Heavy hive boxes
Heavy hive boxes, particularly honey supers full of honey, are a physically demanding aspect of beekeeping. A full deep hive body can weigh over 90 lbs, and even medium or shallow supers can become quite heavy when filled with honey. Lifting and manipulating heavy hive boxes poses a risk of back strain and injury for beekeepers. Heavy boxes also make hive inspections and honey harvests more challenging. Managing hive box weight is important for beekeeper safety and ease of hive management.
- Shallow supers for honey5
Using shallow supers for honey storage is a primary method to reduce the weight of hive boxes. Shallow supers are hive boxes with a smaller vertical dimension compared to deep or medium boxes. Consequently, shallow supers hold fewer frames and less honey, making them significantly lighter when…
📌 commercial4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ Shallow supers
- Extract honey more frequently3
Extracting honey more frequently prevents honey supers from becoming excessively heavy. Instead of waiting for supers to be completely full, beekeepers can harvest honey when supers are partially filled. Smaller, more frequent harvests reduce the weight of individual supers that need to be lifted…
📌 none4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ Honey extraction equipment
- Hive lifter4
Using a hive lifter tool is a mechanical aid to assist with lifting heavy hive boxes and reduce physical strain. Hive lifters are specialized tools designed to grip and lift hive boxes, providing leverage and reducing the amount of direct lifting required by the beekeeper. Hive lifters come in…
📌 commercial4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ Hive lifter