Bees on a budget

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

nigel434

New Bee
Joined
Mar 31, 2011
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
worcestershire
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
5
Hi

Does anybody have any experience of or purchased any of the the "bees on a budget " equipment offered by Thornes. Is it worth considering for a novice looking to set up?
 
We have had them for our Assoc. But do you really want those gloves that go with it. :puke: The hive was fine though. Value ok.
 
Definitley. My first hive was bees on a budget and it's still going strong about 5 years later with no problems. Some of the frames can be a bit flimsy but IMO it's worth it for the large cost saving.

Don't have any experience of any of the other budget equipment though.
 
Can we take a step back first.

Using Marks and Spencer can be pricey. an alternate might be Aldi or similar.

You get what you pay for is true to a point....

"It pays to shop around" is always true.

Decide what you want. Your decision may be right or wrong but a wrong one is relatively easily sorted out. A right one is cheap. :)

I suggest you tell us what you want to achieve and we can guide you in the right direction. :)

PH
 
Bit brutal? LOL

Not me actually. I want quality at a reasonable price. Saw something good today, very tasty.. but more on that later...

PH
 
Bit brutal? LOL

Not me actually. I want quality at a reasonable price. Saw something good today, very tasty.. but more on that later...

PH

Only kidding. I agree actually - if you pay a fair price you are more likely to get a decent product.
The best option is to see what you are buying first.
 
My first hive (of 3) was one and I highly recommend it as it worked for the money and taught me how a hive goes together which was invaluable when I bought second hive (assembled) from another company which was a shambles.

I wouldn't have known the problems they had created without my knowledge from building my own.

Just make sure you put the hive together first before nailing as the timber is still fluctuating a bit through drying and may have expanded or contracted in it's packing.

The smoker, hive tool, jacket etc all work fine.

I agree with the gloves as I use disposables, fresh pair each hive for disease. however if I didn't have the gloves when I took my bees for the second hive on wild comb I would of been in trouble.

There were around 30-40 stings I picked and washed out my gloves that didn't make it through at all.

I still use them occasionally whilst I am trying to manipulate the wild comb into something I can monitor that resembles frames. Very rarely though.

They are worth having just incase.

Funnily enough the jacket is nice and thick an good quality but in that occasion when collecting the wild colony I got stung about 10 times on the head through the jacket, but that was only as I was up a step ladder, very hot and working with my hands above my head due to comb location. Was picking lumps out of my scalp for about 2 months!!

Worth the money in my book, I only havnt bought again as I havnt had time to build my last 2 hives.
 
I bought one last year and can't fault it for the price. It *is* second quality but once assembled it's a sound hive and will clearly last a while. I don't know of anywhere else that you can get a hive, all frames and foundation and a few bits of starter kit of any quality for a similar price.

Getting a reasonable cedar hive with all those bits at this price blew any competition away when I did my research.

The weakest point is definitely the frames. The side bars don't always have the 'notch' where the top bar connects centred properly so there may be a couple of duds.

Also if it's your first attempt at building a hive it's probably best to start with a cheaper one. I made of couple of novice mistakes even after triple checking all measurements etc.
 
Bees knees hives do a cheap one but havnt bought of them so can't judge (you have to build your frames though), think b-on-b and the former are about the cheapest at mo, but also depends what your after as they price them up slightly differently
 
Hi

Does anybody have any experience of or purchased any of the the "bees on a budget " equipment offered by Th**nes. Is it worth considering for a novice looking to set up?

buy the best brood box you can afford as bees live in it 24/7, talk to Hivemaker or Tom bick on here, but by all means start with a B on B as in your second year onwards you will really need a second hive for swarm control though certain swarm controls like a "demarre" you just need an extra brood box and a lot of effort, that can be when yu buy your 24/7 brood box ( if your bees survive you in your first season)

you may also want a larger brood box than B on B hive , in you second year if you buy a B on B you should budget to change to either adding an Eke and 14x12 frames or going for brood and a half,

this is to enlarge your hive for modern bees in your second year . you will also need two extra supers for honey after the first year ( or more depending on nectar supply)

it you go for brood and a half, you will need another super for the half brood as well as the two extra for honey two ( ie 5 in total)
 
Last edited:
Went to see this chap in Dewsbury W yorks today: all Cedar, sturdy Plywood roof he's a cabinet maker and beekeeper £135.00 built and delivered - seems reasonable for a good quality hive - flat pack comes £20.00 cheaper but doesn't come with instructions. It may take a few weeks to arrive though depending on his workload so it's worth giving him a ring.
His hives are on ebay at the moment
 
Bees on a Budget is extreamly good value for quite a decent product. Some minor cavets (its a single national which many think isn't big enough) - but its great to get you started, or for extra standby equipment.
 
I would say Pack 2 is astoundingly good value; never mind that you might end up with a pair of gloves you feel you don't need.

And buying your first hive flat-packed is highly recommended (imho), because you have to work out how it all goes together, and learn from it.

The only thing I might add is a super plus the super frames and foundation - while you may not get a honey crop in your first year, it's useful as a container for your feeder. And you never know, you might just get lucky with the honey ...
 

Latest posts

Back
Top