# Used bee stuff



## CBS (Jan 10, 2011)

Newbee here! 

I’d been intending to get into bee keeping for a few years. Last week, I sent my payment in for “bee school” (Plymouth County Bee Association).

That night I saw an ad. on craig’slist for “Used Bee stuff. $100”. I called, set an appointment and bought: 1) A Pierce electric knife. 2) A Dadant smoker. 3) A pair of gloves with long sleeves. 4) A stainless steel Dadant Junior bench extractor (manual) on a stand with a few good quality ss strainers. 5) A couple of veils on hats. 6) A bunch of boxes, frames and covers. He said enough for about four hives. The fellow also gave me about a gallon of old honey and a big chunk of wax type stuff as well as some other stuff, some of which I determined to be trash.

He had not used his hives “for a few years”, but all the stuff was in plastic garbage bags out of the weather. He had a couple of broken hives in his yard that he said I could get when the snow clears.

I know nothing yet about bees, but the knife, smoker, veils, gloves, strainers and the spinner struck me as being worth a hundred bucks.

About the boxes and frames, though: There are some pieces of boards that need to be replaced due to some rot. Not much or I would not have taken them. But the frames have me baffled. Many are covered in junky wax. Everything needs to be scraped, cleaned up and painted on the outside. The plastic bags were intact. I smelled no mouse urine.

What are the dangers here? Should I just chuck all the wooden stuff and get new? What about that dirty wax? I’ve got some time before classes start on January 20. Is my stuff worth cleaning up? 

Thanks for your advice. Off to bed. I'll be back in am.

CS


----------



## ChristopherA (Jul 20, 2010)

Well excluding the beehives, frames, inner cover, bottom board and top, the uncapping knife and extractor will cost over 100 dollars. Just make sure they work. The gloves and protective equipment is also worth it.


As for the bee hives it is up to you. Some swear not to buy used equipment due to virus but mainly sprores produced from european and american foul brood. There are also some others diseases as well. 

I personally have never had a problem with used equipment and have not known someone who's gotten new equipment to have any problems. Some say you can scorch the boxes with a torch or slighty burn them to make them "clean". You want to ask the owner why he quit with the bees and what happen to the bees. That could be a sign something is wrong with the equipment.

In your class they will teach you about all these diseases, basics that is. They will probably teach not to use used equipment. However one question I always ask the instructors and until this day never got an answer, if you cant use used equipment, do I have to use a new pair of gloves and hive tool for each hive? Sound stupid, but in my opinion whats the difference.

It all comes down to what you think and believe. If all that is 100 dollars and in good working order I would jump on it.


----------



## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Cleaning frames is a lot of work with little reward. Scorch the insides of the supers and replace the frames. You got a great deal!
There are places that buy wax and old comb for rendering. When you subscribe to American Bee Journal or Bee Culture, you will see their ads throughout the magazines. If you can trade it for clean foundation that would be the best deal.


----------



## Josh Carmack (Dec 19, 2008)

Brood wax will quite often look old black and junky, but the bee's will typically use it just the same as new foundation. Your own wax will look nice and white the first month or so, but it starts getting blacker and blacker with each brood cycle. as long as the comb is straight and in decent shape mechanically, try it out, they'll fix the dings and dents all on their lonesome.


----------



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I think you got a great deal. Both my parents grew up on farms in Minnesota during the Great Depression. I've been genetically afflicted by the frugality that won't let me throw anything away that can't be fixed (drives my wife crazy).

In my younger days, I bought a lot of used equipment. I never had a disease problem even though everyone and their dog pessimistically told me to watch out for disease. When you start listening to the dogs, it's time to get out of the summer heat. And in those days I didn't know what diseases to look out for or what those diseases even looked like!

The key question to ask the potential seller is: do you know what killed your bees? What did they die from? Most of my sellers didn't know but blamed wax moths. Some said they just didn't have time to treat for mites.

In those days I had more time than money. I built a lot of my own boxes out of scrap pallets. Very therapeutic and fun. I don't have that kind of time any more.

But these are the boxes that are showing their age and needing replacement. I think buying used equipment is a safe gamble, but a gamble none the less. In the best of all worlds, cheap used equipment is a nice way to get started until you can afford the new boxes. 

Grant
Jackson, MO


----------



## CBS (Jan 10, 2011)

Hi again.

The fellow who sold me the stuff was about 50 years old, and recently divorced. The equipment was at his father's house. This was the active hive location. The steel equipment was very clean and well maintained. The wood was bagged and organized.

I did not know enough to ask about cooties and plagues. He did have one bottle of a medication. The way he spoke it was "normal", but I said it was probably outdated and he tossed it out.

When the snow melts a bit around here I'll sort the stuff out and look it over closely. If I have any doubts, out she goes. I'll have a class or two by then and the instructors can advise be further.

BTW: The wood stuff is in a shed in my yard. There have been (are) mice in the shed. Is there any reason that I couldn't keep this stuff, once its sorted and cleaned, in my cellar. The cellar is "clean and neat" as an unfinished utility area should be. That's where my "shop" equipment is.

Thanks,

CS


----------



## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

CBS Excellent deal! You might think about cleaning the frames and supers (boxes) just so you'll know what you need to get started. Fred Magee in West Bridgewater MA. has wax foundation on hand which you'll need to get things ready for Spring. Catalog equipment dealers will not ship wax foundation in the cold weather months. Merrimack Valley Apiaries in Billerica, MA will have nucs that can be ordered now for spring. http://www.mvabeepunchers.com Nucs are better than packages for our area. Plymouth County Beekeepers' Assoc. has a list of mentors for new beeks, you might enlist the help of one living near you. OMTCW


----------



## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

You got a good deal! My only recommendation would be to toss the frames and start out with new frames and foundation. You'll probably make that decision after the second one you try to clean. Scrape the boxes down good and use them. If they have rot holes you can patch them permanently with Bondo from the auto parts stores. For temporary patches just staple a piece of window screen or a piece of aluminum from a drink can over the inside of the hole. The bees do not care one little bit about the patches!


----------



## CBS (Jan 10, 2011)

Thanks for all the useful information.

Fish Stix!  …Bondo (got a half can down cellar)! Can lids? Staple gun? What about duct tape and wire coat hangers! You make it sound like I’m fixin’ a muffler and a dinged fender.

Cedar Hill, Thanks for the local connections. I’ll bring up “nucs” in the class.

I will conscientiously sort through the stuff I got. It was all bagged so I’m not certain exactly what I got. I did get a box of some possibly wax “flat things” with hexagons stamped into them. I thought they were plastic. I’ll learn a lot just by handling the gear. I’ll bear in mind the risks when considering time spent cleaning and repairing. Thanks for the “scorch” idea, either by small fire or torch.

I’ve already got my locations picked out, early and all day sun in winter, some shade in summer, along the transition edge of my front lawn and woods. Conveniently close but out of the path of regular traffic. How close together can you locate hives? I see them on youtube almost within three feet of each other. Also, I’ve got mucho cranberry bogs within 1,000 feet of my lot. They are the only big concern for chemical use. Other than that, only lots of land, woods and fields.

Thanks again


----------



## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

You can put hives very close to each other. Adding or removing hives, especially at the ends, sometimes gets the bees a little mixed up for a while but aside from that, no problem. I never re-use frames except for my own and even my own get swapped out every so often. If I buy used boxes, I rehab them. First, I wash them...inside and out with a mix of TSP and bleach. Then I scorch the insides. If I need to repair the joints, etc., I do that next. After that I prime and paint....all done. Never had a problem that way.


