# If you were buying all your equipment again...



## standman (Mar 14, 2008)

At this point, about the only thing I would change would be to go to all mediums. I like the ten frame, and I prefer the wood. But I started out with deep/shallow combo, and bought out another beek who had some medium. Wish I were in all medium for ease of frame manipulation and weight consideration.


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

Wood frames with plastic foundation.

Definatly no Duragilt.

10 frame.

maybe all medium, not sure yet.

Johnny


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## valleyman (Nov 24, 2009)

Thought about this a lot.
I would definitely go with Wood
I would definitely go with all mediums
I would definitely go with pierco wax coated foundation.
I would definitely go with sbb.
I would definitely go with plastic tops and inner covers.
I would definitely make migratory covers with jar cap feeder holes to use when I am feeding syrup. (stops robbing and keeps the ants out)
I would definitely, if possible, try the new USDA Russians from a member of the Russian Breeders Association
As far as 8 or 10 frame that is personal preferance, I go with 10.
I would probably use the vented 2 1/2" super from Kelleys on top for ventilation when not feeding.

I would definitely buy all of my equipment from Walter T Kelley Co. because they have very good products at a reasonable price.

Good luck, sure wish I had the opportunity to start over!!!


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

I tried all mediums one year, and didn't like two things: if I buy a nuc, it'll be on deeps (though lately I've been going with packages anyway, to avoid other people's contaminated wax issues) and it means 30 frames to go through instead of 20 when looking for the queen. 

But the weight issue has made me consider 8-frame. Any 8-frame adherents want to tell me how they like it?


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

If I had to start over again I'd do the same as I do now:

1) All 8-frame medium supers
2) a) foundationless wood frames with horizontal support wires
b) PF120 frames
c) PF120 foundation core, cut out, then installed in wooden frames
d) beeswax 4.9mm foundation in wood with horizontal support wires
3) Screened bottom boards with slatted racks - without entrance
4) Upper entrances


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

What would I do different??

Go all Mediums


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## mythomane (Feb 18, 2009)

The over 40 set is going to be pro-medium. Stay away from the plastic, except maybe for the pf-100s etc. Mediums are going to cost you extra time and money, though they are easier to lift. If you have trouble lifting, 8-frame is cheaper and lighter, but you might want to make your tops and bottom in this case. You have a great opportunity in that you can go treatment free. START CLEAN AND WITH GOOD HYGIENIC STOCK. You will have clean wax without residues and clean honey. Use only new equipment. I am on small cell and recommend it, but it is not as important as having good queens and strong hives. Fresh start! Good luck.


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## mythomane (Feb 18, 2009)

Queen recommendations: Kirk Webster, Sam Comfort, Michael Palmer.


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## raosmun (Sep 10, 2009)

I am in the process of going all mediums, weight and one size. My bees like wood frames and will draw out plastic foundation. However; my bees do quite well on foundationless. 

You may want to do some rading on long hives (a standard Lang. medium for me, that is 4' long).


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

All mediums because it's just easy. 

10 frame because it's so much more standard, and because it makes the stack shorter.

Migratory covers because they work, and you can stack your hives touching side by side for winter.


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## mythomane (Feb 18, 2009)

migratory covers! yes!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I'll be expanding my apiary in the spring. I have a chance to "start over," as it were, since I'll be buying a lot of new equipment. Eight frame or 10?

Eight frame mediums. I DID start over. I cut them all down...

> Wax or plastic (or wood and plastic, or Duragilt, or...). 

I love the PF120s and I love the foundationless and I love the HSC (if only it came in mediums) and PermaComb. I use a mixture of all of those.

> Mediums or deeps?

Mediums.

> Screened bottom board or solid? 

Tough one. I love the SBB but I'm too cheap to buy feeders, so I've converted all the solid bottoms to feeders... so I'd do solid bottoms as feeders.

>I'm in Upstate NY, so my bees have to get through a long, cold winter with one or two brief breaks, most years.

It's colder here...

