At 12:00 AM 4/20/00 -0400, you wrote:
>I've only kept bees for five years so don't know anything about
>Jumbo Dadant Hives. Reading about them they seem like they would be easier
>to work and most beekeepers would only need one box for a brood chamber.
>Brother Adam used these at Buckfast Abbey.
>  Why did they get discontinued?

Since no one responded to your question, I will. The frames were too big. A
regular sized frame can hold 5 or 6 pounds of honey and if it is not well
built, it will break. The bottom bar may pull off or the ears of the frames
may snap. This is especially a problem if the frames are old. I have no
idea how working the jumbo hives would be, but I imagine the frames would
be very awkward to remove.

Most people would rather have a smaller frame than a larger one. The ideal
hive is made of all deep supers. But for the sake of one's back, a
shallower super for honey is a very good idea. Also, if one uses deeps for
brood and shallows for honey (over an excluder), the chance of moving
apistan contaminated combs and honey around is significantly reduced.
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Peter Borst
[log in to unmask]
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/plb6/
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