Extra super on top

Hi, Is there any reason why you can not use 2 supers

If you’re referring to having 2 flow supers, the reasons against are:

  • cost
  • more lifting
  • more work inspecting

The result of the flow extraction process means you can get away with 1 super - ie extract honey as the bees require more storage space.

If your local nectar flow is more than you can keep up with, and the above points are not an issue for you, by all means - nothing is stopping you.

Some people run traditional super + flow super.

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I agree with Fred with the same reasons, but what advantage is there in you having a double Flow Super on a hive Mickle?
Cheers

Our Nth American cousins use multiple honey supers, including flow frames. They seem to have a very fast flow that they need the multiple supers to allow it to be collected, stored and evaporated to honey to maximise production.

@Doug1 added some pictures and rationale in this thread. Filtering Honey

It is also quite common to have two honey supers, or more, for commercial operations, and hobbyists, here in Western Australia on heavy flows.

So yes you can and in some situations you probably should.

Adam

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Hi, the reason I asked is the bees are filling up 3 to 4 weeks . thanks

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The beauty of the Flow frames is that you can harvest one at a time. So when a frame is full, harvest just that frame. You don’t have to wait for the whole super to fill before you harvest, in fact, it may be better to just harvest a couple of frames at a time. :wink:

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My thinking would be to use a single super and a day before your regular inspection check each frame in the super and extract the frames that are capped to lighten the lift to get down to the brood box the next day.
I used to multi stack conventional supers when I was in the Hawkesbury with hives as far away as Mudgee so I wasn’t able to visit them regularly. It was a real pain to stand on the tray of a truck to lift the top boxes off, then move forward to do the same with the trailer and inevitably end up with a hot hive because of the time it was open.
With just one hive and I’m guessing it is at home or close by so you can monitor the Super Frames and extract as the bees cap them with a minimum of fuss and energy on your part and a minimum of disturbance to the bees.
Cheers

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Hi Mickle, the bees filling up every 3-4 weeks wont last. If you add an extra super, then the honey flow slows down, you’ll end up with two supers containing honey, with no frames ready to harvest. I’d rather have one honey super on a hive while a honey flow is ceasing.

I would just keep harvesting from one super while the honey flow is on, which is what I do myself.

As I’m doing that, I’m also monitoring the populations to make sure the colonies don’t over populate, which can lead to a swarm.

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