Beehaus Review

Beehaus Review: Verdict, Pros, Cons

Verdict: Based on my research, I would buy the beehaus hive if I lived in the city, lacked space or only wanted one (or two) hives.

beehaus review

+ Pros: Relatively easy to inspect bees due to ergonomic height, light supers, good sized brood chamber, easy to use wasp guard, triple insulation, good ventilation, good swarm management system, less assembly, no problems with woodpeckers

– Cons: Best suited to the hobby beekeeper who does not have much space for equipment; heavy when full of honey and brood.

£ Value: This is two beehives in one, each hive using eleven 14×12 frames; starter kit only an extra £30.  Scroll down this page to understand why I felt this hive offered the best value.

No. of cells in brood box: 75,000 (good)

Summary: Modern plastic beehive, launched in 2009, designed and assembled in the UK by by Omlet.  There were design flaws in the early days of this hive, but these have now been resolved.

In more detail:  The brood box has two entrances (one at either end) and there is enough space to accommodate 22 frames (size 14×12), which is double the number of frames in a traditional National hive. Hence, the beehaus can be be used as either (A) one very large hive, (B) two hives, or (C) a hive plus an over wintering nuc.

Visit these links within the beehaus website:

 Read my reviews of other beehives

So, Why Chose The Beehaus Beehive?

1. It’s good value(Compared with purchasing 2 assembled National 14×12 hives) Beekeeping is not the cheap hobby I thought it would be.At beekeeping courses I was advised to start with two beehives.  (You need the second hive for spare parts and in order to manage swarming).It has a single brood box with 14×12 inch frames and this means the brood box is large enough for the bees, brood and stores; and the alternative is 2 brood boxes, stacked on top of each other, with twice as many frames to manage.This might surprise some people but the beehaus was the cheapest way to buy two hives.  The beehaus is the equivalent of two National hives using 14×12 inch brood frames.  See the beehaus cost comparison further down this page for more information.Furthermore, if you are unlucky enough for the hive to be infected with a disease you can destroy the frames and sterilise the beehaus rather than having to destroy the entire beehive.
2. It’s cozy and this should help the bees Like National hives it has an open mesh floor and varroa inspection tray but in addition:

  • It has triple insulation (that sounds good in my single walled flat with no insulation) meaning less heat loss in winter and less overheating in summer.  This allows the bees to focus on making honey, consuming less honey in winter and keeping themselves healthy
3. Good swarm management The beehaus has been designed to facilitate the swarm management process and allows for the easy and gradual expansion to 22 frames giving the bees plenty of space with less need to swarm. See the beehaus user guide for further information.
4. Fun and ergonomic A lot of beekeepers have a bad back and I don’t want one.  The beehaus is at the ideal height, the supers will only weigh up to 7Kg each and it is easy to inspect the brood frames.
5. If you have have limited space With most beehives you need a garage or a shed to store additional brood boxes and supers.  The beehaus needs less equipment.  Beehaus supers are easier to store than National supers as they are half the size and can be easily disassembled and stored flat.

Beehaus Cost Comparison

I was surprised at how expensive it was to start beekeeping.  Catalogues given to me at beekeeping courses showed a single national hive and bees plus equipment would cost at least £600.

Surprising, good value in beekeeping equipment was a modern plastic beehive called the beehaus. At first inspection the beehaus seems expensive, but the beehaus won the day.

Why The Beehaus Hive Is The Cheapest Option

        • It is large and can be used as 2 hives (you need 2 hives to manage swarming)
        • Omlet (the manufacturer) provide a starter kit for only an additional £30 and that included the bee suit, gloves, smoker, hive tool and other items
        • Their bees were the most competitively priced that I came across and about £70 less than other suppliers
        • Plus good design, ergonomic and space reasons (see my beehaus review)

