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General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #1973  by cck
 17 Feb 2019, 20:28
I am from the Manchester area and beginner to beekeeping.

Does anyone has any recommendation where best I buy the starter kits (beehive, protective clothing, smoker, bee tool and bees) from with good price and quality?

Many thanks
 #1974  by Chrisbarlow
 17 Feb 2019, 22:10
welcome to the forum CCK

answers are reliant on budget and requirements.

I would assume you are wanting national but do you want wood or poly.

Poly I would say abelo - https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/poly-hives-national/national-poly-hive-with-2-supers-frames-foundation/ I have Abelo poly hives and they are spot on. I am very happy with them.

wood starter kits - i cant comment as I have never bought a starter kit. Although I would suggest be aware some will be seconds and some will be first quality. Seconds quality tends to use British western red cedar with knots and firsts tend to be Canadian western red cedar and no knots. Canadian timber grows slower due to it being colder there and this means the wood is better quality (so I am told) when harvested. I tend to buy maisemores or thornes in the sales ( which were last month and the month before btw)

Hive tools, you cant beat simon the beekeeper, they are £2.99 and do the job, he also does cheap suits at £30 but you get a £30 quid suit. I have had them and they are ok, but dont last to long, depends on the amount of hives you have I suppose.
Good quality suits try Sherrif bee suits and they are about £140 ( I have one of these and I am very happy with it) although there are a lot of folk going for the 3D beesuits these days, like these sold here https://www.oldcastlefarmhives.com/ - my mate has one of these (this exact one) and he is very happy with it.

If you wanna buy bees, If you want to travel to Wakefield, West Yorkshire, I will sell you a nuc overwinterd. PM me for details.
 #2005  by DianeBees
 19 Feb 2019, 09:31
cck wrote:
17 Feb 2019, 20:28
I am from the Manchester area and beginner to beekeeping.

Where abouts?
We meet in New Moston on the first Monday of the month. You're very welcome to come along and have a chat and hear some opinions on different options. :)
http://www.medlockbees.co.uk/
 #2012  by Patrick
 19 Feb 2019, 14:03
Hi CCK and welcome to beekeeping!

All good advice. Chris hints at an underlying truth however - many / most beekeepers on here probably didn't actually start by buying a "starter kit". I understand the temptation because it seems to say what it does on the tin and logic suggests if you buy as one package you get an economy of scale.

The problem is when starting out you haven't necessarily seen enough stuff to know good from poor (even worse if you buy online) and some starter kits are put together on the basis of keeping the cost of the overall package down as far as possible. So I totally get you asking and very sensible too, but you could find yourself re- buying again in a couple of years better quality kit or being lumbered with cheap stocking filler items you may never use.

I would take up Diane's suggestion and ask a few local beekeepers what they recommend. They may point you to some second hand stuff locally or to a bee supplies Agent where you get to see and touch and the stuff before buying. Most of the main suppliers sell good quality kit and if I was going to buy online, it is they are who I would go to. They have reputations to protect and so whilst some of there stuff may be found cheaper elsewhere, you know it is fit for purpose. I would not risk random online auction sites from unknown sellers who may be selling imported lookalike copies which in the hand are simply inadequate- albeit apparently remarkably attractively priced. Also avoid kit made from recycled materials, sadly the examples I have handled were not fit for purpose and indicated a poor grasp of either woodworking or beekeeping (I am sure there are splendid exceptions but I unfortunately have no experience of them).

The reality is catalogues are full of a bewildering range of things you or the bees will never need (but will probably end up buying soon or later anyway, if only to fill a shelf!). You will find a hive, plastic English rapid feeder, stainless steel smoker, hive tool and a decent all in one beesuit will form a sound basis of your kit and you can go on from there.

If you ever decide to not pursue beekeeping (a ridiculous hypothetical situation, obviously!!), all decent kit will have some resale value.