Sorry if this has been covered already. I am not very good at navigating this forum and my google searches never came up with much.
I am hoping to hear from people who have used both the Apimaye hives and Paradise Bee Boxes.
Looking for a direct comparison between them if possible.
I would like to transfer my colonies from 8F wooden hives to either one of these types of hives, just I am stumped as to which one to go with.
What I see so far is:
Apimaye is a lot more expensive, only comes with 2 deep boxes, only available in 10F, not compatible with wooden frames, costs a lot to add additional supers. Apimayes are also probably more solid in construction and durable, no need to paint, have more included features such as pollen traps, top feeder and whatnot.
Paradise hives are cheaper and come with 3 deep boxes, are available in 8(9) frame option or 10 frame, are fairly durable, and should yield similar performance insulation wise and they also come flat packed so cheaper on shipping I'd assume. They are probably going to be less durable though and not as 'flash', need painting, have the possibility of bees or other things chewing them.
What do people prefer and see as being the way to go for a small commercial setup? I am located near Perth WA.
Keen to see what people have to say, and feel free to redirect me to existing discussion on this or to correct any of the points I mentioned above.
Cheers