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Author Topic: Flow Hives  (Read 5414 times)

Offline RobboWA

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Flow Hives
« on: May 22, 2017, 07:39:44 am »
Hi Team,

Just curious on how the flow hives are going? They have been in service for a while now, is the maintenance high on them, are they holding up wear and tear wise?

Cheers,
Clint

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2017, 12:39:52 pm »
I have one. I moved a 2 medium super hive into one. They just started to work in the honey section and then they super swarmed (swarmed 3 times) and moved back out of the honey super. I had to reduce the hive to a single medium and add a soft ball size of bees that were bearding up outside of my observation hive. As part of adding the ball of bees, I moved them to a friends yard, 10 miles away.
I just brought them home last night and I will be inspecting them tomorrow and hopefully they are ready for another brood box. I was given this hive by someone who could not get them to work the flow box.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Acebird

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2017, 05:42:01 pm »
Jim, wouldn't this be a bad time of the year for you to use the flow frames?  It is my understanding that they need a heavy flow.  I have heard in light flows they jam the mechanism up with propolise.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #3 on: May 23, 2017, 12:34:26 am »
This is our flow.
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Acebird

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #4 on: May 23, 2017, 08:53:02 am »
I thought your main flow was in March and April.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline esttile

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #5 on: May 23, 2017, 08:57:47 am »
Clint,  Jims in USA , he comments reg on this site & sometimes it throws us here in Aus, I'm in Mandurah & because of the poor flow this year I left the flow in the shed & used the conventional 8fr WSP. Ciao Tony

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #6 on: May 23, 2017, 12:26:02 pm »
I thought your main flow was in March and April.
My flow this year started in March and will hopefully run through September. I do get a few dry weeks during the summer.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline azzkell

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2017, 05:05:50 am »
Hey guys. I put my full flow hive on to a 10 frame deep brood with a 1 deep super 80% capped on top and they barely touched it, ended up swarming.
So I think next flow I will be painting on some wax to encourage them as that is what others have had to do (flow forum).
Went back to wax frames and they are doing well.

Offline Acebird

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #8 on: May 24, 2017, 09:43:45 am »
Most suggest that with anything that is plastic.
Brian Cardinal
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Offline Captain776

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2017, 10:49:19 am »
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
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2017, 11:49:08 am »
>... just buy the automatic frames from Ali Express or elsewhere, they are the exact same.

Except they didn't do the 10 years of work it took to design it...
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #11 on: May 24, 2017, 12:37:22 pm »
>... just buy the automatic frames from Ali Express or elsewhere, they are the exact same.

Except they didn't do the 10 years of work it took to design it...
They just stole it.
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #12 on: May 24, 2017, 12:52:26 pm »
Last night my wife and I took the 7 frames of bees and the queen out of the medium flow box and replaced it with our booming queen's hive that we had moved out with 4 frames from our observation hive. We left 4 frood frames so that they could make a new queen. (The new queen just started laying yesterday). She was way too strong to just have 8 frames total. She already had 18 frames filled with mostly brood and some honey. We moved her out of the observation hive on April 10. I had to remove 2 frames of bees/honey and give them to another hive that is making a new queen, 3 queen cells already capped. The bees looked like they are already moving up into the flow hive. (I wish I had waxed the edges before I installed it.) I am hoping they will move the honey in the brood boxes up into the flow chamber to make room for the queen to lay more eggs.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Acebird

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #13 on: May 24, 2017, 02:01:23 pm »
Jim, would it be to late to pull it off and brush the frames?
Brian Cardinal
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #14 on: May 24, 2017, 07:08:23 pm »
I plan on checking it this week to see if they are using it. I could not do it this evening due to the rain. I am not complaining about it. We really need it.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Captain776

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #15 on: May 25, 2017, 10:20:46 am »
>... just buy the automatic frames from Ali Express or elsewhere, they are the exact same.

Except they didn't do the 10 years of work it took to design it...

It was the Flow Hive advertisement on Facebook, that peaked my interest to start reading about bees.
I buy a lot if things on Ali Express because I live in Thailand.
I prefer Amazon, but 75% of what I look for on Amazon and to a lesser number on E bay just don't ship to Thailand.
I typed in Flow Hive on Ali Express and thought it was the same thing when I bought it, it wasn't until I was in Honey Flow Forum when I found out what I have.
If I had spent 10 yrs of research and someone stole it, I would not like it either, but I already assembled it by then.
I bought the hive, before I had a clue where I was going to get the bees.
I only have that one, my other 2 are 8 frame Langstroth.
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #16 on: May 25, 2017, 01:37:44 pm »
OK Bruce, you are forgiven.  :grin:
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Captain776

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #17 on: May 25, 2017, 08:41:08 pm »
OK Bruce, you are forgiven.  :grin:
Jim

LOLOL thanks Jim
Bought my first NUC April 7, 2016.
Like all you when you first started, I am fascinated with beginning Beekeeping and trying to learn all I can.
I retired May 2015 and have added this to my short list of hobbies.

Offline RobboWA

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Re: Flow Hives
« Reply #18 on: May 27, 2017, 01:56:00 am »
Thanks guys, interesting read!

 

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