Almost ready to order first equipment...

[Devbee]

I've made a big spreadsheet that details out all the equipment I need, the quantity, and the price, and then I list the part number from the supplier company with it as well.

I thought I was ready to order when I found out about Ross Rounds and Bee-o-pac, two different ways to get comb honey--which is what I am trying to do to start with--but it seems like I need to buy the right size super to use these products, and if I don't, then it may be expensive later to replace my equipment to retrofit to use them.  Anyone have ideas about that or about these products in general?

I plan to buy 8-frame medium supers for everything, and I'm leaning toward Betterbee right now for almost all my equipment.  The Ross Rounds look like they take a small super(?), and the Bee-o-pac I think use mediums, but I can't tell if they expect 8-frame or 10-frame ones.

Ah, the wonderful and sometimes overwhelming world of beekeeping!

[likes2grill]

This is from what i get at the Dadant web site.
"The Bee-O-Pac system consists of eight bee-o-pac frames that fit into a standard 6 5/8" honey super"
It is my understanding that the 10 frame boxes are the standard. To me this system ( http://www.mannlakeltd.com/catalog/page17.html ) looks like it would work better because its more natural for the bees to work.

[Robo]

If this is your first year, I would suggest holding off on specialty comb honey supers and sticking with cut comb.  They take unique management to be successful that a first year beekeep could easily struggle with.  As a first year beekeep, you need to focus on the basics and get your feet wet.   With that said,  I have heard many having issues with the bee-o-pac frames as being hard to keep together and not fitting a standard medium supper very well.

You can buy ross round frames and easily build an 8-frame equivalent ross round super (a normal ross round super only has 8 frames, so you may only have to use 6 or 7 frames).

[KONASDAD]

Agree w/ Robo. Special hive manipulations are needed to excell at comb honey. I decdided to do one super of it for personal use this year. I am still in my first year. My goal was to get them winter ready and maybe a little honey. My two hives went into fall well, but one is in dire straits w/ mites and will likely lose it soon.I got about 2gallons of honey my first year. I purchased (mann Lake) a cut comb super kit w/ thin foundation and will do one super of cut comb and the rest for extraction. If you dont have an extractor, look towards a bee club. I borrowed one from my club. I have decided to wait to buy an extractor until I have at least 20 supers at a time to extract. It is an arbitary point, but am still learning so much that the honey is only a small part of the joy of bee keeping.

[michelleb]

Another thing to think about before investing in comb components is that if you're starting with packages on bare brood foundation, you're not likely to get that much surplus honey--and in general, one puts on rounds/cut comb foundation in the middle of the strongest flow. At that point, your girls will probably just be wrapping up their broodcomb drawing. Not to say you won't get a surplus, but likely not a strong enough one to get fully-filled rounds/packs.

[thegolfpsycho]

There are many things that have to happen to successfully make section honey.  You have to have very strong colonys on a very strong flow.  Giving a colony all summer to make the sections ends up with travel stained wax, partially filled sections and or chewed up wax.  Definitely something everyone should try, but not until you understand a little more about buildup and flows in your area.  There's nothing more attractive than new white wax capped sections, but there are tricks to achieve it.

[IndianaBrown]

The Bee-o-pac 'frames' are wider than standard frames.  8 barely fit in a 10 frame medium super.  6 of them would be a sloppy fit in 8 frame equipment, but 7 would not fit.  You may be able to do 5 bee-o-pac frames and 2 regular frames (against the outside walls.)

When I started last year I bought a set of Bee-o-pac because my wife and some of our friends are interested in comb honey.  However, as others have noted, first year hives don't build up fast enough for the bees to use them during the main flow.  Since both of my hives ended the year relatively strong I will give them a try this year.   

[imabkpr]

I've made a big spreadsheet that details out all the equipment I need, the quantity, and the price, and then I list the part number from the supplier company with it as well.

I thought I was ready to order when I found out about Ross Rounds and Bee-o-pac, two different ways to get comb honey--which is what I am trying to do to start with--but it seems like I need to buy the right size super to use these products, and if I don't, then it may be expensive later to replace my equipment to retrofit to use them.  Anyone have ideas about that or about these products in general?

I plan to buy 8-frame medium supers for everything, and I'm leaning toward Betterbee right now for almost all my equipment.  The Ross Rounds look like they take a small super(?), and the Bee-o-pac I think use mediums, but I can't tell if they expect 8-frame or 10-frame ones.

Ah, the wonderful and sometimes overwhelming world of beekeeping!

Devbee;  Do you have small hive beetle in your area? If so you may want to think twice about producing any form of comb honey.   Charlie

[buzzbee]

Devbee,
My wife bought me a Ross Round super complete from here: http://www.gabees.com/ for Christmas.
I think they have a kit to convert a medium super for use with Ross Rounds but we just bought a complete super to be sure we had all we needed.

