>> Excluders work best over _single brood_ chambers and require
>> careful and conscious management to work consistently above
>> doubles.  They often fail over triple brood chambers.

> I don't know if anyone else does this, but I reverse the brood
> chambers when I add supers above an excluder if there is a honey
> band.  This puts the brood right up against the excluder, and the
> bees go right up.
Yes.  Excluders only work reliably if they are close to brood,
separate the bees from a space they have previously occupied, or the
area under the excluder is quite limited. Otherwise the beekeeper has to
make sure they are accepted and working as intended and perhaps bait the
space above with brood or stickies.

Upper entrances can sometimes assist in acceptance since the bees have
to go up to guard that entry point, but the downside is that if there is
too much ventilation and cool weather, the bees may refuse to go up
anyhow, plug the combs under it and and lose heat into that unused space.

Reversing is indicated if there is a significant honey arch, but
reversing is only one of the many tricks practised by the "careful and
conscious" beekeeper mentioned above.  Other tricks include moving a
brood frame, or several, above the excluder; adding an empty comb or a
sheet of foundation in the middle of the brood before adding an
excluder; etc.

The problem is that reversing is not always required, and sometimes it
is actually counter-productive.  All these tricks require either a
benign climate or a wise beekeeper.  Rules are no substitute for
understanding.

Unfortunately, contrary to what most believe, employing excluders is a
subtle management technique that can't be conveyed in a few words.  It
requires some considerable understanding, ability to follow rules, or
simple luck.  Of course, of the three, the first is best.

Since we have covered this in great detail in the past, the best way to
get a variety of opinions and suggestions is to consult the archives.

The other way to understand excluders is to use them and observe
carefully. Let the bees show you how they "think".  Experiment and
observe.

Don't just slap an excluder on and walk away, then come back in two
weeks and declare excluders to be "honey excluders".

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