How do you progress swapping out converted UK National/Langstroth brood frames to pure Langstroth frames as the brood increases?
There are multiple ways of getting the hybrid frames out:
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Add a second brood box on top, with All Langstroth frames, once the bees move up during winter. You can remove the brood box below off so that you can deal with the hybrid frames.
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Assume you just have one brood box, you start to put the Langstroth frames in the middle and slowly move the hybrid frames to the out side. When the bees down size during winter you can remove the frames they not occupying in Spring. I would suggest do it over time rather than in one year.
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Hi Paras,
thanks for your response. Very helpful. The only thing is when we tried to convert the national frames to the Langstroth frames we found the nationals too deep for using cable ties. They turned out to be the same depth as the Langstroth frames supplied with the Flow Hive. I am now left with the prospect of cabling them to a top bar which will leave a gap at either end of the frames. Will this be a problem as the bees will most likely draw freestyle comb on the ends of the frames? Will it create a mess? This will be 5 out of the 8 brood frames unless there is no brood in one of the current frames. Going to try moving them tonight if possible.
Thanks,
Rebecca
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Hi Scott,
What I meant was, did you need to alter the langstroth side bars to fit the national frame or is it wide enough for it to fit snugly in. I see no bottom bar but is removing the bottom the only adjustment you had to make to the langstroth?
sorry for confusion, shouldn’t have used the term “flow frame”, what I meant was brood frame.
One option is to cut the comb out of the frame, easier if they’re foundationless, impossible if they’re fully plastic. And suspend the comb in the langstroth frame with rubber bands. Basically what hive removers do. A bit messy but effective. The bees will connect the comb to the frame and chew through the rubber bands. 
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Ok that’s also interesting. We ended up attaching a piece of wood across the top of the frame to lengthen it and simply suspended it in the brood box. They have built very little comb onto it si far but have started to build from the comb guides on the new frames. Saw my first eggs yesterday which was awesome!
Rebecca
Fantastic Scott did you manage to do this with the bees in place? I can only find UK National Nuc’s to start my flow hive. I am thinking of using this method to enable me to insert the 6 frame National nuc into my flow hive and wondered IF I put these converted frames towards the outside which I’m hoping will encourage the bees to draw out brood comb in the centre unconverted frames.
Hi Mike,
You should put the frames back in the position that they were. Only gradually moving the frames out slowly. Took me nearly a year to swap them out.
Many thanks,
Scott
| Mike_Comlay
April 28 |
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Fantastic Scott did you manage to do this with the bees in place? I can only find UK National Nuc’s to start my flow hive. I am thinking of using this method to enable me to insert the 6 frame National nuc into my flow hive and wondered IF I put these converted frames towards the outside which I’m hoping will encourage the bees to draw out brood comb in the centre unconverted frames.
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Tried this today with my new flow hive brood box. I just had to trim the end of the top bars of the National frame as it was a touch tight. This said the bees didn’t seem to mind too much and the fix was such a good one. Thanks a million.
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I ised the hanging method a few times when used some drawn frames of a friends in the begining to help boost the first swarm i started with.
In a rush facing the length issue covered above with the notches i left off the side bars which was a mistake causing spacing issues.
Also got allot of skew freecomb and extra deep sections on neigboring frames arround the edges where the extra space was.
While knocking up some new boxes came up with another potention route that will hopefully counter in some way the free comb and deep comb on ajoining frames.
Using the bottom and side bars i added some filler blocks each side and a bracket for hanger.
Am testing this weekend but in theory the nation should sit level and aligned and spaced along side langstroth without freecomb.
Thinking to add a couple of small washers on each side of the bottom bar on langstroth frame to hold and center the national frame inline with it, so that it laps the national bottom bar by 3-4mm above.