I think I've convinced my wife to let me get a second hive for my first year if I can scrounge up the money so I'm looking at options to buy this stuff inexpensively.
There is a guy thats in the area that keeps bees and he's about 90 years old. There are boxes everywhere none of which he's using and I think he sells them to beekeepers.
My question is, are there enormous downsides to buying used, and also, how can I be sure, or how CAN I ASSURE that the equipment I buy is sterilized and won't be disease ready?
Thanks!
almost all of my boxes came from old beekeepers, or their widowed wife. there are no guarantees. you can scorch the inside with a torch. that is the way most do it. i dipped mine in bleach water and left out in the sun for a few days.
there is always some risk that you'll bring something home. you'll just have to weight that risk against the cost of the new stuff.
How handy are you? Do you have a table saw? I make my own deeps for about +/- $6 apiece. Nothing fancy, straight joint, they're joined with waterproof wood glue, 2 1/2 inch deck screws and the lifting cleat acts as additional reinforcement.
Is there an enormous downside to getting used equipment? There can be a huge one if you bring AFB back to your apiary. How can you assure what you buy is sterilized? You can have it irradiated, heat treated or bleached. The issue then is what did it cost you to do that? There's a cost to everything but if you've got a simple table saw making them yourself is the most cost effective and disease worry free way to do it. This is assuming you don't remove a digit. ;)