You hit most of them:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesoptions.htm


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## libhart (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm a new beek so take what I say with a big grain of salt...but I really like having all mediums, and my back is fine. I just like it because I'll think, "crap, I need a frame, oh there's one"...and you know what, it fits, every time. Or I want to move a frame from this box to that one, and you know what, it fits, every time. I never have to think about what size it is or where I've stored this frame size vs that one....Just my 2c.


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## valleyman (Nov 24, 2009)

After having read all the posts here, I believe one thing you can get from it is everyone would go all medium. Other things you should be thoroughly confused on. Which i'm sure you have been at it long enough to expect this. One question, 10 beeks 20 answers!!!


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

Yeah, the all medium thing surprised me, because I didn't really love it when I tried it. Going through 30 frames instead of 20, the incompatibility with standard nucs, and so on was enough to put me off. 

I'm leaning toward 8-frame deeps for brood and 8-frame mediums for honey, with screened BBs. Frames are the tough one. I've always preferred wood and wax. When I tried plastic, even coated, I got all kinds of "flying comb" and had to scrape... and even then, large amounts ended up propolized and useless. I'll be starting 20 new colonies, and would rather spend time assembling frames in the winter than scraping frames to be redrawn in the spring.

Honey SuperCell is tempting, though I've heard it has its downside, too (off gassing, and the queen not laying right away). 

So the frames and foundation are still up in the air for me.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I don't completely get the all mediums thing. I use a single deep for brood box and mediums and shallows for honey. Perhaps those further north are having to move full deeps more than we need to down here. For spring cleaning, I will typically pull the deep off and clean bottom board, but at that time the deep is not that heavy. I don't move my hives often and therefore just rarely need to lift a full deep. I think it would be a pain to search through 30 medium frames for the queen. This would make doing splits a far longer task. If I were to start over, I would NOT run both mediums and shallows for honey (shallows were free and hard to pass up).

Regarding choice for frames, wooden with plastic foundation. My favorite by far are: 9 1/8" ASSEMBLED COMMERCIAL FRAMES WAXED RITECELL from Mann Lake. I have a good number of the PF-120, but over the years I found them more fragile than I would like. I can easily warp them in my 9-frame hand-crank extractor, and found also that the ears will break off if mishandled. Once they warp or an ear breaks just throw them away. I also like migratory covers.


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## Batman (Jun 7, 2009)

libhart said:


> I'm a new beek so take what I say with a big grain of salt...but I really like having all mediums, and my back is fine. I just like it because I'll think, "crap, I need a frame, oh there's one"...and you know what, it fits, every time. Or I want to move a frame from this box to that one, and you know what, it fits, every time. I never have to think about what size it is or where I've stored this frame size vs that one....Just my 2c.


Dang, I'm running all deeps and don't seem to have any problem getting my frames to fit either. :scratch: 




valleyman said:


> After having read all the posts here, I believe one thing you can get from it is everyone would go all medium. Other things you should be thoroughly confused on. Which i'm sure you have been at it long enough to expect this. One question, 10 beeks 20 answers!!!


I'll chime in with deeps, and if I did it again, I'd still go deeps....at least for now. Yeah, I'm sub 40, so call me young and dumb if ya want, my dad and the guy I learned from (both well over 40) used/use deeps and no mediums. Deep or Med?
Plastic or wax?
It's Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge all over again.
Which one is right? Answer: which ever one you want, get what you want, not what other people want, you'll never be happy otherwise.

JMO,
C2


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

There are three problems with using deeps for honey, from my perspective: 1. my extractor holds 6 mediums radially or 3 deeps tangentially. Who needs that? And I'm not ready to buy a new extractor. 2. Weight. I'm a fit, 45-year-old woman, and I'm used to hauling my 30 lb toddler around, but this year's full mediums were as heavy as I'd want to go (and I don't like removing one frame at a time) 3. I know which frames were used for honey and which for brood this way, and they can't be mixed up.


