Expense

[madasafish]

I tend to see stuff I could use/recycle at the most inconvenient time. I saw a skip that contained so much perfectly good 3"x 2" timber it would make enough stands for an entire apiary and I had no means to take it away.
I can't believe what some people waste.

If you love new technology you buy a new phone for around £500 and 5 years later it's worth £40. Makes a new car look a good investment..

It is strange but I find many of the "save the planet, cut out plastic waste" most vociferous (gobby) supporters always have the latest mobile.. And when someone complains about the use of plastic and I reply "what about your mobile, tablet, laptop, Pc, home wiring/insulation/piping/TV/microwave/fridge etc - all made of plastic" they tend to go quiet..


But I should not complain...
I depend on people like them so I can buy cheap ones

 

[BMH]

Ah, but this time next year......

Ha. Thought that last year!

Hopefully there will come a point in the near future when I can reap the rewards.

I fall into two camps.

1. I get carried away easily

2. I'm an absolute tight @rse

So £11k goes a long way....

 

[Gordoncoll]

I will happily make and reuse stuff whenever I can. I got yhe handyman at work to make me some dummy boards! 10 pounds they are on ebay!!! Some of the prices people want are a bit of a pi***ake !

 

[BMH]

I will happily make and reuse stuff whenever I can. I got yhe handyman at work to make me some dummy boards! 10 pounds they are on ebay!!! Some of the prices people want are a bit of a pi***ake !

Yep. Dummy boards are crazy prices.

I use SN4/DN4 seconds frames from the sales. About 45p each then use correx protective floor coverings as the inserts.

Works out at less than 50p a frame.

Showed them to Tudor at CWJ and he loved them.. So if you see them for sale at CWJ, tell him I want my royalty!

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[Millet]

Started off with £500 for two occupied hives knocked down to £300 because one colony was almost extinct from wax moth infestation. Number one colony gave 100 lb of honey two months later, sold for £5.00 plus per lb without any trouble. Number two colony saved and now thriving. So maybe split one or both this year to double up.

Made a nice double hive stand out of reclaimed skip timber. £12 total including nails, screws and paint. Looks stronger than catalogue stands at £70.

6 frame manual extractor. Italian engineered and really nice peice of kit. Bought new for £270 on ebay/amazon reduced from £500.

You dont need to spend a fortune. £60 for a suit and £10/15 for a smoker - no need to spend 40/50 quid. Likewise kitchen gloves from Sainscos only cost £2. Print your own labels from onlinelabels.com and save 50%+. Shop around for jars, or buy through your local association.

You can make your own warming box with plywood/insulation and a greenhouse heater. If necessary you can warm 30lb in a fan oven overnight from 80f to 125f for bottling. Save £200+.

Don't buy standard stuff from specialist beekeeping suppliers. e.g. you can buy ratchet straps from discount stores/Aldi for half Thrones price. A metal roasting dish makes a perfectly adequate uncapping tray.

Put the word out for birthday/Christmas pressies (pass on the catalogue page so they dont get the wrong one):

Refractometer
Posh smoker
Smock
Hooded vest
Feeders
Polycarbonate crown board (for the grandchildren)

Join your local association for 2nd hand equipment/bees from retiring beekeepers.

Plan for this year: Convert knackered wheelbarrow into a hive/super trolley using recycled pallet wood. Cost £3.00? for nuts and bolts.

You dont have to spend spend spend unless you like spending. Half the fun is getting owt for nowt!

I like you as you are of similar thought to me..

 

[ASPIRERITE]

Does the expense ever stop? Depends on your skill level and success rate, I started with two nucs and go commercial this year but I've spent 3 grand had half back but expect to get into profit this year. next year I expect to make my 3 grand back 3 fold plus expand further.

Is anyone selling a sherrif veil/hat? not me

Does anyone want to buy a kidney? what blood type are you?

Is there a beekeepers anonymous? let me know

 

[Hivemaker.]

Depends on your skill level and success rate, I started with two nucs and go commercial this year

Interested in what the outcome of this was last July?

