QUESTION FROM EMAIL: COMPLETE HIVE KITS

[beemaster]

After hearing about the plight of the bees today I've decided to start a hive or two next year. Your equipment page has been very useful. I was hoping that you may be able to help me with a couple of questions.  Start with a "beginner kit" or order everything separately. I live in Illinois and Dadant is close saving on shipping but I found a starter hive at Betterbee.com that seems more complete. Where do you buy your equipment? I want to start out on the right foot.

[]b]so members WHAT do you suggest, I like complete kits as starters, but understand you need to build up quickly, swarming can come quickly, especially if you feed them good in Spring.[/b]

I honestly say get starters but be prepared to buy supers very soon and if your swarming gets away, but you can catch them - you need bottom boards, inner/outer covers too!

Beekeeping is the most meditative of hobbies and back breaking to all bee setups - honey is heavy stuff that occupies 100% of its volume in space - so costly storage all of a sudden is involved. I swear, I don't know how so many  people do this BEYOND hobby: my hat is off to them.

Just understand, it can got costly pretty quick, be frustrating but always fascinating - so please do give it a try, join and use the forum DAILY until you have learned all the neat things there are to learn - Don't wait until you get your bees to come here, you miss out on so much.

PLEASE MEMBERS: this person is following this through an email link to this page. Please ad any comments on how YOU did with started kits. Thanks

[charmd2]

Ok,  I bought my "starter kit" off of ebay.   I paid entirely to much.  That said, I got Two deeps, and one medium, an inner cover, a telescoping cover, a screened bottom board.  A smoker, a hive tool, and a veil,  and the book, Beekeeping for Dummies.   I knew NOTHING about bees.  I also got my starter bees off ebay.. 

when I set up hives two, three, and four,  I am using all mediums.  Just for standardization. Less frames and stuff to hassle with.  I dont' have a lot of storage space.   

I bought mosquito nets instead of  the veil.  Mainly because the veil is hard plastic, uncomfortable, the hat slide everywhere, and basically I hate it.  It sets in a box until company comes.  :)  The mosquito nets function just as well and are cheaper. 

The hive tool, I misplaced somewhere, in the grass...  Somewhere..  It will show up while I'm mowing the lawn someday..  I'm using a heavy duty putty knife.  It works the same, basically. 

I like my smoker.  But it appears to be pretty plain to me. 

Basically, if you have no mentor, Know nothing, a starter kit will get you by until you figure out you need more and don't use the stuff anyway. :) 

[Shawn]

I bought two starter kits from Betterbee a year ago and everything is ok. It was not until I joined the forums and looked at what people had to say about equipment did I look away from buying the starter kit. Getting equip. that is all one size is a bonus. I believe I saw a medium starter kit in Dadant that came with all wooden frmaes and foundation along with all the other usual stuff. I might buy the expansion version instead, due to I have the suit and everything else. Can you go wrong buying a starter kit, I dont think so.

[oldenglish]

I find most places dont give you much of a price break on kits, if you have to ship then it gets more expensive, just list out everything you think you will need to start, books, forum and web are all good places to find that out. Then take the list to your local supplier and discuss it with them, they should be more than willing to help you put your own custom kit together.
One thing I learnt was, after spending your money you wil discover something that may have you wishing you had done things different, after a few years you are going to have stuff laying around that looked good when you purchased it but after a few trips to the bee yard you just dont use anymore, for me it was the initial $80 in foundation that I am going to use, but as I expand I am going foundationless.

[Keith13]

I bought a starter kit as well and ended up with a suit I didn't like as well as a bunch of other things I do not use example deeps instead of mediums a cheap smoker.  My advice would be to read what you can from the forums then order what you want separately

Keith