----------



## bigbore (Feb 25, 2008)

The things you got with the hexagons pressed into them, sounds like foundation, if they are they will be brittle to handle, so be careful. If you have the patients, you can clean the frames, and install the foundation. Bring the foundation into the house so it is warmed up to room temp. Boxes can be scorched by stacking them up and filling them with loosely crumbled newspaper and lighting it. You got a good deal, no matter what anyone might say. But accept the fact that the used boxes are a risk, and if there is a problem you learn from it and go on. I am not trying to down anyone, but you learn as you go from the choices you make.:doh:


----------



## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

CBS "I’ve got mucho cranberry bogs within 1,000 feet of my lot. They are the only big concern for chemical use." Now you're going to have to be very careful with bog insecticide spray. Make sure you know when the bog owner is going to spray and that the hive openings are not down wind to the bogs and that your relationship with the bog owner is a very good one. They spray usually at night and the sprinklers should be spraying just water the next day to help keeps the bees off the bogs. It only works to a limited degree. I always pulled my bees out of the bog areas before any spraying (20+ yrs.)- when proper warning was given, sometimes it wasn't. That spraying can set your hives back to a level of no return, in that the build up of the winter population will be weakened considerably. Your bees can travel to other bogs over which your local owner will not control the spraying. Spray kill will be when you see a large 3+ foot patch - an inch or two of dead bees - in front of your hive. You might also think of putting out swarm traps. The commercial pollinators from out of state bring in thousands of hives for bog pollination. You can use them to supplement any spray kill hives. OMTCW


----------



## callsign222 (Nov 9, 2010)

Ravenseye said:


> First, I wash them...inside and out with a mix of TSP and bleach.


What is TSP?


----------



## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

You can also boil everything in Lye. However it is a huge pain and a little dangerous. I boiled out some rehabed some this fall and it was an experience and i would do it again. Here is how I went about it.

1. Remove as much wax as you can and dispose. Watch for cross contamination.

2. Fill a container with water. I recommend a livestock tank, you can use a 55gal drum, but it takes much longer. 

3. Fill your tank with 20-40 gal. enough to cover you deep boxes.

4. place your lye into the water. 1lb/10 gal. Be careful the reaction can be volatile and you do not want lye on your skin or eyes.

5. Boil water with either several turkey fryers or wood fire. I recommend wood, it will boil your water much faster. Of course you have to have your tank on a stand so you can build the fire underneath. I used cinder blocks.

6. Submerged the boxes and frames in the tank for at least 20 min at a boil. Be very careful putting them in and getting them out. I used chemical resistant gloves and face shield.

7. Remove and wash in vinegar and water. 

8. Wash again in water.

That is how i did it, but in the end unless you are running a large through it is not worth the work. But if you have the equipment around you can clean everything for about 20-40 bucks.

If you want to try it do some internet searches on it there are better and more detailed instructions out there. 

Good Luck and welcome to the addiction. 

Dan


----------



## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

CBS, call Al Carl, the state apiarist:
[email protected] - 617-626-1802 or 413-253-2414

He has very good records of when/where AFB problems occured in the past in the state....he may well have records of this specific beekeeper.

OTOH, a better plan is to take advantage of the irradiation program in Massachusetts. This will effectively kill any disease organisms (including AFB spores), and you can use all of the equipment you like.
http://massbee.org/component/content/article/8-news-item/11-irradition-program

...there should be someone coordinating this in the Plymouth club, so contact them for more information.

deknow


----------



## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

TSP is trisodium phosphate and it's used for heavy duty cleaning. I like to use it before I repaint. I have a very old house and it was great on my old shutters. It cuts through grease and dirt like nothing. Look it up but use it carefully.


----------



## callsign222 (Nov 9, 2010)

bigbore said:


> Boxes can be scorched by stacking them up and filling them with loosely crumbled newspaper and lighting it.


After giving them a little wash with water and a touch of bleach, I was going to scorch my used boxes with a torch as advised by several local keepers, but this seems like a more exciting and I'm not burning gas to get the scorch-- so maybe there will be less chemical residue? I'm not sure. When you say "fill" do you mean stack 'em up and fill it to the top with crumpled newspaper and light it off?


----------



## Laco (Jun 4, 2016)

I soak mine in bleach water after you scrap all the old comb off , let it soak for about 30 minutes. Pour 2 cups of bleach per 5 gallons of water


----------