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## NY_BLUES (May 14, 2009)

I also live in Upstate NY and here is what I did---

1.) 8 frame, lighter and I am not getting younger 
2.) All Mediums, ease of hive manipulation and hive to hive frame transfer
3.) Screened Bottom boards, for Varroa mite drop, better ventilation
4.) Inner cover and Telescoping tops, just because I did
5.) Foundationless Dadant frames, I like the thicker bottom board
6.) Hived packages and swarms in theses and have only had 1 hive lost, it was a small swarm that absconded the day after I hived it. 

As far as making it thru winter, I just slide a piece of plywood under 95 % of the bottom board and provide a good wind break, and let them do the rest.


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

> It's Chevy vs. Ford vs. Dodge all over again.


Thats easy...the answer is Ford of course :lpf::lpf:t:


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## Batman (Jun 7, 2009)

Istclair - To me it sounds like you have your answer, you didn't like meds for digging through the brood chamber, but you didn't like the weight of honey in the deeps. I would have to believe that deep broods with med supers is the way for you to go? I'm in the process of buying my extractor, I'm just waiting for a check to clear from my last removal. The extractor I am getting holds 9 deep frames radial, so that wont be much of a problem. Plus since it will be motorized, I figure I will stay with deeps throughout. If I were going to hand crank, I would prob want to get as many frames as I could per round, but in the end, it'd prob just be a wash anyway, smaller frames, means more frames, which would be more rounds of extraction? Just guessing there, but sounds logical.

NasalSponge - BTW, it's Chevy, thats why I listed it first.  :lookout: 

C2


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

If the extractor were the only issue, I'd just plan for deeps next time. But I can't see myself hefting 90-100 pounds regularly; much easier to do 2 40-lb mediums!


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

Like I always say...."There is nothing more subjective then beekeeping!" 

:lpf: @Batman


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## Batman (Jun 7, 2009)

lstclair said:


> If the extractor were the only issue, I'd just plan for deeps next time. But I can't see myself hefting 90-100 pounds regularly; much easier to do 2 40-lb mediums!


Heard a saying from somewhere that said "If you didn't have a bad back before beekeeping, you will after." Prob a lot of truth to that.



NasalSponge said:


> Like I always say...."There is nothing more subjective then beekeeping!"
> 
> :lpf: @Batman


Thanks goodness the bees dont care.  We're Black and Yellow! No, we're Yellow and Black!


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## Rick 1456 (Jun 22, 2010)

t:"Sticks and stones may break my bones but a ford will never pass me"
67 Camaro collector car

BTW Deeps for brood cause I havem,,,,switching to mediums for supers. Ran deeps for supers and had them chest high,,,,I'm 6 ft,,,,Top two FULL had to be 90 to 100 lbs each. Can't be doin that anymore. May go mediums as I wimp out:doh:
rick SoMd


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

I like deeps for brood chambers, mediums for honey supers. I use Ten frame only because that was what I got when buying out a beek when I started, but I could switch to 8 frame with no problems. Plastic frames with wax coating will serve you the best if you are going commercial. If you are a hobbiest then you can choose what you like and it will work.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

I started out with deep brood chambers and shallow supers.

I realized in my 3rd or 4th year that my honey harvest would be much simpler if I had all mediums.

My extractor is a 9 frame and it will fit shallow or mediums radially, but deeps only 3 and tangentially. So for each batch of honey supers I could get more honey extracted from each of 9 med. frames than 9 shallows. Seems to me it would take the same amount of time to decap and load , extract and unload 9 med frames as it would for 9 shallows, right?

Also, on those few honey bound brood chambers I can extract a few frames here and there and swap around more easily if they are all medium too. I have seen the light. I need to be using all mediums.

To that end last month I ordered 10 boxes of mediums and will assemble them and have them ready for the fall flow.


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## honeydreams (Aug 10, 2009)

Things I would never use again is duragilt I would use eight frame mediums no deeps. I would use wood frames plastic foundation easy peasy on that.


