As Allen, Dee, and others have stated, this isn't easy, in part because of  
differences in equipment, not only by type, but for each type, by 
manufacturer,  confounded by beekeeping practices.
 
Take the Dadant hive used in much of the US - foundation cell size, even  
box and frame dimensions vary from one manufacturer to another, and the 
variance  increases when individual beekeepers build their own boxes and frames.
 
Granted, many of these differences are small changes in size, but box  
height for one varies from shallows to jumbos.
 
Even with the same equipment, beekeeper management styles alter the  
dimensions.  Whereas most small scale beekeepers that I've seen, follow the  10 
frames per box; many of our western US beekeepers use 9, some go to 8 frames  
in the honey supers - the idea is to get the bees to draw out deeper  combs.
 
Add a boardman feeder or 1 or 2 frame width, and the dimensions are further 
 altered.
 
The question I've not seen answered, what is the overall objective of  
trying  to harmonized estimates of hive capacity?
 
Jerry

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