Hoffman Converter Clips

01 · SPACING

The spacing moves onto the frame itself

A straight-sided frame does not space itself: pressed against its neighbour, the bees close the gap with wax and propolis and every inspection costs twice the effort. The clip does what a Hoffman shoulder does — it puts the stop where the top bars meet — and the bee space ends up set by the frame itself. To be straight about it: keeping that gap right cuts down on excess sealing, but it does not stop propolis; the contact points get propolised anyway, factory Hoffman frames included. And the final spacing depends on the frame + spacer + box together, not on this part alone.

02 · FITTING

Push-fit, plus a staple if you migrate hives

It pushes onto 25 mm top bars without tools, and works on new frames as well as on frames already drawn out with comb: nothing has to be taken apart to convert them. That said, it holds by friction and has no anchoring tabs — fine for apiary work, but if you migrate hives or lever hard, some beekeepers see them shift. One staple or pin per clip fixes them for good and costs a second per frame.

03 · CLIP OR SPACER RAIL?

Both routes solve the same thing in a different place, and that changes how you work afterwards.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Sold singly and you need two per frame: a ten-frame brood box comes to twenty clips. Do the maths before ordering — that is the usual slip.