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

If I was buying, or if I was making equipment again?

It's cheapest to go all deeps, but harder on your back. How much money do you want to spend?

What are your beekeeping goals? If I was a woman, who just wanted a few hives for honey production, I would probably just go with Top Bar Hives. Cheap, and the weight isn't going to be an issue.

If I wanted to raise bees and nucs, I would probably go with all deeps. A deep box of bees isn't nearly as heavy as a deep box of honey.

If I wanted to do honey production, I'd probably go with jumbos or deeps for a broodbox, with shallows or mediums for honey supers.


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## peacekeeperapiaries (Jun 23, 2009)

we run 8-frame equipment, combo of deeps and mediums. We like 2 deeps for brood , however after moving them back from orange we do throw some mediums on top of deep brood chambers also as we like to use the drawm deep combs on splits and increases. We usually start a good flow with deeps for honey then as they are filled follow up with mediums. Dependant upon how many hives you have and how many you want... an upgrade on the extractor may be necessary. A 20 frame dadant will extract 20 deeps and 36 meds if you choose to stuff that many mediums in there, and overall does not cost that much more money that extractors which do not handle deeps as well. Good luck. 

Steve


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

I started from scratch this year and went to all 10 frame mediums. I had the same initial concern about having all the extra frames to check when doing a full inspection. But the benefits in my opinion are well worth the extra time and labor. 

It will be so much easier now to keep the brood nest opened up during swarm season. And having the freedom to move or swap frames anywhere I need them, to me, is a tremendous advantage. I used to get so frustrated when I had a mix of deeps and mediums and lacked the simplicity of moving frames around where I wanted them. KISS works well for me.


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## lstclair (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks again to everyone for their replies. I'm placing my order today for 20 8-frame hives with supers, and enough wood frames to supplement what I already have. (I'm planning on starting 15 hives, but getting extra equipment, because you always need it!) I'm still kicking around foundation: I have about 100 sheets of small cell wax that I might as well use; I'm considering doing 5 hives of Honey Supercell as a test, since people seem to like it, and then five of... Still not sure. So many people like wax coated plastic, but I've had a horrible time in the past getting bees to draw it. These hives aren't in my backyard and I hate the idea of being out there scraping badly drawn plastic every week until they get it right! So I may go with traditional crimp wired wax. 

Hmmm.


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## MAXANT (Sep 13, 2008)

Rick 1456 said:


> t:"Sticks and stones may break my bones but a ford will never pass me"
> 67 Camaro collector car
> 
> BTW Deeps for brood cause I havem,,,,switching to mediums for supers. Ran deeps for supers and had them chest high,,,,I'm 6 ft,,,,Top two FULL had to be 90 to 100 lbs each. Can't be doin that anymore. May go mediums as I wimp out:doh:
> rick SoMd


My Ford will :no:


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick 1456 
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but a ford will never pass me"
67 Camaro collector car
rick SoMd 

"My Ford will "
__________________
www.maxantindustries.com
American made Honey Processing Equipment "Built to last a lifetime" 

 My Ford won't - a 1914 touring car.
Steven


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## coopermaple (Aug 30, 2009)

I like 10 deeps for brood and shallows for honey.
I have to ask for those that posted against deeps how do you get 90-100lbs in a deep?


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## Dubuquer (Jun 1, 2009)

Based on my experience I have had better results with a screened bottom board and plastic foundation. I like deeps for brood and regular supers for the honey production. Use what works in your area and keep all materials interchangeable.


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## Kingfisher Apiaries (Jan 16, 2010)

If I lost everything, and had to start over-
Migratory Tops
Solid bottom boards
Vsh/buckfast bees
Plastic foundation
Wood frames - all from the same company. I have have frames from everyone and their dog and the manufacturing differences make me go nuts. 
Bucket feeders
Either all mediums or all deeps, or both, but run them separate, I.E. yard 1 mediums, yard 2 deeps, etc


mike


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## Merlyn Votaw (Jun 23, 2008)

I would go all mediums because they would all be interchangble plis the 8 frames are not as heavy and as you get older you will see what weight will do to you but the down side of that is you will have more bodies with 8 frames than 10 frames


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## Cedar Hill (Jan 27, 2009)

If I had bought all cypress woodenware when I started over fifty years ago, I would still have the same supers. What a savings in labor and money! Still have the mediums I bought over 40 years ago. So if I were starting over, everything would be made of cypress. OMTCW


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick 1456 
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but a ford will never pass me"
67 Camaro collector car
rick SoMd 

"My Ford will "
__________________
www.maxantindustries.com
American made Honey Processing Equipment "Built to last a lifetime" 

My Ford won't - a 1914 touring car.
Steven 

Well since everybody else weighed in on the battle,I dont think your ford or chevy could pass my Dodge! Just kidding guys but since I'm usually the lone Mopar guy(thus the name hemichuck) I have to stand up and be counted.

I am currently using deeps,mediums,and some shallows and I can tell you its a pain in the butt.I would(and will)go to 10 frame all mediums.Its easier to cut down nucs to medium than try to shuffle frames around all the time to fit this and that.

One last car prod,As soon as a ford or chevy powered car wins an NHRA/IHRA top fuel championship,I will switch brands.(that should keep me safe for another 50 years)


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## BobnJeep (Aug 30, 2011)

Hello all. My name is Bob and I'm sure that I'm newer than most anybody here, since I start in Spring in the U.P. of Michigan. I don't have much $$$ to start with, so I will be doing some "Horse Trading" to get started. I have a local up here who has alot of equipment, all or most of it currently functioning. He will sell me a working hive with bees and honey for $200. From what I saw, it contained the following;
1. BB. I don't know if it's screened or solid.
2. Entrance Reducer.
3. Two Hive Bodies (9 5/8'')
4. Excluder.
5. Two Full 10 frame Supers.
6. Inner cover and Telscoping Cover.

My main concerns, as someone stated earlier in this thred, is the health of the bees. I'm not too concerned about having to replace some frames or even do minor repairs. Seccondly, feeding in Spring. We are in a really cold climate U.P. here so I'm sure feeding early is important. 
BTW, I have 2 apple trees on my property, HUGE Lilac bushes and my neighbor is a comercial vegetable gardener with atleast an acre garden.

I guess the big question is; what do I need to watch for when buying a working hive?
Thanks for all of this info.


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

Lol bob, Honeybees will forage over about a 2 mile radius from the hive. Do you know how many acres are in a 2 mile radius circle?

A = Pi X Radius^2
A = 3.14 X 4
A = 12.56 square miles or about 8000 acres.

Bees won't travel that far unless they have to, but they will go where needed to get the nectar. I guess what I am trying to say is that an acre here or an acre there really doesn't stack up in a bee's world.

If you are buying used equipment, there are three things to know. 
1. is the equipment solid and well maintained?
2. Is the colony strong and well established?
3. Have they been treated for disease? or mites?

From your description, it looks like you would get 2 deep brood chambers and 2 supers included in the colony. That is a reasonable price for a colony in good condition.

DarJones


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## BobnJeep (Aug 30, 2011)

Thanks, I will ask those questions. 
The supplier, in this case, is deep in the woods, where as I am on the outskirts of Kingsford Mi, a rural area. 
When is the best time to move the hive? Now, while slightly above freezing, in the cold dead of winter or early spring? I thought after warm weather, wouldn't be a good idea since the hive would be active at that point, and introducing them to a new area could cause problems that I'm unaware of.
Also, should I consider re-queening immediately?

Thanks for the response!


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## Mtn. Bee (Nov 10, 2009)

Stick with all 10 frame 7 5/8" boxes, one size for all. 
Migratory covers.
Palletized hives (ie. no bottom boards)
Top entrances.
No meds/treatments.
Wood frames with black pierco foundation.



