# Mann Lake's mill run hiveware



## homegrown (Jul 24, 2016)

I have bought lots of there budget and commercial grade boxes. Everything I have assembled from them so far has been serviceable. I would assume the mill run is mostly a mix of budget and commercial grade. I feel like they do a good job of sourcing there pine. On the other hand, I have heard some of my commercial buddies bad mouth there wood in the past. Who knows, maybe they skipped the glue, and wondered why they warped?


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## Broke-T (Jul 9, 2008)

I buy my boxes from Bliss or Western Bee. They are Ponderosa Pine. I think they last a lot better than boxes built from Eastern White Pine that Mann Lake uses. I bought 300 migatory tops from them about 4 years ago and they are already rotting out.

If its honey super that are only out a few months per year it wont matter as much, but if hive bodies I would think twice.

Johnny


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## GSkip (Dec 28, 2014)

All the covers I have bought from Mann Lake are junk! I started to return them due to gaps and warped wood but really needed them at the time. They are only a year old and are beginning to rot. I'm in the process of replacing all this fall. The boxes I've bought at the same time are holding up good with no complaints. Yes, I painted with two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Too many gaps between mating surfaces.


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

I used ponderosa pine to build my own boxes when I started beekeeping in 1969. I use cypress today. My first cypress equipment was purchased in 1996. Most of the cypress is still serviceable today. Eastern white pine is good for 5 to 8 years, ponderosa pine will make it 10 to 12, and cypress will last about 20 years. This presumes good quality paint is used and that the equipment is maintained. Albert Zook sells cypress Langstroth deep boxes for $11 each unassembled.


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## homegrown (Jul 24, 2016)

I agree, there tongue and groove lids are junk. All of mine are warped and twisted. I was ready to throw them all out, but decided to slip propolis traps under all the junk lids to cut down on the robbing. The money I've made from the propolis harvested off the traps will pay for my new lids.


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## homegrown (Jul 24, 2016)

JpArnoldApiaries said:


> Has anyone had any experience with Mann Lake's mill run hiveware ?


Jump on the deal on mill run boxes. No one else will give you that price with free shipping. $8.50 a box, minimum quantity is 36! Usually you'd have to buy 1000 or more plus you'd be stuck with freight.


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## bee keeper chef (Nov 1, 2015)

I buy budget boxes every year when the have the sale on them 8dollars a box and free shipping. Hard to beat the price once painted they look like any other box and bees don't care what the box looks like.


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## frustrateddrone (Jan 31, 2015)

Tip for those of you that are not aware and sounds like it to me. Rotting wood in 1 to 4 yrs for a lid is not sealed wood. Rain getting in and expansion and contraction with sun damage too. Take painters caulk and seal up your boxes where all the gaps are. Including the joints on the sides. Do the inside too. Paint it twice and it's pretty much sealed 100% so water isn't able to get inside and do damage over time.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

You might have to wait on your box order fyi. But definitely worth it. I haven't had any I could not use. some were ugly but i'm not vain neither are the bees. Make sure you have some place to store 30 boxes. The fedex guy will hate you


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## GoodyFarms (Jul 10, 2016)

I can't speak as to the life of the boxes, but I just received a pallet of 36 medium mill run boxes from Mann lake and my first impressions are positive. There are knots but none I've seen so far are loose. They don't appear to be warped or miss-cut in any way, but I'll find out more when I assemble them. For the price ($6.75 ea delivered), it's a steal at that small of a volume. They came on a pallet and shipping (Fedex Freight) must have cost them $50-100. My fedex guy was super nice...and quite happy when I gave him a mini bear of honey. He deserved it by dragging that pallet down my fairly long driveway!


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## Hickory Point Hollow (Mar 23, 2017)

My pallet arrived last week and my driver was very nice - said he had 5-6 pallets of bee boxes on his truck that day! Good to know others are keeping bees around as well.


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## JpArnoldApiaries (Mar 26, 2017)

I greatly appreciate everyone's response. 
So far I've ordered quite a few of budget boxes from Mann Lake, with no issues so far. So, I look forward to receiving their Mill-run boxes.
Once again, thank you.


