Dadant US brood Frame

01 · SPACING

Straight or Hoffman — two options for your workflow

This frame is available in straight version (flat sides with no widening) or with Hoffman shoulders (sides with a stop that automatically space the frames at the correct bee space). Straight requires plastic spacers or manual measuring but allows you to work with 11 frames per box if you want to compress. Hoffman saves you the spacing: 12 frames fit at the correct 35-37 mm without measuring. For a professional beekeeper with many hives, Hoffman saves hours on every inspection.

02 · FORMAT

Spanish Dadant 48 × 30 — the brood box classic

Do NOT confuse with the French Dadant Blatt (47 × 16, super honey-zone format). This is the Spanish Dadant 48 × 30 cm for the brood box of the 12-frame Dadant hive — the most common format in Spain along with Layens and Langstroth. Fits directly in any Dadant 12-frame hive, Dadant nucs and queen-mating boxes. For Dadant Blatt super use the 47 × 16 frame. For Layens hive, the 36.5 × 39.5.

03 · MATERIAL

Industrial pine — built for volume

Industrial pine, mounted with factory-drilled wiring holes. The grooved top bar accommodates the wax foundation easily. Reusable: when old wax darkens after 3-4 seasons, scrape, re-tension and replace the foundation. The wooden frame lasts indefinitely with basic maintenance — the wax renews, the wood stays.

04 · TENSION

Wired but UNTENSIONED — the mandatory step

Important: the frame comes with the wire fitted but not tensioned. Before embedding the wax you must tension it with a tensioner (plastic, wooden-handle or PRO pliers type) to withstand centrifugal force during extraction. Without tensioning, the comb falls apart at the first 200 rpm spin with dense honeys (heather, chestnut, eucalyptus). In bulk batches, dedicate an afternoon before the season to tensioning all frames — it is the investment that pays off best.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY