Beehaus

[Fishbee]

Would anyone recommend a beehaus from Omlet as a starter hive for a new beekeeper?

 

[taff..]

nice bait Fishbee


yes why not? its just another box to put bees in

 

[sherwood]

The problem is the expense anyone who has been keeping bees any length of time knows that one beehive is not enough you need at least 2 and then some would argue more kit for expansion and contraction. It leads to a significant investment and does not allow for easy expansion without another omlette or the investment in some other type of hive and then with the excepion of the frames you have 2 different sorts of kit and a lack of compatability.
On another point the omlette like the dartington its immediate anticedent involve you in standing at the side of the hive and stretching across from one side to the other to lift out frames, this involves a posture which I and a few other beekeepers I know find quite uncomfortable. I am not at all sure if the omellette uses 14*12 or the more conventional 14*8 but I can assure you lifting a large number of 14*12 from the side is not my cup of tea, but then I already have a suspect back so I am perhaps biased.
As I have said I have no direct experience of the omlette but know of quite a few beekeepers who having bought a dartington have now disposed of them, in fact of the 6 I know of only one retains his and I am not sure if he is still using it.

 

[BKF Admin]

I would recommend doing a taster course.
A few members here run them and some also have other hive types you can try on the day.

 

[oliver90owner]

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

I would want to run one with bees before making any positive recommendation. They should, after all, last over 20 years....and if you make a mistake in your choice you may regret it. There again, they may have a good second hand value, so all may not be lost.

Having said that I do run two Dartingtons. Both have bees in them and I built them at separate times. That meant that I liked the system well enough to build a second. I have a bad back at times but lifting a brood frame presents me with no difficulty whatsoever ( there is usually so much space to turn the frame, in a Dartington). I do not like the half supers and rarely use them (National supers will fit the Dartington, but I am doubtful if they would be easily useable on an omlette).

One advantage may be that I set my Dartingtons at the height that suits me, not necessarily the height supplied, as is the case with the omlette.

My major gripe is the price. I always recommend a new starter to begin with 2 colonies, as beekeeping is so much easier that way. But those that will buy them can possibly afford the outlay for two. But two are twice as big as one and one of these does not have as small a footprint as a conventional beetainer.

My view is: starting beekeeping can be expensive enough and best part of a grand (for two hives) represents an awful lot of dosh with bees, safety wear, and other items on top of that. Not sure what two cedar hives would have cost in the recent round of winter sales, but I would expect best part of 800 quid change from that grand!

Regards, RAB

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Not sure what two cedar hives would have cost in the recent round of winter sales, but I would expect best part of 800 quid change from that grand!

Regards, RAB

Not quite a fair comparison, when the Beehaus (darington) as a single unit is in effect two hives ( 22 frames of 14 x 12) with two entrances.

So one beehaus is 2 x deep national hives. Thones (other Hive Maker(s) are available) current price for flat-pack deep national with frames and supers etc (basically same pack as beehaus) is nearly £240 per hive = £480. This compares to the Omlet at £465 + £20 delivery.

Now comes the compassion between the hives........... for which as Admin suggests you go on some sort of even a “taster course” where any good beekeeper will be able to show you a range of hives.

Discounting hive type, frame type (size) is more helpful for a new starter (or even an old hand), because might need help at one time or another with the addition of a frame of brood etc and to have the wrong type of frame regardless of hive is not much help/ difficult to accommodate in your hive.


To say something is expensive is just a personal view point. What is expensive to you is not to someone else!

 

[MuswellMetro]

So one beehaus is 2 x deep national hives. Thones (other Hive Maker(s) are available) current price for flat-pack deep national with frames and supers etc (basically same pack as beehaus) is nearly £240 per hive = £480. This compares to the Omlet at £465 + £20 delivery.

!

our associiation just bought eight flat pack Thornes Beginers Beehives for as advertised on their web site @ £125 each including frames and foundation =£1000,

so £500 buys you 4 starter nationals.( 44 frames) ,frames and foundation. queen excluder 8 supers with frames (80 frames)

how many supers and super frames do you get with a standard Beehaus? and does it come standard with the 22 brood frames or do you pay extra?

 

[jimbeekeeper]

our associiation just bought eight flat pack Thornes Beginers Beehives for as advertised on their web site @ £125 each including frames and foundation =£1000,

so £500 buys you 4 starter nationals. ,frames and foundation. queen excluder 8 supers with frames (88 frames)

how many supers and super frames do you get with a standard Beehaus? and does it come standard with the 22 brood frames or do you pay extra?

Again not a compasion the beehaus is 14 x 12, so add another £180 to you order to bring it up to a beehaus equivalent of frames /size.

And that is flat packed, what if you do not want to build it all up? Then compare the true cost to a beehaus.

And people also forget, people select the beehaus s becuase they do not want a wooden hive!

Its called choice.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Another point to note is the flat pack hives of bees on a budget you assocaition has bought, although are good hives, they are in effect Thones "seconds" grade.

