[Fowkes]

I'm about to put on my first honey super after the bees have just about finished drawing comb in two brood boxes. From what I've read, people use either 8 or 9 frames in their honey supers, just wondering about what most people here choose to do. I'm using all deeps.

Thanks for any imput.

 

[rkr]

I did 9 because that is more common. I let them draw out the comb in a 10 frame configuration; then put it in a 9 frame configuration before it was capped. That is what my mentor suggested. I would be interested to see what others have to say.

My mentor said that 9 frames in a shallow will yield the same 32-35 pounds of honey that a 10 frame shallow will store. I would be interested in how much an 8 frame will hold.

Good luck, RKR

Ps If you are in all deeps your more of a manly man than me!!!

 

[honeybeekeeper]

Do you butt them 9 frames up tight just like you would the normal 10 frames but in this case 9 frames or do you have each frame spaced??? I have to have my frames tight or the bees like to control the comb direction themselves!..hahaha

 

[deanw]

you need all ten frames in to get them drawn, after the first extraction they can go back on with 9 frames evenly spaced.

 

[Beeslave]

When you use 9 frames in a 10 frame box space the frames out evenly. They need to be drawn out for this to work well. I use 8 frames in my shallow 10 frame boxes. When you use 8 frames you get more honey per frame but that 8 frames can hold more honey than 10 frames will. If you visit your hives frequently you can start with the frames tight together and move them apart as the bees fatten the comb but before they start to cap the honey. With the right manipulation you can have a super finished with only 4-5 really fat capped combs of honey.

 

[Fuzzy]

Because I have a 9 frame extractor, I use 9 frames per box. If I had some other size extractor then I would probably figure out what worked best and do that. I hate to have to spin out 1 or 2 odd frames.

 

[Beeslave]

I'll be extracting over 20,000 frames this year so it doesn't matter to me how many are in the box. The fatter the comb the easier it is to uncap.

 

[rkr]

When you use 8 frames you get more honey per frame but that 8 frames can hold more honey than 10 frames will.

Beeslave, Fuzzy, etal
In your experience do you get as much honey from a 9 or an 8 frames in a 10 frame super as you do a standard 10 frame super? I was told it was the same for 9 in a 10.
I understand that the ease in uncapping is the big advantage.

RKR

 

[Beeslave]

2 years ago I weighed full supers and then reweighed them after extracting. The avg I had for 20 supers was- 9 frames in a 6 5/8 super held 37 lbs honey. 8 frames in a 5 11/16 super held 29 lbs of honey. This also included the weight of the cappings taken off but that doesn't add up to much. Now doing the math and taking weight / by the depth of the super I would say you may not get more honey in the super with less frames but you have less frames to extract to get the same weight.

 

[rkr]

you have less frames to extract to get the same weight.

That is an excellent point!! I had not thought of it in those terms. Even if you get a little less honey you have one less frame to buy/ build/ handle/ repair/ maintain / extract. Over all a time saver on top of being easy to uncap!! Thanks!!

RKR

 

[Beeslave]

I have 1600 shallows with 8 frames in them. Extracting 1600 less frames saves alot of time. With my big Cowen double knife uncapper there is very little scratching that needs to be done after the frames go through. I do all the extracting myself so time is money.

 

[Fowkes]

So, if I try and use just 8 frames with foundation, the bees will simply draw deeper comb to store the honey than if I were to use 9 frames? I don't have frames of drawn comb to use, so the girls will have to work at building their own.

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[honeyman46408]

So, if I try and use just 8 frames with foundation, the bees will simply draw deeper comb to store the honey than if I were to use 9 frames? I don't have frames of drawn comb to use

You should start with 10 frames if you are useing foundation, after you have drawn comb you can space the frames 9 or 8

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I usually use eight frames in my honey supers, but then, I use 8-frame equipment almost exclusively .

 

[Ethfol]

I would do nine frames in a 10 frame box. The tech transfer team here in Ontario said they have checked it out and not only do you get more honey per super but you have less frames to extract! But wait, there's more! Because of the fatter comb you can uncapp easier with a uncapping knife and less scratching! Never heard of putting 8 frames in a ten frame box...I think the honey would leak a lot and you would get a lot of burr comb and malformed frames, but again I have never tried it. Most of all have fun with this incredible creation, the honeybee.