Cost of beekeeping and poly nucs

[pargyle]

I'd like to lock them in a room for a week and let them out only when they arrive at one standard design and agree to manufacture collectively.

There's no hope is there ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

There's no hope is there ?

Probably as much as locking all the beekeepers in a room

 

[mbc]

Probably as much as locking all the beekeepers in a room

If you did that we could prescribe langstroth only for everyone and outsource all the manufacture of bee equipment, also foreign labour to do the beekeeping would be cheaper, cheaper honey from abroad too, go the whole hog and abandon Britain altogether as a going concern and accept we're an import hub, living off past imperial pillage, seems to ve the way its going, or is it crypto or bitcoin or fiat, can't recall, but big up the langies!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'd like to lock them in a room for a week and let them out only when they arrive at one standard design and agree to manufacture collectively.

I think with the way things are going with the big suppliers not attending conventions there will be less chance of then trying to please every individual 'expert' who demand they slightly change a design because they want something different for their two colonies so maybe there will be a move towards standardisation (says he watching a skein of pigs fly by)

 

[Bumbling Keeper]

I've just bought 2x 14x12 wooden Nuc boxes, a couple of floors and x4 supers. Didn't get enough change for a curry out of £900.00. But it keeps me out of mischief, so the cost is priceless. It costs me more because I buy ready assembled, I can't knock a nail in straight to save my life.

Thorne's do a 'beekeeping on a budget' range - very reasonable. Last year I bought an entire hive - national - brood, two supers, floor, queen excluder, crown board and roof, plus all the frames - all flat packed - for around £185. The precision wasn't quite as good as the National Bee Supplies stuff, but it was perfectly serviceable. My mistake was going to pick it up from the shop; I then browsed for half an hour and spent another £60... as you do.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Thorne's do a 'beekeeping on a budget' range

Forget the bargain aspect of that purchase: good thing is that you bought a hive built to a National standard and interchangeable with all other wood hives.

Relevant to point out that only Abelo follow that National footprint and internal dimensional code, and so boxes are equally interchangeable with wood.

 

[Finman]

It is competition, which keep prices fair. Nut it seems, that competition doest not help. There are many poly box companies in the UK, and there are special looking plastic hives.

 

[Finman]

National standard and interchangeable with all other wood hives.

You have ten national standards. Is that the meaning of standard?

And then number of frames in the box . When the number is fixed, you must change it to another..... innovations

 

[user 20297]

Forget the bargain aspect of that purchase: good thing is that you bought a hive built to a National standard and interchangeable with all other wood hives.

Relevant to point out that only Abelo follow that National footprint and internal dimensional code, and so boxes are equally interchangeable with wood.

It's good that we in the UK have our own standards for beehive dimensions, which have existed for so long. When I was even more of a complete ignoramus about beekeeping than I am now, it still didn't take more than five minutes to find out that using Nationals made sense for compatibility with British beekeepers and equipment suppliers.

For an amateur beekeeper, if another standard was adopted, it would actually cost most of us a lot of money in order to follow that standard. Abelo nationals are just right. Their nuc-boxes are actually half-size beehives....relatively expensive but very nice to work with.

 

[JamezF]

You have ten national standards. Is that the meaning of standard?

As Andrew Tanenbaum (he may have kept bees; I have no idea) once said:

"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from"

James

 

[Finman]

As Andrew Tanenbaum (he may have kept bees; I have no idea) once said:

"The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from"

James

We have in Finland American standard Langstroths and mediums. 3 factories make them, and beekeepers do not want any more. Some like wooden boxes.

Then I have seen that the frames, what you put into the boxes, cost more than boxes yeas, you have explanations to it.

You have premium and second grade foundations . We have i Finland only foundations.

 

[Ian123]

It's good that we in the UK have our own standards for beehive dimensions, which have existed for so long. Even when I was even more of a complete ignoramus about beekeeping than I am now, it still didn't take more than five minutes to find out that using Nationals made sense for compatibility with British beekeepers and equipment suppliers.