Comparing Like With Like

        • The beehaus contains space for 22, 12×14 brood frames and 40 super frames.  This can be used to host a large colony or 2 smaller colonies
        • The equivalent is 2 Nationals each using 12×14 brood body and 2 supers (note: most nationals are sold with smaller brood bodies but many beekeepers use a double brood box or a brood and a half)
        • The beehaus arrives assembled (except for the frames) and I have compared with the assembled/complete prices of a well-known, quality supplier of cedar hives

beehaus

Assembled National hive (in cedar from a quality supplier)

Starter kit, includes full suit, gloves, smoker, hive   tool, plus other items £30 Starter kit, includes: full suit, gloves, smoker, hive tool,   plus other items £170
Beehaus, includes 4 plastic super holders, 10 brood frames   plus foundation, 10 super frames plus foundation, mesh floor, queen excluder, etc.Note: the beehaus can be used as a large hive or 2 smaller hives. £499 Two complete, assembled hives, each comprising: 12×14 brood body, 2   supers, 10 brood frames plus foundation, 20 super frames plus foundation,   mesh floor, queen excluder, etc. £358 each
Additional items required so as to be the equivalent of 2 National hives: 4 extra super boxes (£40.85) 30 Super frames (£37.68) 10 Brood frames (£16.74) 30 Super foundation (£22.05) 10 Brood foundation (£12.55) £129.87 n/a £0
Bees (6 frames), including delivery £165 Bees (6 frames), including delivery £235
Total £823.87 Total £1,121

* These prices are correct in February 2012 and compared against a cedar national hive from a well-known quality supplier

Visit The Most Useful Pages On The Beehaus Omlet Website

I also have a Beehaus Promotion page for details of current voucher codes, offers and discounts.  Historically these have included 10% discounts and free bee colonies worth £180.

If you think the beehaus is interesting and like this page, please use the social links below.

If you would like read about some of my beekeeping experiences, you could start with I Am Not A Beeman.

20 thoughts on “Beehaus Review”

  1. Nice review. There are some ways to shave money off these costs – by buying flat packed National hives, for instance, or by getting yourself on a swarm list at a local association so that the bees come free. I’m guessing that you probably used Thornes for your standard hive price comparisons. I find their bee suits very expensive and prefer Bee Basic ones.

    1. Thanks Emily. You guessed right. I bought a flatpack from Thornes and the beekeeping suit was part of the starter kit. I will look at Bee Basic if I need more. How fast have you assembled a full hive with 2 supers, including a stand? I think I have taken 2 full days!

      1. You’ve got me there Roger…I’ve never assembled a flat pack hive myself and suspect the results would be somewhat dodgy! My defence is that I live in a tiny flat with neighbours on three sides who might not enjoy the banging. That, and I’m rubbish at DIY. Two full days sounds fast to me!

  2. as all comparisons, yours makes the beehaus look better value, but 2 x flat packs from thornes = £145 each, £290 for two, and thats complete, the beehaus at £499 only comes with enough frames/foundation for half

    1. Hi Stephen,

      Thanks for your comment. The hive you refer to is the flat-pack, standard size, “Bees on a Budget”, hive of second quality from Thorne. In the last couple of weeks Thorne have released a flat-pack, 14×12, “Bees on a Budget”, hive of second quality for £170. However, for the sake of the like-for-like comparison, the Thorne equivalent to the beehaus is the assembled version (crucially) and and of “firsts” quality. The price on their website has gone up since my comparison and one hive as described is now £381.42 (up from £358) and that doesn’t include a hive stand, starter kit … or 2nd hive. My price comparison includes the cost of additional equipment so that the beehaus has the equivalent number of complete supers.

  3. I would echo the comments that 2 flat pack 14×12 budget hives are much better value. You also then have the flexibility of 2 separate hives.

    I also think the std national gives you more flexibility in terms of using supers as feeder ekes, and as you get confidence, using snelgrove/horsley boards to make increase/prevent swarming

    £265 is expensive for 6 frames of bees and a queen – you can pick them for £150 or less fairly easily

    Not difficult to build either, and I quite enjoyed it.

    ps = enjoying the blog 🙂

    1. Thanks Jack.

      Please see my replies above and below to Stephen on costs.