Hi everyone I have a hive that is booming and two brood boxes deep and full of bees stores and eggs. I'm wondering if its too late to split this hive. The splits will have to raise a queen and draw the extra frames. If its not too late how many splits can I make and have them ready for winter? Would splitting the hive into four be too much?

 

[mike99]

I will happily make and reuse stuff whenever I can. I got yhe handyman at work to make me some dummy boards! 10 pounds they are on ebay!!! Some of the prices people want are a bit of a pi***ake !

Skip ratting is the way to go. I can't walk past one without a scan of it's contents.
insulation for free. Millet told me about the UPVC facia board. one type is exactly the right depth for DN frames. just cut the hockey stick edge off and you are there. a saw is all you need. I have over 3m in my garage waiting to be hacked.

 

[BMH]

Interested in what the outcome of this was last July?

Me too..

That's some serious splitting in 12 months

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

 

[Gordoncoll]

Oh I love a good skip dive!!!!

 

[blackcloud]

found a perfectly good computer in a skip once-it even had peoples dental records still on it!!

 

[ASPIRERITE]

All survived so far so should be able to get to 50+ hives this year and by commercial I mean being able to make a big profit and use my beekeeping as my main income. All being well Ill have a few hundred hives in a few years. That's some serious skip digging and splits

 

[Ian123]

Make a profit and buy a few hundred boxes and equipment?

 

[Hivemaker.]

Most of my hives have low stores and I'm feeding them all. I've lost 4 hives and all had run out of honey.

All survived so far so should be able to get to 50+ hives this year and by commercial I mean being able to make a big profit

Spinning out four frames at a time in a manual extractor?

 

[ASPIRERITE]

Make a profit and buy a few hundred boxes and equipment?

I build my own hives at the moment but don't expect to build 50+ this year so Ill have to sell some splits I cant hive but I expect to get 50+ splits. The year after Ill have to build as many as possible and buy hives in from some of the profit. So Ill buy polly hives because they are cheaper and cheaper still to buy in commercial bulk

 

[B+.]

No bees (yet)

Take some advice from those who have been "around the block" a few times and reign-in your ambitions.
There is a saying in beekeeping circles: The best way to make £1m in beekeeping is to start with £10m.
There are expenses you can't even imagine yet.
Start with 2 colonies and see how you get on. If one dies out, you can split the other and be back at two again. After a couple of years, you might take a swarm, or two. That's how things get out-of-hand.
Learn to overwinter your colonies. This is a skill that will serve you well at any level. If, as time goes by, you increase your colony numbers, it will save you a fortune.

 

[For want of a better word]

Take some advice from those who have been "around the block" a few times and reign-in your ambitions.
There is a saying in beekeeping circles: The best way to make £1m in beekeeping is to start with £10m.
There are expenses you can't even imagine yet.
Start with 2 colonies and see how you get on. If one dies out, you can split the other and be back at two again. After a couple of years, you might take a swarm, or two. That's how things get out-of-hand.
Learn to overwinter your colonies. This is a skill that will serve you well at any level. If, as time goes by, you increase your colony numbers, it will save you a fortune.

Sage advice

 

[ASPIRERITE]

Spinning out four frames at a time in a manual extractor?

All survived from one of the hives I split at that time into 4 keep up with the comments if you want to shoot me down. Look at the date I joined and the date now do you think I had one hive last year?

 

[B+.]

All survived from one of the hives I split at that time into 4 keep up with the comments if you want to shoot me down. Look at the date I joined and the date now do you think I had one hive last year?

My comments were addressed to the original poster (OP) since this is not your thread. However, you might try looking for quality rather than quantity. Some bees can eat you out of house and home. Imagine what 10, 20, 30...100 of them can do to your bank balance.

 

[ASPIRERITE]

My comments were addressed to the original poster (OP) since this is not your thread. However, you might try looking for quality rather than quantity. Some bees can eat you out of house and home. Imagine what 10, 20, 30...100 of them can do to your bank balance.

I know sugar is 50p a kg and if you put 10kg on 100 hives that's £500 or 3 splits