Paying 700 dollars plus shipping for a Flow Hive is gods way of telling you, you have too much money.
I bought mine on Ali Express for 368 dollars delivered, it is called Automatic Hive.
If you want to try this, DO NOT order from Flow Hive in Australia and pay those crazy prices, use Langstroth equipment and just buy the automatic frames from Ali Express or elsewhere, they are the exact same.
I was in the Honey Flow Forum (which I found out was the Flow Hive company Forum)
I did not set out to buy a knock off and when I said what I had, I became a red headed step child and ultimately told to bugger off......lololol
One from the company said throw away what you have, you have no idea where the wood came from or what the plastic is made from. Absolutely laughable, what the wood is made of?
I did request the chemical analysis of the plastic used in the frames and Certificates of Compluance with Food Grade plastic, but where China can manufacture anything including paperwork, I sent my own sample to a lab and for 38 dollars got a report that backs up the one I got from China.
The boxes I received, the dovetail joints were not cut on a jig, each one needed handwork to make them fit, but only about 30 minutes.
Go to official Flow Hive and read comments, sounds like their boxes are even worse when they arrive.
ALL FLOW HIVE ROOFS LEAK......unless you put aluminum flashing on top of eves before adding the 3 roof sections on each side.
For you guys who bought from Flow Hive.......did your boxes fit together like a glove, right out of the box?
If you didn't do anything, your roof leaked for sure.
If you don't put a shim/screen on top of Super, there is a big space to the peak of the roof and the girls will be happy to build cross comb like crazy in the roof area.
You could not give me a Flow Hive for FREE.
I will be curious to see if mine even works when I finally add the Auto Super.
Bruce