You are not buying a seconds grade beehaus!

 

[VEG]

You can argue all day long about the costs if you have the money to buy a beehaus and you want one go get it. There are cheaper alternatives out there as mentioned above, the bees wont mind what you get.

 

[Hombre]

By the end of July the BeeHause will have had time to prove itself and finally the period for speculation, idle or otherwise, will be over.

Life will be able to continue at a standard pace, while people cast around for the next great subject to speculate about..

BeeHause has certainly managed to keep it's names on everyone's tongues this last eight months or so, so they must be doing something right even if it's only in the PR department.

 

[Onge]

At the end of the day you need to read, read, read, lots of books and go to a bee club and know what your doing.

Then you can run what ever hive you want.

 

[oliver90owner]

But those that will buy them can possibly afford the outlay for two.

That is what I wrote regarding cost and I stand by that, so nothing new. Maybe I should have written 'likely' instead of 'possibly'. A beetainer to me is a beetainer.

Some may tout the omlette as a double hive. I would not do that for a Dartington. It is a system with horizontal brood and storage and space for artificial swarming. A new beek would likely be in a big mess PDQ with 2 colonies in an omlette.

Yes, you may need another brood, roof and floor for artificial swarming with a wooden hive (you can get cheaper softwood hives), but it is not an initial outlay requirement.

I run Dartingtons and I know I would not keep two full sized colonies in mine, if I had just the one hive. From a sensible beekeeping point of view that would be a pretty stupid move IMO.

I don't run polyhives either (but I am going to try some out). I think a couple polyhives would be a far better starting point, unless one is looking for a shiny box. But that would mean Langstroth and I have no experience with the wider frames.

Regards, RAB

 

[MuswellMetro]

Another point to note is the flat pack hives of bees on a budget you assocaition has bought, although are good hives, they are in effect Thones "seconds" grade.

You are not buying a seconds grade beehaus!

ok point taken on both your posts, but does a beginer need a 14x12 in the first years. also 22 x 5lbs each full 14x12 frames (110lbs) is a bit heavy for me at 60 to lift...i keep in touch with my chyropractisioner during summer just lifting the supers off let alone moving a 14x12 brood box at 55lbs+ at 110lbs i would never get a beehaus back from the OSR field i use..though that mighrt be a good thing


however that aside i myself prefer natural sustanable Wood rather than Petroleum oil based plastic with all the associated loss of Hydro cardon resources, use of PCB type accelerents and plastizers used in it construction...but that just my veiw having worked at rothampstead in the 1970 on that wonderful dustbin cleaner everyone used until the 1980's DDT

 

[oliver90owner]

MM,

You should not even be considering moving a hive on your own. It is a two person job. Yes, I know I move a 14 x 12 brood myself, but not a Dartington (nor would I attempt a full plastic Dartington). That is one of the down-sides of the design.

The wooden Dartington does have legs bolted on which (in my cases) are particularly useful as they can double up as handles (they pivot on one bolt to be almost horizontal when swung around to bear on the ends of the body) so 2 people can carry mine between them with little problem. Never tried it yet with a full colony on board - I use the two carry boxes to lighten the load and would never consider moving it with 22 full frames on board. But it is still a pain to move - large, cumbersome, slow job, etc.

It is definitely not a migratory hive. Nor is the omlette. In fact, or in my view, probably the omlett is even less migratory than a Dartington.

I, too, am more into sustainables but the simple point was made to make 'comparisons/alternatives' with the posters original line of thought.

But when I consider that I do use polystyrene for insulation, and that a good polyhive should last in excess of 20 years, it seems a much better use of a piece of expanded polystyrene - than packaging which is made used once and discarded to waste or the amount of insulation I shall use over the lifetime of the hive.

Oh, and remember omlette only supply 4 honey jars, so maybe not expecting the owners to have such a bumper harvest!

Regards, RAB

 

[OXFORDBEE]

Not quite a fair comparison, when the Beehaus (darington) as a single unit is in effect two hives ( 22 frames of 14 x 12) with two entrances.

I belive the Beehaus to be a hive with space for built in swarm control. I would not consider running one with two colonies in it for any length of time. People who overwinter two stocks in a Beehaus are potentially looking at swarm control problems the next season.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

It is definitely not a migratory hive. Nor is the omlette. In fact, or in my view, probably the omlett is even less migratory than a Dartington.

It is not sold as a migratory hive, and in reality how many hobby keepers move their hives?

I am not planning to run the beehaus as a twin hive (2 queens ), but as OXfordbee says "a hive with space for built in swarm control"

But back to the orginal posters question!

I would say pick a hive that you know others can help you out with.

 

[Brosville]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XRumer

 

[Melbourne12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XRumer

'tis possible. Certainly Fishbee hasn't enthusiastically joined the debate, as you might expect.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Fishbee hasn't enthusiastically joined the debate, as you might expect.

or you lot have scared him off!