[beecuz]

I have four hives all with deep brood boxes plus one medium brood box on each...and then several honey supers on top of those. I want to set up another hive but only have medium supers in storage...is it just as good to use mediums for brood as it is for deep brood boxes? Say, use three mediums instead of the one deep plus one medium?

BeeCuz


"For breath is sweeter taken even as the last in places dear...
in gardens, fields and dogwood trees...
In forest stands of bamboo shoots...
of ginger root and honey bees."

 

[brac]

I never met a bee that could tell a brood box from a honey super. Some guys run 3 med's some run 4.

 

[tnmx]

3 med will work great there is a lot of beeks that only use med boxes. The three are about the same as 2 deeps. You will be fine.

 

[AmericasBeekeeper]

You will have to add a few hours a week at the gym for all the weight you will not be lifting with mediums. Bees do not care about super depth as stated by several any more than hive color or foundation color. It might destroy our economy (wait it is already messed up) since you will be hitting up the suppliers half as much.

 

[Brooklyn]

All mediums work for me

 

[Hambone]

I pretty much run all mediums. I have 3 deeps. Only using 1 of those right now. I checked my one deep hive today. I didn't check the deep its self. The medium above it had some brood in it. Small patch in the center 2 frames. All the others were honey. On my mediums. The queen will go into the 3rd for a bit. Until a real good flow hits. Then they back fill the 3rd and keep the brood in the lower 2 mediums. Not always. But this is what I typically see.

 

[DavidBee]

This is my first year, so I won't offer any advice, but I will say that I researched the question fairly extensively here and on other lists and many beeks use all mediums, as I am doing now. I'm not sure how much to leave them for winter, though. I'd rather leave them honey than feed them, so I'm thinking four medium boxes for the mild Southern winter.

 

[Ben Brewcat]

Go medium. As noted, boxes are only different in their dimensions. You can have brood in a shallow and honey packed in a deep. Though don't try to lift it without eating your wheaties.

 

[Cyrus Brewster]

Wondering what the consensus is on the number of mediums needed for overwintering in Connecticut.

 

[Klaus]

The common formula is three mediums equal two deep boxes. :thumbsup: