Purchasing WBC

[Der Alte Fritz]

Which is a good manufacturer to buy a WBC from? Any suggestions and also where to get a bargain?

 

[itma]

... also where to get a bargain?

We mentioned T's sale previously, and I believe that they will be offering WBC bits - £12/lift flatpack red cedar second, £8/super, £11/brood ... --- BUT not for pre-reservation!

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

We mentioned T's sale previously, and I believe that they will be offering WBC bits - £12/lift flatpack red cedar second, £8/super, £11/brood ... --- BUT not for pre-reservation!

Yes I read about these and got some details but I will not be able to get up to Windsor for the T sale (and no one else from round here is going) and so am looking for other options.

Also I have been reading about the chinese hives on the forum and the various poor build quality of some of the cheaper hives. There are variations in the main stream hives as well, Muswell Hill was saying that the Masiemores/Paines hives come with a wooden 'runner' which you are best cutting off and replacing with metal runners.

So I am looking for some practical feedback on the mainstream hives now as I am starting to get addled with all this info!

 

[alanf]

Which is a good manufacturer to buy a WBC from? Any suggestions and also where to get a bargain?

Most WBC buyers are looking for something that looks good, so being made up in timber that qualifies as 'seconds' and 'bargains' are rare. That having been said, it's not unknown for people to add their own cladding and roof with basic national or smith boxes inside.

 

[For want of a better word]

Caddon Hives..... Solway Bee Supplies...

I suspect they are all manufactured in the Far East... and I do not mean Norfolk !

 

[theengraver]

Caddon Hives yes there made in the very very far far east

Solway Bee Supplies Made In Scotland and Do not import anything made of wood Im down at there workshop nearly every week and every hive is handmade by them on site.
to a very high standard

 

[Travelator]

Hi Alte Fritz - just out of curiosity, may I ask why you're interesting in getting a WBCin the first place? It's more common to find people migrating away from WBCs and on to single-skin hives than the other way around.

 

[Apilady]

The big problem with WBCs is the outer casing. The lifts must fit together exactly in order to make the hive bee-proof and wasp-proof to prevent robbing.
Do be aware that the lifts from one manufacturer may not be compatible with lifts from another manufacturer.
Choose a supplier who has been around for a long time and will still be around when we have the next bumper honey year and you want to buy more spare parts.

 

[Poly Hive]

I can back up the lifts issue they are notorious with incompatibility and if you buy home made ones then truly beware.

They are in my experience as hives go, way too small and a complete pain to work.

Your money your choice but certainly not mine.

PH

 

[plumberman]

I've got a T***es WBC on varroa floor that needs a home. Brood box is non original, but super is original. About 3 years old. Only thing it is doing is looking pretty at the moment, so open to offers. You'd have to pick it up, Rye I guess is a reasonable distance though. PM me if interested.

 

[For want of a better word]

Caddon Hives..... Solway Bee Supplies...

I suspect they are all manufactured in the Far East... and I do not mean Norfolk !

I Stand corrected............... my suspicions are unfounded !

Now let's upset B&Q !!... how come the ply sheets I bought had strange CHINESE CHARACTERS on them... perhaps Mr Woo has got rid of the window cleaning business and is now working for B&Q ????

However immediate apologies due in the best of BAD BEEKEEPERERS CLUB tradition !!!.............

hi my name is jim o'rourke owner of solway bee supplies and i would like to make contact regard to your post . none of the hives that we make are imported from the far east they are all made in our own work shops . if you could correct your post i would be very grateful. regards jim​

PERSONALLY I agree with the Polly Hive... as I attempt to move into this new century!

​

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Hi Alte Fritz - just out of curiosity, may I ask why you're interesting in getting a WBCin the first place? It's more common to find people migrating away from WBCs and on to single-skin hives than the other way around.

I agree with you if I was running an out apiary where practicalities outweighed the look of the thing.
But the objective of my little apiary (apart from allowing me an excuse to nip down the bottom of the garden every five monutes) is to promote beekeeping and green awareness to the general public. So it has to 'look' the part and my current green painted National boxes are simply not recognised as beehives by the majority of the public. Whereas everyone knows what a WBC is.

I agree they are a bit on the small side, especially as I use 14x12 but I intend to run it as a double brood and the Queen seems quite happy spreading the brood across two boxes as she did this year.

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

The big problem with WBCs is the outer casing. The lifts must fit together exactly in order to make the hive bee-proof and wasp-proof to prevent robbing.
Do be aware that the lifts from one manufacturer may not be compatible with lifts from another manufacturer.
Choose a supplier who has been around for a long time and will still be around when we have the next bumper honey year and you want to buy more spare parts.

Very good point and again one that would lead me to splash out on a mainstream supplier rather than go for a cheaper option.

Of course this is an issue that dates from the start of the WBC and the early ones were far from air/bee tight and the inner boxes were made from old fruit boxes or anything else that could be laid to hand.

 

[Poly Hive]

Sorry but I think there is a degree of pandering to ignorance going on here.

Whats wrong with a sign saying "Beehive"?

In fact I find the public are not so blinkered as you might think.

PH

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Yes we have signs saying "Beehives" but the objective is that they can recognize it from a distance.

My experience is that the average member of the European public's knowledge is pretty much ZERO with regards to bees.

Hence our modest efforts to pass on a little knowledge over the last two years.

 

[itma]

... So it has to 'look' the part and my current green painted National boxes are simply not recognised as beehives by the majority of the public. Whereas everyone knows what a WBC is.
...

Yes we have signs saying "Beehives" but the objective is that they can recognize it from a distance.

My experience is that the average member of the European public's knowledge is pretty much ZERO with regards to bees.
...

If you have recognisable, and more obvious, hives on public view ... you may need to (re)consider the question of security.
Unfortunately.

 

[Der Alte Fritz]

Yes it is somethig we have looked at especially these days when bees are worth more than the honey crop.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Caddon is fine, made in Scotland. I have one. Thormes are fine too. Made in Thorntonshire. I have one of those too (on-line auction at a good price). Odd-ball home-made WBC's are not worth buying IMO. Stick to branded ones.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

.... are all manufactured in the Far East... and I do not mean Norfolk !

Norfolk is the centre of the known Universe!
In fact the most easterly point in the UK is Lowestoft Ness in Suffolk, just a few miles S of the Norfolk border.

 

[Davelin]

But the objective of my little apiary (apart from allowing me an excuse to nip down the bottom of the garden every five monutes) is to promote beekeeping and green awareness to the general public. So it has to 'look' the part and my current green painted National boxes are simply not recognised as beehives by the majority of the public. Whereas everyone knows what a WBC is.

Surely you are just perpetuating the myth by doing this. It's akin to promoting rail travel by drawing a picture of a steam engine.