[DaleOrthman]

Hi Guys,
It is nice to have a forum to learn from your experience and make my venture a success. They say if you have to go through a mine field, follow someone! Just not to close I guess! Anyway, I am a beginner again as had 4 nucs last Summer which didn't make it through the winter due to moisture issues as I believe I placed them to close to the bottom of a hill from the fungus or whatever the green stuff was that covered the frames, comb and bottom of the inner cover. I joined this forum last year but unfortunately forgot about it so lesson learned. I have 2-5 frame deep nucs on order and will pick them up in a few weeks. My first question for you pros out there is this. I have medium supers for brood and honey for consistency and because of back problems so wanted to keep the weight to around 50 lbs max. The 2 nucs on order are 5 deep frames each. How do I work the deep frames into the mediums? Do I join 2 medium supers together and treat them as a deep? Is it OK to have 5 medium frames and 5 deep frames for the bottom super? HELP!!! I feel stupid.
God Bless,
Dale

 

[Riskybizz]

Dale

No need to feel stupid. I raised bees in N.H. for about 10 years quite some time ago and the weather can be trying. Next time you order any nucs ask the person selling them if they would use medium frames instead of deeps. If I were you I would purchase a couple of standard deep brood boxes and 10 more deep frames of foundation. Use the two deeps to establish your nucs and then if you wish you can phase them out of your setup as your bees expand. You can also move the standard deep frames above a queen excluder (in a deep box) later in the season, and let the bees store honey in them. You don't have to pick up the entire deep box to remove the honey. Take one frame at a time and brush off the bees. You can also use the deeps for swarm boxes next year if you don't want them in your day to day operation. There are some who might advise cutting this down or cutting that down to fit. In my experience there is nothing more frustrating to a new beekeeper than trying to alter equipment to correct a problem. Put your efforts into best management practices. You cannot work the deep frames into the mediums without complications.

 

[Michael Bush]

>How do I work the deep frames into the mediums? Do I join 2 medium supers together and treat them as a deep?

You can. You'll have about 3 1/2" or so of comb that will get built on the bottom of the deeps if you don't fill the space below them.

> Is it OK to have 5 medium frames and 5 deep frames for the bottom super?

Sure.

You could make a shim that is 3" tall (cut the top 3" off of a five frame nuc box) and set this on top of your medium box. The deeps go in that, the rest is filled with mediums and a scrap of wood is used to cover the gap on the side and he nuc (depending on the size of your boxes)

You can do a cutout if they aren't plastic frames.

You can shake the bees off and run the whole thing through at table saw at 6 1/4" width...

There are a lot of things you can do...

 

[DaleOrthman]

Thanks Riskybizz..... I really don't feel stupid, just ignorant (which is better) which is nice because you can't ask a stupid question that way! The Nucs I got last summer were medium nucs, we are just so far into the season that they were sold out and all I can get elsewhere are deep frames that I will bring my supers to transfer them into when I get there. I believe I will get a deep super and 5 deep frames for each Nuc to keep things simple. I will then phase them out them out later in the season as you suggested.
Thanks a bunch!
God Bless,
Dale

 

[DaleOrthman]

Excellent advice Michael Bush! I like the different options you give which would save money in buying deep supers and deep frames though that purchase is what I will be doing to try to keep things consistent and simple. I can tell you have been at this beekeeping thing awhile with so many options I would have never thought of.
Thanks a bunch!
God Bless,
Dale

 

[Michael Bush]

What I actually do depends on the situation. If I have one deep that has brood on it that I don't want to waste, I'll leave a medium out of two medium boxes and let it hang down into the second box. If I have one medium that I need to put someplace and a box otherwise full of deeps I'll put that one medium in there. Anything not brood, I'll pull when there is a flow going. So having options allows you to choose depending on what the majority of what you have is or the minority of what you have is...

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

Welcome Dale!