heavy nectar flows. More brood area = more bees = more harvested honey.

TwT · November 22, 2007, 12:00:08 AM

Quote from: randydrivesabus on July 17, 2007, 09:47:17 AM
I don't understand why there are mediums and shallows. Does anyone use shallows for honey supers?

mediums ( Illinois supers) and shallows are just what they are called "supers", you see some people use them for brood, supers and a complete hive's, reason is weight I think, even some has gone to 8 frame mediums ( to me thats ca little bigger than a 5 frame deep nuc), I myself like my 10 frame equipment and deeps for brood chambers, I have all mediums for supers and only have 1 shallow, on the choice of your equipment it is best to judge for yourself because thats the best way to know for yourself what type equipment you want to use....