No it’s not good it’s a complete nightmare and an expensive one!! Nationals are over engineered for the job and that reflects in the price.

 

[Finman]

Wood stuff to 100 langstroth frames 70€.

Foundation from own wax, 3.50 €/kg.
10 foundations 1.0 kg.

 

[user 20297]

No it’s not good it’s a complete nightmare and an expensive one!! Nationals are over engineered for the job and that reflects in the price.

I agree that the components of a wooden national are like something designed by a Chinese puzzle manufacturer. But the dimensions are well established and have been reproduced many times. When made out of polystyrene, the constructional issue has been superseded but some people still find them expensive.

 

[Murox]

We have in Finland American standard Langstroths and mediums. 3 factories make them, and beekeepers do not want any more. Some like wooden boxes.

Then I have seen that the frames, what you put into the boxes, cost more than boxes yeas, you have explanations to it.

You have premium and second grade foundations . We have i Finland only foundations.

You can be sure that the english have an unerring ability to complicate the simple and double the expense of just about everything.

 

[Mint Bee]

It's good that we in the UK have our own standards for beehive dimensions, which have existed for so long. When I was even more of a complete ignoramus about beekeeping than I am now, it still didn't take more than five minutes to find out that using Nationals made sense for compatibility with British beekeepers and equipment suppliers.

For an amateur beekeeper, if another standard was adopted, it would actually cost most of us a lot of money in order to follow that standard. Abelo nationals are just right. Their nuc-boxes are actually half-size beehives....relatively expensive but very nice to work with.

too late for me, but If I started again with the knowledge I have now it would be poly langstroths from the start. Beginners seem 'pushed' into getting national format because they 'must' have a format that is compatible with other beekeepers locally to obtain a nuc, or in case they need to borrow a frame of eggs for a queen negative colony. How many people have actually borrowed a frame from another beekeeper? Plenty of suppliers of Langstroth equipment if one looks about. Its a blinkered comment that been perpetuated by BKAs and on this forum in advice to beginners for years.

 

[user 20297]

too late for me, but If I started again with the knowledge I have now it would be poly langstroths from the start. Beginners seem 'pushed' into getting national format because they 'must' have a format that is compatible with other beekeepers locally to obtain a nuc, or in case they need to borrow a frame of eggs for a queen negative colony. How many people have actually borrowed a frame from another beekeeper? Plenty of suppliers of Langstroth equipment if one looks about. Its a blinkered comment that been perpetuated by BKAs and on this forum in advice to beginners for years.

Some good points there. A different angle on the subject.

 

[Mint Bee]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

 

[madasafish]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

Some of us were taught to plan ahead and do our own research.I did but being retired made it easier and the internet has changed things so much - information available immediately when before you either read a book - which you had to acquire - or spoke to someone and hoped they were not too biased.

( I am amazed when people clearly don't know how to search for things on the internet - it is soooo easy)

 

[Boston Bees]

too late for me, but If I started again with the knowledge I have now it would be poly langstroths from the start. Beginners seem 'pushed' into getting national format because they 'must' have a format that is compatible with other beekeepers locally to obtain a nuc, or in case they need to borrow a frame of eggs for a queen negative colony. How many people have actually borrowed a frame from another beekeeper? Plenty of suppliers of Langstroth equipment if one looks about. Its a blinkered comment that been perpetuated by BKAs and on this forum in advice to beginners for years.

You are forgetting the "outgoing bees" bit of beekeeping and only focusing on potential bee traffic coming into your apiary. I would never borrow a frame of eggs, or (now I'm up and running) buy a nuc, but I am delighted I stuck with nationals, and would have been in trouble last year if I hadn't. I had to find homes for 20 or so nucs, due to starting the year with too many colonies and not wanting to have so many in my garden. I would never have found homes for 20 langstroth nucs locally, but getting rid of national nucs is easy.