9F Dadant Blatt Super NICOT

01 · BLATT OR US

There are two Dadants, and a centimetre between them

Two formats live under the same surname: the Dadant Blatt, with a 47 cm top bar, dominant in France and Italy, and the Dadant US at 48 cm, which is what you normally find in Spain. A centimetre sounds like nothing until you try to hang the frame: the 48 does not sit on the rebates of a Blatt box. That is why this super is not bought because the apiary is «Dadant» — it is bought after checking the top bar of the frames you already have. If you are coming from wooden supers and your frames do not fit properly, it is almost always this and not a fault in the box.

02 · SPACING

The notches on the rim act as the spacer, so no comb rack is needed

The notches are moulded into the box itself and order the nine straight frames without adding a separate spacer: one part fewer to buy and one fewer to get propolised. Nine frames across the width of a Dadant also means slightly more room between combs than with ten, and that is the point of the configuration: the honey combs come out thicker and uncap better. Before putting bees on it, place all the frames and check that they hang free, sit evenly spaced and come out without levering.

03 · THE PLASTIC

Always seat it flat and scrape it without cutting it

The manufacturer’s declaration identifies the material as brown HDPE for food contact, with a 25 mm wall. Clear wax and propolis off the bearing surfaces before stacking the super: a small build-up leaves a gap that lets in draughts and robbing, and on plastic it shows more than on wood because the edge does not give. To clean it, scrape the heavy residue with tools that will not score the surface — a deep scratch is where the propolis takes hold next season. And avoid knocks in cold weather and point loads on the corners when carrying or stacking it empty.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

What you receive is the super body: the frames do not come inside, and the centring pieces and clips are sold separately. If your management calls for eight frames rather than nine, the same super exists in that configuration.