Medium Supers as Brood Boxes

[Butterchurn]

I've got to say how nice it is working mediums as brood chambers. I have two hives in mediums and as a comparison I put one in a deep. Man I sure enjoy working the mediums as compared to the deep frames. I must be getting old or something. I'm going to convert the deep to mediums.

The only problem with the mediums is a need to put them on a higher stand. Bending over to reach one medium on cement blocks is a back killer.

Thanks to everyone on the board who introduced me to the idea of using mediums!

Ron

[COUNT ZERO]

I'm planning to go to all mediums next year beacause of the cost. I'm planning to go from two hives to twelve hives and If I order all mediums I can qualify for bulk pricing. Now if only I could find $1000.00 hmmm....

You folks using all mediums in a northern climate- how many boxes do you count on needing per colony. I was thinking five or six- am I off on this?

[power napper]

Three mediums are the same as two deeps. If you winter on two deeps then use three mediums etc. I personally like the mediums much better than the deeps, especially when the need arised for a quick cell of brood or honey for a brood box. All one size fits my needs perfectly as well as the difficulty moving a deep full of honey versus a medium. Even my four frame observation hive is medium frames. I only keep deep boxes to use as a feeder cover or I would cut them down to medium boxes also.

[Michael Bush]

Take an empty box and set it on the ground for a stool. Sit on the box and work the bottom box. Your back will appreciate it. You can also make or buy a toolbox and use it for a stool.

http://www.beeequipment.com/products.asp?pcode=247

[Michael Bush]

I winter in everything from two mediums to five mediums depending on the cluster, but three is what most of mine are. As powernapper says, three mediums is equivelant to two deeps.

[Dan Williamson]

One of the things I really like about the meds is that I can take a frame or two of brood and move them up into the honey super above the excluder. I try to find a frame or two that doesn't have any (or very little) pollen it in. It really gets a good amount of bees working up there and helps to free up the brood nest some by drawing bees up into the hive. After the brood hatches out they can fill it with honey.

You can't do that if you are running deeps for brood and meds for supers.

Dan

[hrogers]

Howdy All ---

Welcome to the Medium world. I have used nothing else since 1937. After buying out other
beekeepers or their family, I have cut down many deeps, frames, and combs.

Doc

[dickm]

I decided to use 1 deep and 2 mediums. It's a fine idea but stuff moves around. I had considerable losses last winter and more than once the cluster was just below the next medium. I think they starved because they couldn't get across the gap. I think if you just look at comb area 3 mediums don't actually = 2 deeps. I think it would come out to more like 4 mediums. And you've added 2 more gaps between supers. This may be OK for warmer climes but not so good up north. I think 8 frames and 3 deeps would be better for the bees while saving weight. Just some food for thought.

Dickm

[beegee]

I was planning to go to all mediums, as well. But, the more I thought about it, the more I like the idea of those nice deep frames full of brood. It seems like I can deal better with brood in deeps and honey in mediums. I don't know how the math works, but it seems like it takes as much horsepower to lift three mediums as it does one deep.

As an organizational development specialist, I've learned that everybody has a system and some systems may even work. ;)

[Michael Bush]

>but it seems like it takes as much horsepower to lift three mediums as it does one deep.

It's always easier to move three small loads than one big load. Moving things a little at a time instead of all at once is what machines are all about.