Peter Edwards wrote
"I was surprised that you find Hoffmans slower to work...".

I should make matters clearer:

Hoffmann or for that matter any of the other type of frames that I have 
used all become slow to work with once they are gummed up with wax and 
propolis.
Keeping frames and boxes clean is a luxury. One that takes many weeks to 
achieve.

In the central regions of France, it was propolis that built up rapidly, 
   essentially gluing the frames. The heat made it quite a problem to 
work  with as most areas that were used to hold the frames were covered 
with well warmed "chewing gum".

Here in the Manitoba Prairie, the canola flows result in frames becoming 
covered in wax (burr comb) with propolis helping out to slow things down 
- and after two harvests the frames require a total scrape down. So do 
the super boxes.

Dummy boards: I do not use them. I understand why they are used in 
climates where flows are relatively slow and bee colonies are 
comparatively small compared to here.
Such a board takes up valuable space, is a dead cost and another piece 
of material to deal with.
Trying to keep up with several thousand supers and their frames is 
enough to deal with.
As ever - beekeeping is local !

Regards,
Peter

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