Hive types

[rt1068]

I realize that personal preference carries a lot of weight in deciding which type of hive to go with.  It seems the majority of people go with Langstroth hives but I have also noticed a fair amount of keepers who like top bars.  I have found that each appeal to me for different reasons.  As I am preparing for next year I need to decide which direction to go.  Does anyone use both types in their apiaries?  I may start with two Langs and then add a tbh the following year.  Or vice versa.  So many decisions...

[iddee]

Langstroth will be easier and give you more success when starting. Topbar is more for the experienced.

[Perry]

Top bar is cheaper to start out with, but harvesting is a major setback for your bees as you have to destroy their comb.

[Wandering Man]

I started off with two Langstroth hives because that is what I was familiar with (I'd had one 25 years ago).  I think accessories and add-ons might be easier to find for these hives, as well.

I've visited a local beekeeper who mostly uses TBH that he builds himself out of recycled cedar fencing.  They are cheap and easy to build, apparently.  He uses the crush and strain method to harvest honey, rather than a spinning extractor.  Checking on brood and honey seemed to be pretty straight forward and easy.  Just lift off the lid, and start working your way down from one end to the other.

He didn't have much in the way of SHB prevention, and I'm not sure how one would do OAV treatment in a TBH, if one were so inclined.  This beekeeper did very little for his bees as he was promoting a treatment free approach.  If the bees couldn't handle a situation on their own, then they wouldn't make it, and their gene pool would be gone.  Only the strongest, and only the ones capable of fighting off diseases and pests on their own would survive, hopefully strengthening the bee genes.

After looking at his set up, I was satisfied that I had chosen the right way (for me) to begin.

[Mikey N.C.]

Also rt,
Not sure if all TB's are Kenya hives ? ?
Cause if ya run a lang. an a Kenya the frames are not necessarily interchangeable .

[iddee]

Imagine:
A hot summer day, too hot for wool socks and boots, so sandals are perfect.
 Pull a heavy top bar, look for the queen. Turn the comb up so the light hits it better.
OOPS! The warm creamy honey would feel so good on the toes, if it wasn't for the 1500 bees, all stinging at once.

OH!, the wonderful experiences with top bar hives.     

[Wandering Man]

The guy I visited used only top bars, no frame.  He used large craft sticks as starter strips to help the bees keep their comb straight.  He also had some rigged with hardware cloth that came down about a 1/2 inch, and then bent out.  He would use these to hang comb that he recovered from other hives.  The bees would connect the old comb to the top bar, and continue building down in their triangular shape towards the bottom.

[Mikey N.C.]

Iddee, what do ya holler when somebody else is holding the frame and you see it start to bend ? ? ( if ya drop a hammer, ya holler headache) ??
WM,  cover it up and myself cut black solid plastic frames at like 50° for TB,  worked great for 1 1/2 yrs. But then if you have a problem it's hard to correct unless you have more TB hive's.

[iddee]

Ya holler  RUN!!

[riverbee]

...................

langstroth...........start out with them........then tinker with a top bar.  top bars have some challenges to them.  learn from the langstroths, go from there.

we do have a member here that keeps both......blueblood (dave) he checks in once in awhile........thinking i will send him a pm for ya rt!

[Mikey N.C.]

Here's a lang. Three hive box

[Mikey N.C.]

Here's a Kenya

[LazyBkpr]

Some good adice, I will add mine.. for what it is worth..
   Start with standard langstroth hives.. if you like deeps and are good and stron use them, if you want to be able to interchange frames whever you need them, use all mediums (6 5/8) which ever way you start use foundation, wax or plastic...
   LEARN the basics, learn how to get your bees through the winter....

    The next year add some foundation-less frames. Those foundation-less frames will quickly teach you how to handle them (or the bees will) You will also learn how to clean up messed up comb and fix bad situations and get the bees on teh right track. Mishandle a foundation-less frame that is not well attached and hardened and you will quickly be trained in the correct method of handling them!!

   The third spring, you will have a grasp on the things you need to do...   If you still want to try top bar...  Do a spring split into a top bar hive and give it a go!!!

[rt1068]

Some good adice, I will add mine.. for what it is worth..
   Start with standard langstroth hives.. if you like deeps and are good and stron use them, if you want to be able to interchange frames whever you need them, use all mediums (6 5/8) which ever way you start use foundation, wax or plastic...
   LEARN the basics, learn how to get your bees through the winter....

    The next year add some foundation-less frames. Those foundation-less frames will quickly teach you how to handle them (or the bees will) You will also learn how to clean up messed up comb and fix bad situations and get the bees on teh right track. Mishandle a foundation-less frame that is not well attached and hardened and you will quickly be trained in the correct method of handling them!!

   The third spring, you will have a grasp on the things you need to do...   If you still want to try top bar...  Do a spring split into a top bar hive and give it a go!!!

Thanks for this and for all the other advice from everyone else.  I had a pretty good idea that I was probably jumping the gun here a bit with thinking I could do langstroth and tbh, but it was worth the ask. I think.  I am planning on going with all mediums.  Like you said, after a few years under my belt, I do want to give a top bar a try.

Thanks again everyone, this place is great!

Rick

[neillsayers]

rt,

As a new bee myself I would add that the langstroth has a huge advantage in that  you can buy nucleus hives to stock them. There is a lot of info on you tube with folks installing a nuc into a top bar or warre hive. None are simple and seem to me to be clugy and time wasting. In my limited experience a nuc will take off and build up much faster than a package.

[Lburou]

Here's a lang. Three hive box

Thanks for posting this Mikey!  In my view, the 'Long Lang' is a cross between the topbar and langsroth  styles.  Rt, deep frames will interchange between the langstroth and long langstroth hives, that is a big deal. 

[lazy shooter]

@Mikey NC:

How did you adapt from two 10-frame bottom boxes to eight-frame boxes?  It almost looks to be some kind of cloth filler on each side of the eight-frame box where it sits a-top of the 10-frame.  Anyway, it's an interesting thing to me, and I might need to do something along those lines.

Thanks,

lazy

[Mikey N.C.]

Rt,  here's a real long lang. 38 frame one entrance .cover it up and I didn't get a chance to try this year. But we understand it seems plausible but haven't been able to try it yet.

[Mikey N.C.]

Lazyshooter, those first pics. Are from the mountains here those are Styrofoam squares he using for winter those are all Russian bees.

[Mikey N.C.]

OK, here's a Kenya that over wintered 1 yr. Added shallow super during spring last yr. they wouldn't touch it (18 teen frames in bottom) queen was moving right to left in bottom, there was alot of bees and stores in the middle so we come up with plan to give them a way to go up, worked good they clustered up and overwintered .



If you notice frames in same direction