I thought a new thread might be appropriate - 'cause this is a topic I'd really like to examine in some detail.

But firstly - thanks to Pete for offering to talk me though his system - am looking forward to that. The sort of experimentation I'm doing is all very well (after all, that's how things sometimes change), but knowledge of a tried and tested system is invaluable.

Quote Originally Posted by Little_John View Post
I'm planning on over-wintering queens in multiple 2-frame nucs with supplementary heating next winter - still ironing-out one or two details before I start building the kit.
Quote Originally Posted by prakel View Post
Just a thought as you haven't already started building the gear, do you have specific reasons for not looking towards the alternative of using three frames in the nucs? It's not so much that there's an extra comb but rather that there's an extra seam. Personally, although I know that twos work I always feel that three is a far better configuration, closer to what might be 'natural'.
I agree with you 100%, and that is exactly the route I've been taking thus far with my so-called 'six-and-a-half' frame nuc boxes, which can be run in either 2x3 or 1x6 frame modes - for a minimum of 3 frames feels intuitively 'right'.








The reason I'm currently opting for 2-frames for the over-wintering of queens is as a compromise: a) it has to be better than banking queens in cages, and b) how best to pack such nucs into a National box ?

This is what I've come up with so far:




Not shown are 4 access holes drilled into each side of the box, with 3 additional holes in the front which are sealed-off until the box is re-located from the various mating areas onto the insulated chest base for the winter, when access is then gained only from the front.
I'm planning on 8 such boxes per chest (or 'hot-box'), but that's only because I've got some old fibreglass encapsulated farrowing heater plates, the size of which lend themselves to 2 rows of 4. I have 2 such heaters, which would then produce 64 banked queens in total (assuming no losses). Hardly an earth-shattering amount - but it's a start.

The idea isn't totally mine - I got the basic idea from:
http://mbbeekeeping.com/wintering-2-...s-in-manitoba/
although I'm well aware that Manitoba has a far harsher climate than anything I'm liable to experience.

I can foresee lifting the chest lid off and making a quick visual check of each frame feeder (which will have a perspex cover), and replacing the lid in less than a minute or so, assuming that nothing needs topping-up. Very manageable.

Well - that's as far as I've got with this idea. I plan to start building the woodwork over the winter, to be ready for next season - well, that's unless I spot a serious snafu, or someone comes up with a better idea, of course.

Comments, criticisms etc - would be very much appreciated.

LJ