Getting into beekeeping is exciting, but it quickly became clear I needed more space for my growing colony. My initial brood box was bustling, and I knew a honey super was essential for giving the bees room to store nectar and for me to eventually harvest honey. Without adding a medium honey super, my bees would become overcrowded, potentially swarm, and all my hard work setting up the colony could be undone. Finding a reliable, cost-effective solution was paramount. The VEVOR 10 Frame Medium Honey Super Bee Hive Box seemed like a potential option to meet this need.
What to Assess Before Choosing a Hive Box
Before jumping into purchasing any bee hive box, it’s crucial to understand what purpose it serves and what factors distinguish a good one. A bee hive provides essential housing for a colony, protecting them from the elements and predators, while also providing a structured environment for them to build comb, raise brood, and store honey. Someone expanding their apiary, adding space to an existing colony, or starting a new hive after successfully establishing a nucleus or package is the ideal customer for an additional box like a medium super. If you are just starting beekeeping with a package or nuc, you’ll likely need a deep brood box first, so this specific medium super wouldn’t be your initial purchase.
Key considerations before buying include the type of wood (cedar or pine for durability and insulation), whether it’s treated (like beeswax coated for protection), the size (10 frame is standard Langstroth), whether it includes frames and foundations, ease of assembly, and overall build quality. Durability is key, as the hive needs to withstand weather and hold significant weight when full of honey. Assembly should ideally be straightforward, even for those with minimal woodworking experience.
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Introducing the VEVOR Medium Super
The VEVOR 10 Frame Medium Honey Super Bee Hive Box presents itself as a solid wood beehive designed for beekeepers needing standard Langstroth equipment. It promises a secure home for bees and is marketed as being crafted from cedar and pine with a beeswax-coated exterior for moisture and corrosion resistance. When you purchase this specific product, you get the medium honey super box itself, along with 10 bee hive frames, waxed foundations to go in those frames, basic assembly hardware (screws, bolts, handles), and a viewing window feature. Compared to other options on the market, it often positions itself as a more budget-friendly alternative. This product is specifically for beekeepers who already have a base hive setup (typically a deep brood box) and need to add space for honey storage or an additional brood area in warmer climates. It’s not a complete starter kit.
Pros:
* Beeswax coated for apparent durability and weather resistance.
* Includes frames and waxed foundations, saving a separate purchase.
* Standard 10-frame Langstroth size, compatible with other equipment.
* Viewing window feature (though with caveats).
* Made from natural cedar and pine wood.
Cons:
* Quality control issues with wood cutting and joinery reported.
* Assembly can be challenging or require modification.
* Viewing window lacks plexiglass, rendering it functionally open.
* Missing hardware or parts reported by some users.
* Doesn’t include nails required for assembly.
A Closer Look at the Details: Performance and Value
Having used the VEVOR 10 Frame Medium Honey Super Bee Hive Box for some time now, I can share my experience with its various aspects. It’s a mixed bag, truly, reflecting some of the feedback I’ve seen from other users online.
Material and Construction
The hive box is made from cedar and pine, which are decent wood choices for beehives due to their durability and natural resistance to decay. The advertised beeswax coating is a significant feature. The idea is that this coating provides an extra layer of protection against moisture and the elements, helping the wood last longer. In practice, the coating is present, and it gives the wood a nice, protective feel. Over the time I’ve had it, the box has held up reasonably well against sun and rain, suggesting the coating does its job to some extent. However, as noted by others, the coating isn’t always perfectly even, which the manufacturer explains is a result of the dipping process. While it doesn’t necessarily affect function, it might not look pristine initially. The wood thickness (0.74 inches) feels standard and provides adequate insulation for the bees.
10-Frame Medium Size
This is a standard 10-frame medium super, measuring 19.8 x 16.2 x 6.6 inches. The 10-frame format is widely used in Langstroth beekeeping, ensuring compatibility with other equipment you might already own. The medium depth is commonly used for honey supers because, when the frames are full of honey, a medium box weighs significantly less than a deep box full of honey, making it much easier to lift and manage, especially during harvest. It’s a practical size for adding capacity without excessive weight. For my needs, adding a medium super was perfect for providing that next layer of space the bees needed as their colony grew.
Included Frames and Foundations
The kit comes with 10 bee hive frames and waxed foundations. This is a definite plus, as buying these separately adds to the cost and effort. The foundations are indeed waxed, which is intended to encourage the bees to start building comb on them immediately. Ideally, this feature saves you time and gives the colony a head start in filling the super. However, based on my experience and echoing some other user feedback, the quality of the frames and the foundations can be inconsistent. I found that assembling the frames was sometimes difficult because the cuts weren’t perfectly aligned, requiring extra force or even some minor trimming to get them to fit together without cracking. While the foundations are waxed, their quality and consistency can also vary. This is a feature that sounds great on paper but might present some minor frustrations during the assembly phase.
