[Maplevalleykennel]

I'm in northern MI and am wondering about brood boxes. If you use 3 mediums instead of 2 deeps do you still reverse the supers when the brood reaches the top? Do you only reverse the bottom super? And what about wintering in 3 mediums vs 2 deeps?

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I think you should read what Michael Bush has to say on the subject. He's in a colder climate than I am. Closer to what you might have, there in Michigan. What I experience, here in Tucson, would be no comparison for you.
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I run primarily 8-frame medium size supers, throughout. With my equipment configurations, I can rarely get the bees to use more than two 8-frame medium supers for their brood nest, but at the peak of our main flow, they do use nearly every bit of that space for brood. Whenever I've added a third super above the existing ones, they've always used it for nectar and pollen storage, immediately above the two that are below, full of brood. In the future (next season), I have plans to see if, I can sneak a third brood super into production, if I place it between the two existing brood supers, rather than above them.

 

[Michael Bush]

I don't generally reverse boxes. If you want to reverse boxes and you are using mediums, just put any empty boxes on top and leave boxes with brood on the bottom.

 

[Clayton Huestis]

I winter my bees in 3 deep set up. You can go to micheal bushes site again and look up unlimited broodnest management. In the spring the bottom deep will be almost always empty. I reverse it when pollen and weather allows. This allows the bees to both expand upwards and downwards as they desire.

Clay