Single or double for honey production?

If I use an excluder (I often don't) it goes over the double deeps.

I'm experimenting with triple deeps this year, but I don't have any info to report on that yet. I'm hoping to re-create the results of a massive hive that started as a swarm that took up residence in a stack of unused equipment on the porch a few years ago.

The single brood chamber production is a viable method to get a lot of honey quick. Compressing the hive like that is often used to make comb honey. It is a ton of work though, as the smaller space and 2 chambers worth of brood in a single condition that you set up can accelerate their desire to swarm.

I started with honey excluders on top of two brood chambers, seemed to work okay. Then I tried using no excluder and I found it was significantly more hive management without much production gain. I am back to excluders this year.

Here is a link to a thread where triple deep brood boxes got a fair bit of discussion. I tried it out and found it created too much heavy lifting for me but I does have plus points that might make it a good fit for some folks. Ignore the fact that I am bumping one of my own posts

It all depends if you like inspecting 10 frames or 20.

Crazy zroland

When I use excluders, it's over a single deep. Well,, now I'm using all 8 frame mediums, so it's over 2 - 8 frame medium boxes, which is equal to a ten frame deep in comb space. The swarming impulse has never been more than not using any excluder for me. Sometimes I'm of the opinion that swarming is worse without an excluder or with an excluder over more than one deep box equivalent of comb space. A lot depends on location and individual beekeeping management practices for the area.

I would suggest, based upon your latitude, deeps are much better for overwintering and a more consistent honey harvest for small beekeepers like me. The commercial pollinators use singles as they are easier to transport and they're paid by the box. I'm doing triples this spring as an experiment in getting comb frames built out but shortly, the resources of the triples will be split and the base hive will be honey production as a double. When I go to honey production, I use excluders and mediums-all 10 frames. A big colony is a strong colony.

LarryBud said:

I would suggest, based upon your latitude, deeps are much better for overwintering and a more consistent honey harvest for small beekeepers like me. The commercial pollinators use singles as they are easier to transport and they're paid by the box. I'm doing triples this spring as an experiment in getting comb frames built out but shortly, the resources of the triples will be split and the base hive will be honey production as a double. When I go to honey production, I use excluders and mediums-all 10 frames. A big colony is a strong colony.

Click to expand...

The triple deep colonies are great for getting a lot of comb drawn for creating splits. Supering on top of three deeps makes a scenario that I can no longer handle. Especially so when they have to be dismantled to inspect the bottom brood boxes for swarm preparations. As Roland says, "It all depends if you like inspecting 10 frames or 20". (or 30)! There are management styles such as what GG suggests to break the triple deeps down into separate colonies in spring before they really get primed for swarming. For simply maximizing honey output per unit of wooden ware though, it is hard to beat single 10 frame deeps. Nothing saying you cannot do some of each if you can handle the stacked up deeps.

BadBeeKeeper said:

If I use an excluder (I often don't) it goes over the double deeps.

I'm experimenting with triple deeps this year, but I don't have any info to report on that yet. I'm hoping to re-create the results of a massive hive that started as a swarm that took up residence in a stack of unused equipment on the porch a few years ago.

Click to expand...

OK, dug into hives yesterday. Mixed results on the triples- best was three deeps booming, all three boxes packed with bees. Worst was a triple plus a medium, the bees split into three separate clusters and two didn't make it, queen still alive (uncapped brood in the med on top). The rest are various states in between.

I suspect that a big monkey-wrench in the works was breaking my arm and hand and not being able to get the insulation on when it should have gone on...which would not have been a problem had I not procrastinated and put it on when it -really- should have gone on. Just under half of my hives didn't make it at all when I got hit with temps well below zero combined with high winds. (They were fine before, and dead immediately after- my fault.)

Frankly, I'm a little surprised that the rest made it.

#BadBadBeekeeper

#GotToDoBetter

I have 5 triples that I need to get into this week. At last inspection 2 weeks ago, they had about 50% draws out on the third box I added in March. I've been to buried with my expansion and hiving 15 new nucs to get too them and I think if I don't split soon, I'll be watching a few colonies flying over the hedge row. Weathers been decent and we've are having a solid spring flow-all the new 5 frame nucs are hived in 10 frame deeps and may be getting that second deep shortly. I had manipulated a few frames yesterday on some of the single boxes and I'm guess the triples are even further along by now. .I kind of screwed the pooch on getting early VSH F1 queens with my nuc's getting here 3 weeks earlier than I expected this spring so I need to either get lucky, find some good local queens or do walk always and let them make their own.

I like singles more than doubles for running through the spring/summer. Once the flow starts, move the queen down and then open the brood nest twice for her, it pretty much abates the swarm impulse for me. The hard part is counting days and not ending up with two- four frames with a little capped brood that the nurses won't abandon when you try to clear the deep over a door. The best part is dropping foundation between the larvae frames in the 'new supper' and getting a lot of new comb. --pump the honey UP!

I find if I leave them in doubles and super over that, I end up with 4-6 frames of pollen, and my queen ends up getting plugged out from the bottom.