I started beekeeping this year in Eastern Ontario.  I have three hives this
year, and intend to keep ten next year.  I'd like to grow the operation
larger than that, but I feel I have a lot to learn first so I am taking it
slowly, reading everything I can get my hands on, and making my mistakes
with a small rather than a large number of colonies. :)

On to my questions:

The standard practice in this area, I believe, is to use two deep brood
chambers.   When packed full of honey in the fall this is thought to be
almost certainly enough to get the colony through until spring.  I have two
questions about this for the list:

I have back problems, and use shallow honey supers accommodate that.  I can
lift a shallow super full of honey without too much trouble, but a deep
super gives me trouble.

Right now the top brood chamber of my hives is primarily honey, and lifting
it off to inspect the lower one is a real chore.  I have been thinking about
using three shallow suppers as brood chambers rather than two deeps.  It
would be easier on me, but I wonder if it would interfere with the brood
pattern.  Has anybody tried this?

Related to that...

That top brood chamber is exclusively honey in at least one of my hives.  An
old timer around here pointed out to me the other day that this honey is
worth a lot more than the syrup it would take to replace it.  If I were to
extract it at the end of August, and then feed syrup via a top feeder to
allow them to restock it, how long is it likely to take a strong colony to
refill a deep super with honey in this way?  Would the honey they pack away
like this be in any way inferior for getting them through the winter?

Frank.
-----
The very act of seeking sets something in motion to meet us;
something in the universe, or in the unconscious responds as if
to an invitation.  - Jean Shinoda Bolen