The Viewing Window
One unique feature of this honey super is the viewing window on one side. The idea is fantastic – you can check on the bees’ progress without having to open the entire hive, minimizing disturbance. There’s a small wooden door that covers the opening. The major drawback, as many users (myself included) quickly discovered, is that there is no plexiglass or screen behind the opening. When you open the wooden door, it’s just a hole into the super. This means if you open it, bees can come out, and importantly, it creates a draft that the bees will likely try to seal up with propolis, making the “window” eventually unusable anyway. This feature, while innovative in concept, is poorly executed and requires modification (like adding your own plexiglass, perhaps salvaged from a salad carton as one clever user suggested) to be truly functional as a viewing portal rather than just an open drafty hole. I also experienced the reported issue of a missing knob for the viewing window door on one of the boxes I handled, which is a minor but frustrating quality control oversight.
Dovetail Joints
The hive box panels are designed to fit together using dovetail joints. Dovetail joints are a classic woodworking joint known for their strength and durability, particularly against being pulled apart. They are also intended to make assembly relatively easy – you simply slide or tap the pieces together. When the cuts are precise, these joints create a very sturdy box. However, this is another area where quality control seems to be a factor. I found that some of the dovetail cuts were not as precise as they should be. Some were too tight, requiring significant force (and careful use of a mallet, maybe with the included cardboard corners to protect the wood) to get them to seat properly, increasing the risk of splitting the wood. Others were too loose, resulting in joints that weren’t tight and would definitely require wood glue for added strength, which isn’t strictly necessary with perfectly cut dovetails but becomes essential here. While the principle of using dovetails is sound for hive construction, the execution on this particular product can make assembly more challenging than anticipated.
Beeswax Coating Application
The beeswax coating is applied via a dipping process. The manufacturer clarifies that this isn’t just a brush-on coat but a full dip. This method ensures good coverage of the wood, including inside the dovetail cuts. As mentioned before, the unevenness is a characteristic of this process as gravity causes wax to pool during solidification. While not aesthetically perfect, the full dip theoretically provides better protection than a simple surface coating. It does give off a pleasant, natural beeswax scent which is also appealing to bees.
Assembly Experience
Putting this bee hive together wasn’t the absolute easiest process, mainly due to the inconsistency in the dovetail cuts and frame components. While instructions are included, the practical assembly required more effort than expected. I definitely needed wood glue for the box joints due to the loose fit in some areas, and I also opted to glue the frames for extra rigidity after struggling to get some of the frame components to fit snugly. The kit *does not* include nails, which is a common practice for securing hive boxes and frames in addition to or instead of glue, depending on preference and joint fit. Having to source nails separately adds a minor inconvenience and unexpected cost. If you have some basic woodworking tools and patience, the assembly is manageable, but it might be frustrating for someone expecting a simple slot-and-tap process. It’s not impossible, but be prepared for potential fitting issues and the need for glue and nails.
Overall Durability
Despite the initial hiccups with assembly and the quality inconsistencies in cuts and missing parts, once the box is properly assembled (with glue and maybe some modifications), the beeswax-coated wood seems reasonably durable for outdoor use. It feels sturdy enough to hold the weight of 10 full frames of honey. The issues seem to be more in the manufacturing precision of the components rather than the inherent quality of the treated wood itself. Provided you can get it together solidly, it functions as a standard medium super.
Feedback from Fellow Beekeepers
Scouring online forums and review sections, I found that my experience with the VEVOR 10 Frame Medium Honey Super Bee Hive Box aligns closely with other beekeepers. Common frustrations included the lack of plexiglass for the observation window, reports of poorly cut dovetail joints on both the boxes and the frames leading to difficult assembly, missing small parts like the window knob or hardware packs, and some instances of cracked wood upon arrival. However, many users also appreciated the beeswax coating and that the frames and foundations were included, finding the overall value acceptable if they were willing and able to address the quality issues during assembly. The sentiment is often that it’s a functional hive component *if* you’re prepared for potential assembly challenges and minor fixes.
Final Thoughts: Is This Hive Right for You?
Adding more space is a necessary step as your bee colony grows, and failing to do so can lead to swarming and losing your bees. The VEVOR 10 Frame Medium Honey Super Bee Hive Box is a viable option to provide that needed expansion space. It offers the standard 10-frame medium size compatible with most Langstroth setups, includes frames and foundations to get you started quickly, and has a beeswax coating intended for durability. While there are documented quality control issues that might require patience, basic woodworking skills, glue, and separately sourced nails for assembly, and the viewing window isn’t functional out of the box, it can serve its purpose as a bee hive super if you’re prepared for those potential hurdles. If you’re looking for a budget-conscious option and are handy enough to overcome potential manufacturing inconsistencies, this could be a suitable choice. To check it out further, Click here to see the product page .
Last update on 2025-08-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API