>But most importantly, it involves lifting all the supers (about 50 lbs each)
>full of bees to the side in order to place the escape board under the lowest
>super.  Some of my hives have up to seven supers, and all have at least four!
>I would ruin my back lifting all this three times (once down, once back up,
>then the final removal)!  I usually look for the easiest method of beekeeping,
>not the most difficult.
 
Hi Ted:
        I use the triangle bee escapes and like them alot, although I do use
a  blower sometimes when it seems more convenient.  I find that I can put
the escapes in without any lifting, just some prying and sliding.  I part
the boxes at the back, (I use a wonderbar instead of a hive tool if I am
lifting two deep or several shallows), and get the board started, slide or
"walk" the supers back, and then slide or "walk" (depends on the amount of
burr comb) the board and supers back over the under boxes. If the supers
have been on for a while you can usually pry them to a quite steep angle
without having them come apart, but you have to pull them back an inch or
so, of course, so they won't come off the underboxes.
 
        There is also a lifter that a person can make for use with a hive
loader to lift boxes from the handholds.  I haven't made one yet, but Allen
Dick has given me a good description of his and I intend to make one and use
it for putting in escape boards, among other things.  If it works as well as
the hive cradle which he also kindly gave me a design for,  that would be
wonderful.  Regards, Stan.