[Devbee]

Thanks for your help and ideas!

I don't know whether we have the small hive beetle (in Central Texas), but we have most other critters, so it wouldn't surprise me.

Based on your wise advice, I am going to wait before getting the special comb honey equipment and just have fun this year and see how my bees do.

[TwT]

Based on your wise advice, I am going to wait before getting the special comb honey equipment and just have fun this year and see how my bees do.

good choice, them special comb honey can be tricky for experienced beekeepers, first year should always be for learning beside not every first year beekeeper gets enough honey to amount to any thing, let your bee's build up this year then next year dive in head first on what ever you want to try...

[Robo]

Based on your wise advice, I am going to wait before getting the special comb honey equipment and just have fun this year and see how my bees do.

Your a "Wise" man.

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:

[Michael Bush]

>I plan to buy 8-frame medium supers for everything, and I'm leaning toward Betterbee right now for almost all my equipment.  The Ross Rounds look like they take a small super(?), and the Bee-o-pac I think use mediums, but I can't tell if they expect 8-frame or 10-frame ones.

You can buy eight frame Ross Round supers from Brushy Mt.  But they will be 13 3/4" wide instead of Betterbee's 14" wide.

You can put Bee-O-Pacs in an eight frame box.  They don't come out even.  I don't have 14" boxes (like Betterbee's) so I can't say for sure how they will come out.  In mine, if I remember right, I put seven or eight in and then a half of one to fill the left over space.

Comb honey in any cassette is trickier than just doing cut comb.  You might want to save that for year two or three.

[Paraplegic Racehorse]

Brushy Mountain is using 3/4" thick stock? BetterBee is using 7/8" stock. Would they likely have the same interior space? That would make them compatible.

[Michael Bush]

>Brushy Mountain is using 3/4" thick stock? BetterBee is using 7/8" stock. Would they likely have the same interior space? That would make them compatible.

If you want to remove two frames from a ten frame box and calculate what an eight frame box comes out to, that's 13 1/2.  Eight frame boxes have always had extra room inside.  What is inside for width is not relevant.  How the boxes stack up is what matters to me.  If I have a 1/4"sticking out, the water is probably going to run in and that edges will definitely get more wet.  Can you stack them on each other.  Sure.  But it would be very nice if they were all the same size.

You can almost sqeeze nine frames in most any eight frame box.  I haven't had a 14" one, but I'm betting I CAN squeeze nine regular frames in.

In other words, you can get the same excess space left over in a regular ten frame box with the thickness of the walls on a 13 3/4" wide eight frame box 7/8".

[Cindi]

Agree w/ Robo. Special hive manipulations are needed to excell at comb honey. I decdided to do one super of it for personal use this year. I am still in my first year. My goal was to get them winter ready and maybe a little honey. My two hives went into fall well, but one is in dire straits w/ mites and will likely lose it soon.

I don't want to sound negative or harsh, but this is reality.  But if your goal was to get them winter ready and you have a really bad scene with the varroa, then you did not winter ready them properly.  This is not your fault, it is because you are new to the beekeeping scene and there is so much to learn.  You will see.  They need to go into winter HEALTHY.  Next year, (I am a new beekeeper too and still learning so many things), you will have so much more information that you have learned that you can make much healthier hives to fly into winter with.  You will have strong bees in spring.

There is an old saying that the beekeepers season begins in the autumn.

I have made horrible mistakes with my hives this past summer/fall.  I have learned deep lessons with failure and have learned much through the forum.  I lost quite a few hives due to swarming, then these swarmed hives being weak and having the varroa take them over to devastation.  Next year I am armed with information to keep STRONG AND HEALTHY HIVES.  I wish you the best of a season to come.  Great day.  Cindi

[KONASDAD]

I don't want to sound negative or harsh, but this is reality.  But if your goal was to get them winter ready and you have a really bad scene with the varroa, then you did not winter ready them properly. 

My hives went into fall healthy and were properly prepared. I even had a mentor help w/ fall prep. We got so warm, they began to raise brood again in late december and january. As a result, the v. mite exploded after i could medicate because they went into cluster before i could remedicate and OA is unavailable here in states.

[Michael Bush]

>and OA is unavailable here in states.

Unapproved, yes.  Unavailable, no.  You can find it at any hardware store in the paint department.

[Cindi]

Eeks!!!   Bummer.   Great day.  Cindi

[Kathyp]

You can find it at any hardware store in the paint department.

i found it.  looked up how to use it, but am still unsure of the dilution.  there must be a simple formula?  there was an article in one of the journals, but after i read it i was more confused.

any simple answer?  like 1 tsp per gallon or something????