As your apiary grows, you may want to add another brood box or super. And the good news is that most Flow Hive styles and timber types can be mixed and matched successfully.
Adding an extra brood box or super is often an exciting next step, whether you’re giving a thriving colony more room, preparing to split a hive, or making the most of a strong honey season. And now, both the Flow Hive 2 brood box and super are available in ThermoGrade® Paulownia, making it even easier to match newer additions with your existing hive.
A very common upgrade is replacing a Classic base with the newer Flow Hive 2 base while keeping your existing Classic brood box on top. This combination works well and is a great way to refresh part of your hive without needing to replace everything at once.
If you’re combining different Flow Hive styles or timber types, most combinations work just fine. Flow Hive 2 and Flow Hive 2+ components are designed to match directly. Some other combinations, such as pairing a Flow Hive 2 in ThermoGrade® or a Flow Hive 2+ in western red cedar with a Classic or Hybrid Flow Hive in Araucaria, may leave a small gap of around 3–5 mm between the boxes.The boxes might not sit perfectly flush, and you may notice the handles sit a little differently, but the hive will still work exactly as intended.
The most important thing is that the inside dimensions still line up, so your bees can move through the hive normally. If you do mix different boxes, it helps to centre them so any slight overhang is spread evenly around the hive rather than all on one side.
One thing to keep in mind is the roof. A Flow Hive 2+ roof is slightly too narrow to fit over a Classic super, while a Classic roof will overhang slightly on a Flow Hive 2 or 2+ super. In practice, this is usually easy to work around by adding your new brood box or super underneath your existing super, so your current roof and top box stay together.
Many experienced beekeepers happily mix and match as their setup evolves, so there’s no need to feel locked into one exact configuration. Just take a quick look at which Flow Hive style and timber you already have, and you’ll be well on your way to building a setup that grows with you and your bees.
If you’re ever unsure about sizing or compatibility for your hive, please feel free to reach out to our customer support team and they'll happily guide you through the process.
