ScienceGirl
Well-known member
I ordered beekeeping equiptment from Mann Lake Ltd online on Monday, April 1st. Since I ordered over $100 worth of items, I qualified for free shipping, which is ground mail.
It arrived here on Monday, April 8th.
Items and Arrival
It was carefully packed, the items appear to be quality equiptment and they look attractive. The good prices combined with the free shipping raised this company above the bar for me, and my purchase total was unrivaled by the combined prices of the items from three other companies. I would definately recommend them.
Some items that we ordered were: 2 hive tools, 2 screened bottom boards, 1 beesuit, 2 entrance reducers, 1 large and caged smoker (they included instructions and three of their smoker starting pellets to try out), and 1 bee brush.
Smoker: The bellows are made of plastic and are not connected to the smoker. They puff air through and around a hole in the smoker's bottom that has a screen over it on the inside to keep debris out. I'm not sure how the screen or plastic bellows will work yet, but I'll edit giving my opinions once I use them several times. The lid is hinged to the body of the smoker and doesn't seem to be able to be easily removed and reattatched.
Screened Bottom Board: It comes with a removeable drawer so that you can catch the mites and count them on a sticky board, or let the mites fall to the ground below if you use an elevated hive stand.
Painting: We did not paint the entrance reducers (you aren't supposed to). We painted all wooden surfaces of the screened bottom board. and put painters tape on metal and screened edges to keep them clean while painting.
Customer Service
They offered good customer service, including an e-mailed invoice and tracking letter, and the answering of questions.
It arrived here on Monday, April 8th.
Items and Arrival
It was carefully packed, the items appear to be quality equiptment and they look attractive. The good prices combined with the free shipping raised this company above the bar for me, and my purchase total was unrivaled by the combined prices of the items from three other companies. I would definately recommend them.
Some items that we ordered were: 2 hive tools, 2 screened bottom boards, 1 beesuit, 2 entrance reducers, 1 large and caged smoker (they included instructions and three of their smoker starting pellets to try out), and 1 bee brush.
Smoker: The bellows are made of plastic and are not connected to the smoker. They puff air through and around a hole in the smoker's bottom that has a screen over it on the inside to keep debris out. I'm not sure how the screen or plastic bellows will work yet, but I'll edit giving my opinions once I use them several times. The lid is hinged to the body of the smoker and doesn't seem to be able to be easily removed and reattatched.
Screened Bottom Board: It comes with a removeable drawer so that you can catch the mites and count them on a sticky board, or let the mites fall to the ground below if you use an elevated hive stand.
Painting: We did not paint the entrance reducers (you aren't supposed to). We painted all wooden surfaces of the screened bottom board. and put painters tape on metal and screened edges to keep them clean while painting.
Customer Service
They offered good customer service, including an e-mailed invoice and tracking letter, and the answering of questions.
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Also, some items are ineligible for free shipping—like the extractor I want. 