Move them anytime, wait and see how the queens are doing in the spring.
Could move them in spring at night and with a bee net.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

BobnJeep said:


> My main concerns, as someone stated earlier in this thred, is the health of the bees. I'm not too concerned about having to replace some frames or even do minor repairs. Seccondly, feeding in Spring. We are in a really cold climate U.P. here so I'm sure feeding early is important.
> BTW, I have 2 apple trees on my property, HUGE Lilac bushes and my neighbor is a comercial vegetable gardener with atleast an acre garden.
> 
> I guess the big question is; what do I need to watch for when buying a working hive?
> Thanks for all of this info.


Based on the discussion about AFB on another thread my main question would be "do you use antibiotics to prevent foulbrood?" apparently it's a hard treadmill to get off of without losing bees. An apparently healthy hive could bring the funk into your yard if it has been routinely suppressed with antibiotics - and you might not know it for a long time until conditions are right.


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## valleyman (Nov 24, 2009)

valleyman said:


> Thought about this a lot.
> I would definitely go with Wood
> I would definitely go with all mediums
> I would definitely go with pierco wax coated foundation.
> ...


Barry I know this is excessive quoting, but there's no other way to explain what I'm going to say.
I've thought about this a lot more, and a little over a year later allow me to change a few things.
I would still go with wood.
I will not go to all mediums, even if I were starting over, because I don't want to go thru many more frames while inspecting the brood nest, and I believe that during the winter with 2 deeps the cluster will move thru the honey better in deeps, and not have to cross an empty space in moving from one mediium to another.
I will still go with pierco plastic foundation, with extra wax brushed on.
I will still go with SBBs, and add ventilation to the top year around. I use the vented supers from Kelleys.
I will still use plastic telescoping tops.
I will definitely never buy another plastic inner cover to use as an inner cover. I will use the 10 that I bought to cut out for the 4 quart feeder frame so it can set directly on the frames. 
I will use the migratory cover with a jar lid hole to feed strong hives that only need a little boost. I now have gallon jars to put on those. The jar on top seems to let the bees smell the syrup so this can induce robbing. I will use the 4 quart feeder on hives that are weak, in my opinion this helps prevent robbing by hiding the feed. I also keep my entrances reduced year around.

I definitely will never, after having experienced them for a year, install ANY kind of Russian genetics in my hives.

I will stick with 10 frame equipment because it means that you get more for the money, and don't have to open as many boxes. If I get to where they are too heavy then I need to quit anyway.
I definitely will use the vented super from Kelleys all year around with the SBBs open all year around, unless I have an extended period of -0 degree temperatures then I will close off part or all of the bottom. This works for me in central Ky. Cold don't kill bees, moisture does, especially a combination of them.
I will still definitely buy all of my equipment from Walter T Kelley Co. because they still have the best prices for the quality of the product and the service.
Last but not least, I will, and have fed HFCS because it is very cheap for me. (free).


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

I would have purchased a bobcat and palletized my hives years (decades) earlier. Thus I would have saved a lot of physical strain on my body. By doing so beekeeping would have been alot more pleasureable. TED


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

My GMC 6500 bee truck would have 4 wheel drive!


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Ted Kretschmann said:


> I would have purchased a bobcat and palletized my hives years (decades) earlier. Thus I would have saved a lot of physical strain on my body. TED


Comments like these just blow my mind after the abuse I took on palletizing hives.

I followed Michael Bush's lead.

I own a Ford and a Dodge plow truck. The Ford is a heavier built truck but the Dodge will blow by it any day. Neither one is used for beekeeping. I think if I were to do something commercial I would have a motor home and the biggest trailer that I could pull behind it. You could write off the motor home and you don't need a CDL to haul your hives around.


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## roostershooter7 (May 26, 2011)

Even though I am a new beekeeper I find it hard to change my ways. Over the past spring, summer, and fall I have become accustomed to certain equipment, and can't see changing it anytime soon. 


The only 3 things that I would require in new equipment would be .....

