On 20 Feb 97 at 20:47, Albert W Needham wrote: Long Way - Warm Way? > It may seem like a *dumb question*, but what do you folks mean by "Long > Way" - "Warm Way"? It really describes the position of the entrance to the run of the frames. With the entrance on the short side ie. 16 1/2" or commonly called the cold way. With the entrance on the long side ie. 20" or called the warm way. Personally I don't believe it makes much difference to temperature within the hive. Afterall the entrance is still the same size. Some of the benefits to changing? As I said yesterday, better wintering, less back problems, less ankle stings. The obvious position to manipulate a hive is from the back. With frames running the 'cold way' lifting the frames needs a twist to the back reaching to the front of the frame with one hand. While the 'warm way' it is easy to reach both ends of the frames without twisting. Of course your ankles are now hidden from incoming bees by the boxes in front of you. Less ankle stings!! Some manufacturers only put hand hold on the ends of boxes compounding the back problem. Think about it!! Any chiropracter will tell you 'it's the twist that gets you'. As to the strength of the floor, one way versus another makes no difference. The strength of the rim surrounding the floor supports the boxes, not the middle of the floor. ********************************************************* The Bee Works, 9 Progress Drive Unit 2, Orillia, Ontario, Canada. L3V 6H1 David Eyre, Owner. Phone/Fax 705 326 7171 Dealers for E.H.Thorne & B.J.Sherriff UK http://www.muskoka.net/~beeworks *********************************************************