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## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

I did 72 deeps and 72 mediums. I figured the worst ones I would pull out and reform with some wood putty etc. The remainder I will sell back to other beekeepers in the area and recoup my money. That's my strategy at least. Still waiting for the delivery.


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## leadchunker (May 23, 2014)

I have ordered quite a few of the budget hive bodies. Some of them needed to go across the table saw to make the bottom and top edges even. A few were warped or the finger joints were off and wouldn't work. A call to mannlake and replacements we're at my door in 3 days. The customer service was excellant.


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## aran (May 20, 2015)

bugger i must have missed this sale...just checked the mannlake website and couldnt find the deal...is it finished?


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## BobsBees (Jul 21, 2011)

call them, order over the phone only until 8/31 $7 Shallows, $8.50 Deeps


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## DaisyNJ (Aug 3, 2015)

I hate you guys . Just ordered a case of mediums over the phone. I dont now what I am going to do with them. Thank you BTW. Now I need good deal on frames.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

DaisyNJ said:


> I hate you guys . Just ordered a case of mediums over the phone. I dont now what I am going to do with them. Thank you BTW. Now I need good deal on frames.


On black Friday your wish will come true. Mann Lake will have a big sale on frames and foundations. Save your pennies. 

The investment will pay off. Imagine that case of mediums full of honey. Sweet sweet hunny.


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## DaisyNJ (Aug 3, 2015)

aunt betty said:


> On black Friday your wish will come true. Mann Lake will have a big sale on frames and foundations. Save your pennies.
> 
> The investment will pay off. Imagine that case of mediums full of honey. Sweet sweet hunny.


Thanks for the suggestion. Will sit tight.


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## jcase (Jul 30, 2016)

I have bought all 3 grades mannlakes offers, and to be honest I dont know which are which. Budget had a few that i sealed knots up with glue, but none were falling out, just being paranoid. Once I painted them, I can't tell the difference.

I won't buy any but budget now on, they are all good.


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## thesecurityeagle (Jun 21, 2016)

An update now that they are in hand. The cuts are better than the ones from Brushymountain that were premiums/commercial. There were none that were blown out (Where they run the material through the saw without a backer). There are some knots, none were loose. Both sides were planed, not rough on the inner. A few pieces were knot free. I got a complete deep (four pieces) that has a knotty pine almost birdseye look to it. I will tea stain that and seal it with poly and sell it as a part of a complete presentation hive. I have sold almost half of the stock I bought and and am close to completing my payment for inventory. All profit from here. What does not sell will get built into yard stock. I will paint them and prepare them. Some I will sell as complete hives for a better profit, everyone else goes in the yard next spring.


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## NorthMaine (Oct 27, 2016)

Just curious if I missed the sale this year, or they just didn't have it?


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## Greeny (Jun 27, 2016)

I've been watching too, there hasn't been anything exciting. I suspect there won't be sales as good as the past, as there isn't as much competition now.


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## orthoman (Feb 23, 2013)

The big sale is usually right after Thanksgiving.


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## NorthMaine (Oct 27, 2016)

Nah, that can't be right as the mill run sale usually happened before the black Friday one. I guess they aren't doing it this year, so winter project for the Amish guys it is.


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## snapper1d (Apr 8, 2011)

I have bought the budget hive bodies on sale before.After painting I cant tell the difference and wish I had of bought a lot more then.


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## NorthMaine (Oct 27, 2016)

Unfortunately I wish I had bought a few more pallets the last sale. The boxes I got on the mill run were actually quite good with a lot of 'perfect/clear' ones. Trick I found was making sure that I sorted the pieces by height as the boards shrinking over time (I didn't get em all assembled till a few weeks ago so they had plenty of time to shrink/expand) made the fingers hard to assemble otherwise. But if you just sort as you go by size, they work much nicer. I know, they have the 'budget' 36+, but I don't want 100% defects. I don't mind fixing a loose knot once in a while, but not interested in fixing em all. The Amish were willing to give me a good price for the quantity, especially since I wasn't in a hurry and they could do them in the winter. 

That being said, the nuc boxes I got from Humble Abodes were top notch too (even labeled budget), though I found their fingers to be VERY tight. Sorting wasn't necessary here as I assembled most immediately.


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