10 Frame

Screened Bottom Board

Slotted Top / Grooved Side & Bottom Frames. Similar to Kelley's "N" Style frame. These are super easy to load with new foundation, and require little maintenance.


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

I would have bought the 10" smoker right off the bat.

Tony P.


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

I see an advantage to having uniformly-sized equipment. All 10-frame deeps, or all 8-frame mediums, or whatever you prefer. Swapping pieces out is easier if everything fits everything else.

Having said that, realistically, I would likely start out that way if I were starting over and quickly wind up with a mix of sizes and depths just like I have now.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Kieck said:


> ...realistically, I would likely start out that way [one size] if I were starting over and quickly wind up with a mix of sizes and depths just like I have now.


That hits on my main reservation about going all medium. 

The fact is that money is tight all around. And in this part of the world, deeps are very common. It's pretty easy to get deeps at good prices, or through friends and through nucs, etc. It seems that you're still going to find yourself in translation snag no matter what you do...

I find myself inclined to go with deep and medium 8's.


Adam


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Adam,
I can certainly understand the reasoning behind your decision. Management practices vary regionally and from one beekeeper to another. I keep a few colonies on deep frames, but the majority are on medium frames only. I have learned an appreciation for the extra flexibility of management that having all one size frame facilitates -- it would be difficult/uncomfortable for me to regress back to mixed frame sizes, especially in each individual colony, but some beekeepers never do it any other way, and I'm sure they get along just fine.


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## Kieck (Dec 2, 2005)

Location considerations are important, I think. Deeps are easily the most common depth around here (and the vast majority of my equipment is deep as well). If you have intentions of transferring bees to or from other beekeepers, knowing what they have and use is important, too.

I started with deeps for hive bodies, mediums and shallows for supers. Along the way, I converted to almost all deeps. 10-frame versus 8-frame is another matter, and I have more mixed equipment that way, but at least most of my frames will fit in most of the boxes I have.


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

This winter I am moving into all 8 frame equitment. I have not decided if I want to go all deeps, or keep the deep/medium mixed, however I know I do not want to go to all mediums.

Dan


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

RiodeLobo said:


> ...however I know I do not want to go to all mediums.
> 
> Dan


Why's that, Dan? I'm interested in why people prefer different sizes.

Adam


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## Mtn. Bee (Nov 10, 2009)

RiodeLobo said:


> This winter I am moving into all 8 frame equitment. I have not decided if I want to go all deeps, or keep the deep/medium mixed, however I know I do not want to go to all mediums.
> 
> Dan


Dan,
Did you ever consider all 7 5/8" boxes?
You gain quite a bit of extra space over all Meds. and I winter in 3 boxes which equals more room than double deeps and they are sure a lot lighter than deeps.
Also some of the major bee supply houses carry frames, plastic foundation, etc.
Mtn. Bee


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

For me it is working smarter not harder. As a relitive newb it takes more time to inspect and is just easer to heft some more weight around in exchange for inspecting fewer frames.

I have considers going all 7 5/8 but I think I will need more room and stores than 2 would provide, so I would be back at 3 brood boxes.

I really don't think any of it matters to much for us hobby guys, it is all personal preferance. For side liners and pros i can see that the differances would be substantial.
Dan


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Nothing matters for hobby guys. You can let Beesource cover any issues no matter what you choose.:thumbsup:


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

Go all deeps
1/2 pierco black waxed, 1/2 wood with starter strips and wire
built hive top feeders and axed the boardmen feeders
Utilize deep nucs more for swarm traps and queens


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## Tia (Nov 19, 2003)

All mediums, 10-frame, natural comb, no plastic, inner and telescoping covers, screened bottom board (which I never close except for mite counts), and definitely, DEFINITELY slatted racks.


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## Laurence Hope (Aug 24, 2005)

It probably won't make much difference. You most likely will change your mind once or twice in the next few years. I did, and each of the smaller beekeepers that I deal with did also. Go for what you think and see what happens.


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