      On flexibility: using standard brood boxes gives flexibility for snelgrove/horsley boards to make increase/prevent swarming, but the beehaus gives a different type of flexibility to reduce the desire to swarm, for example, allowing one to expand the brood box space from 11-15 (or even 22) frames.

  4. Hi Roger, I’m not looking at stating an argument over this, but I do feel your quotes are misleading to potential customers, why are you going on prices of a assembled thorne hive, when going by this utube clip

    the beehaus does need putting together of most items, barring the hive body itself, therefore your thorne at £170 each is still a good side by side comparison, there reasons for saying 2nds is that they have knots in, thats all, its not a 2nd as most would belive, therefore £340 would give you two complete hives, the beehaus at £465? ish, and you still only get half the frames and wax needed to use both sides.
    I personnally love the look of the beehaus, and would indeed have one in my garden, if the price was nearer the £350 mark, but as I do want “bee’s on a budget” I will have to make do with old fashioned national hives

    1. Hi Stephen,

      Many thanks for your comments. It’s useful to highlight that new flat packs can be bought from £170 and second hand hives for less. I have also bought the beehive flatpacks and am very much into budget beekeeping.

      Assembly times: It took me 2 days to assemble a hivebody: hive stand, brood box, 2 super boxes and roof (not including frames); and I understand that the beehaus body only takes an hour to assemble. I find it takes me about 2-3 hours to assemble 10 frames and that’s the same for any beehive.

      Cost comparisons: The only assembled hive Thorne sell is the “firsts” version. Hence, for the purpose of the cost comparison that is what I used. Now that is expensive.

  5. What utter cobblers – blatant advertising for a superannuated placcy beer cooler…….cheaper? As a natural beekeeper I got to 3 hives, 3 colonies, all the clothing and equipment I’ll ever need for under £150 in total!

    1. Crikey – you’ve done well.

      Sadly not all of us amateur beekeepers are as proficient as you in the woodwork (and tailoring?) department and so I hope that the links and products I have found useful and interesting over the last few months might also be of interest to others.

      As many varieties of honey there are in farmers markets, there is just as many valid ways of keeping bees. I am also very interested in natural and budget beekeeping and I have just bought The Barefoot Beekeeper which I will review on my beekeeping books page when I have read it.

      Good use of the word cobblers – it’s been a while.

  6. Having looked at all these comments I am suprised that nobody mentions the Warre Hive or Philip Chandler’s Horizontal top bar hive. Both are easy to build from pre used timber. Which works out quite inexpensive.
    With the horizontal top bar hive one can easily have two colonies
    Cheers

  7. Roger

    We’re partway through another summer after a hard winter and a lousy spring. Most beekeepers found they got off to a slow start, and many colonies didn’t make it through.
    How did the Beehaus do?

    Alan

  8. Since my last post I’ve read your blog further (I was originally looking for items on the Beehaus) and found “Bees RIP”. Commiserations.
    It seems that you’ve abandoned the Beehaus completely. Is that right, and if so, why?

    1. Hi Alan, I never had a beehaus. When I lived in Bristol the plan was to get one as I only wanted the capacity to expand to two hives or a main hive plus nucleus. However, when I moved to Gloucestershire I had the opportunity to buy a hive, full of bees, on an allotment and this was a National hive.

  9. Hi Roger, it’s been a while since my last comment, but I wondered if you had any new reviews on the beehaus, are you still using it? I really did like the product, I now have standard hives, 2 in my garden and 3 in my woodland, but would like to find out if the beehaus is still being used by keepers, my reasoning, have you seen the new idea from Oz? the flow hive, it’s getting the same sort of response here in the UK that the beehaus got when it first came out, would be nice to know if the beehaus has it’s own little niche in the beekeeping world

    1. Hi Stephen, I haven’t seen any new reviews of the beehaus. I’m sure we will see lots of reviews for the flow hive in the future. I am sure the beehaus is still going strong as people keep posting on my blog who are looking for second hand ones. Some beeks have several beehauses.

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