Originally Posted by
Adam
The way you have to jam the top bars in the hive indicates that the spacing is wrong. There should be 17 - 1/8 inch across the hive to accommodate the 17" top bars and give you some slop. You will also find that the space (or lack of it) under the end of the top bars is excellent for crushing bees - there's no thin runner for the top bars to sit on. I too cut out a plywood sheet on which to place a feeder inside a super. I also have a special queen excluder as the dimensions are wrong on the hive and a standard one doesn't fit. There are no castellations available for supers either. And if you put one brood box on top of another, bees get crushed as the bee space is too small. And the entrance sheet that drops in is - weird. I have one of these that is used as an emergency hive. I would not buy another. having said all the above, bees do well in them!