Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: WayneW on November 25, 2008, 08:44:33 pm
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My starter kit was purchased from Mann Lake (their boxes, their frames.) Also i just purchased 100 frames from Kellys.
I noticed that the Mann Lake frame top bars are made such that they sit 1/4 inch below the top of the box(s) on the rabbet, and the bottoms are 1/4 inch short of the bottom of the box(s). This would leave 1/2 inch bee space between stacked supers, and i noticed i get a lot of brace (burr?) comb in this space.
On the other hand, the Kelly frames are made such that the top bars rest about 3/8 below the tops of the boxes in the rabbet, but the bottom bars run flush with the bottoms of the boxes, maintaining the 3/8 bee space i read so much about between stacked supers.
Has anyone noticed more or less brace comb using kelly frames, or is this a moot observation :?
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The Kelly configuration is the one more in line with Langstroths findings and recommendations. You're right, those extra spaces on Mann Lake Hives do contribute to the manufacture of burr comb, not a bad thing when topping off a hive for overwintering. But Mann Lake's hive is often preferred by beekeepers because it is less prone to mishandling causing damage to frames and comb because of the recess's at the top and bottom of the super.
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Most frames leave 1/4" at the top and 1/8" at the bottom. But that also depends on who made the box. :)
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Most frames leave 1/4" at the top and 1/8" at the bottom. But that also depends on who made the box. :)
The box is mann lake and their frame and a kelley frame side by side in the box sit at the different levels i mentioned.
Could be the box i guess, or maybe a combo of both. Maybe after tomorrows festivities i'll get a chance to do the measuring. I know i like the idea of keeping 3/8 bee space between the supers, i ripped apart quite a bit of burr comb doing inspections this year, hoping the 3/8 will reduce it.
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Measuring is fine and all that, but you do need to get used to the burr comb. :)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#leaveburr
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I can not remember where I seen it at, but it was a list that showed all the dimensions of all the major suppliers. And it was as if not one was the same as the others. A real shame for the industry. And I don't know anyone who buys based on trying to keep to one supplier in attempts of making it all fit together. In fact, even when you order from one place, the bee space is usually messed up anyways. Oh well.
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And it was as if not one was the same as the others. A real shame for the industry.
A shame for sure. But i do like the Kelley frames, so maybe i'll use my current boxes for patterns for supers and such, and just keep buying frames from Kelleys. I guess it dosent really matter that all the bee space is above the top bars, as long as it's correct space (which it is with the Mann Lake boxes at least).