From my research into beekeeping, traditional or conventional (outdated) methods of beekeeping kills more bees than flow hive technology, is vastly less labor intensive and does not require a lot of unnecessary and expensive honey extracting equipment. I will endorse this new and innovative approach to future beekeeping and encourage new beekeepers to use this system. I would also help to invest in the product if necessary. You will get push back from the people who used to make a lot of money from the sales of equipment, tools and materials combined with unwavering ignorance and unwillingness to move into the 21st century, thus, hindering the knowledge base and growth of new beekeepers by pushing product propaganda which only confuses current and potential new beekeepers. I would just chalk it up to jealously that one of the complainers did not think of this system first. Thank you guys for the ideas, the upgrades and innovation.
I like the amount of triggered self-decribed "real" beekeepers are in this comment section. Sure this design isn't perfect but it makes joining the hobby and harvesting honey so much easier. Just because it isn't infallible doesn't mean it's not revolutionary.
This is a great video! Very informative. I have the flow hive 2 and it just arrived. I can not wait to stain and build! Thank you so much for sharing these videos!
I went into a pet shop and asked for twelve bees. The shopkeeper counted out thirteen and handed them over. “You’ve given me one too many.” “That one is a freebie.”
Oy I hope everyone can ignore all the hater dinosaurs who just can’t stand new technology- they probably yell at people to get off their lawns and use words like “whippersnappers” and say things like ‘back in MY day”. This is a great way to harvest honey as a hobbyist if you don’t want to invest in all the other tools and time and mess. Check Amazon or your local farm store or apiary supply store for the cost of an electric extractor (watch videos about how it’s done, it’s very work intensive and heavy) and all accessories, consider the effort involved in removing the frames, keeping bees off the frame and out of your home/shop/garage/dedicated honey processing space, addressing cleaning up all the mess and the equipment and tools and that you’re stressing bees who have to completely rebuild cells, He’s standing there so nonchalantly, taking his share of the honey and the bees are not fussed at all. You can definitely keep bees without fancy equipment (which does not make you any more or less of a beekeeper) but if you can afford it and it suits you, why not?
Hello, just thought I’d let you know that I carried out my fist harvest from my flowhive yesterday and it went extremely well, what a brilliant product, a lot of people had told me that it wouldn't work here in the UK climate. It was good to prove them wrong! Ive posted a video on youtube titled Bluebell Farm Flow Hive. Please can you tell me how to prepare the frames for the next year, how do you clean them etc,?
This is wonderful to hear. We would really love to share this even. If you visit our website, link in the description. You should be able to contact us there more directly, or if you locate the stories page you can share your story with a picture. In regards to your questions, Bees will carry out uncapping, and resealing for the next filling. If you are leaving it on the hive for the bees over winter, they will sort it out. Just make sure you are wintering your hive, the best way for your area. If you are removing it over winter, storing in a cool dry location is best. In an air tight storage tub would be good to keep pests out. You can always soak the Flow Frames in 60ºC/140ºF warm water, opening and closing them repeatedly. Using a plastic bristle dish brush to clean some more. This isn't even going to be neccessary under most circumstances. -Kieran
We had a hive beetle on a flow frame I immediately shook it hard to dislodge the beetle and the whole frame fell apart. My wife was a blessing got it put back together about 80% usable for now. We plan on taking it apart after honey season.
Just like some of the other people that have talked I also think that the play frame looks like it is a wonderful invention I was wondering if y'all had any in Florida that someone who was interested in them might be able to go and have a look God bless and thank you
Dear Sam Thank you so much for the reply which was very quick and much appreciated. There will no doubt be lots of questions but I've learnt a great deal from your incredibly informative videos. Two important questions I must ask that will resolve my conundrum is that I have been supplied with a hard wood round lathe queen excluder but I read an article today which says a very experienced bee keeper does not use a Queen excluder because he says workers do not 'like' working their way right up through the Brood chamber to access the 'super' in this case mine will be as I said a Flow Honey system. He says he has never had a Queen laying eggs in the super but he knows that the Queen avoids light & so always tends to lay from the bottom of the brood box upwards. He also says he drills a hole just below the honey super to give easier access to the workers. Mr Dunn of the USA a quiet speaking bee keeper but seemingly, a very efficient and a 'thinking' bee keeper does the same and is on You Tube same as you. I see you are both extreme experts in the craft of Bee keeping and I have never approached any task and especially a technical task without keeping firstly an open mind and a very enquiring one also. No one is ever too old to learn and I hope to give the very best treatment to my bees when I get them..... Buying items from China may save money but my hive from Amazon advertised as a National hive when it is not! I have a printout of the differences in a reference sheet between the two hives so yet again what would we do without the 'net'? Reading was the key to knowledge a long time ago but since 2000 it became the internet but of course reading still applies but not in books. I sincerely thank you for your valuable advice ,which makes me wonder ,what on earth would we do without such people as you...... We are all indebted to you. best Wishes Mick in the UK
My first year beekeeping with this. They built out the entire hive in a couple months. My super is almost full and I am gonna pull one frame in late spring before summer. I'm worried they try to swarm since all the super frames are full. Thank you for the video!
Dear Cedar - I'm sorry I called you Sam. I must have inadvertently seen someone called you that. Great interview on my hero Frederick Dunn. I follow his teachings always. He must be a very intelligent bloke there's no doubt about that..... His photography is exquisite.
I built a greenhouse to try to grow flowers to hopefully help butterfly populations. I planned on getting into beekeeping too and this is 100% going to be my first step.
Hi Sam, thanks for the videos. I started my Flow Hive one and a half years ago and the bees were really busy. But before I could see any honey, they swarmed. Only a few tens were left. Then a few weeks ago, they came back. Thousands of them! I was thrilled. Now I believe I have to harvest the honey. It seemed a lot. I followed all the instructions in the videos, from you and others. I found it hard to turn the key once inside. Which hole again ? The lower or upper one to open? Thank you.
I know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account? I was stupid forgot the login password. I love any tips you can offer me!
@Grayson Vincenzo I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process now. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
this is fascinating. I wish mom wasn't allergic. I would love to set up a flow hive near my flower beds and garden. So I could help ensure pollination of blossoms and my fruits/veggies and berries and get a little bit of honey each season to use with my home made pastries.
Thank you for your comment. Being allergic is really difficult and it is best to steer clear of bees, ensure you have an action plan. I do hope you have an epipen on hand too. Maybe you could look at supporting solitary pollinators. www.honeyflow.com/resources/blog/what-is-the-pollinator-house/p/361 -Kieran
@@FlowHive Do all of the Flow Hives come with a base that is already tilted at a 2.5 to 5 degree angle? Or is that something you have to do yourself. I was told only the classic kits come with it already tilted, but I am not sure that is true. I assume the new models do not have that feature?
Certain times of the year in certain areas of the world cause the bees to produce thicker honey than others. Ivy is a major contributor to thick honey in some parts of the world
I’ve been wanting a flow hive since you guys first launched!! I will get one one day, I’m in New Jersey USA if you guys are feeling generous for a young father trying to help our bee population and eat honey message me and send me a hive 🙌
Do I need to leave the screened bottom board with the slide board in place here in Arkansas in the heat of the summer ? How do I vent the Flow hive, and keep fighting the hive beattles?
Please did you say you hive is a langtroff hive? I hope I spelled that correctly. I am an engineer but new to bee keeping and I have a Langstroff hive with the flow frame as yet to come. You look to be very experienced and put info across very well. Brilliant jar filling...... I don't think for a minute I'll be able to steal any honey this first season but I hope to get some next year. Although we are in the UK we have a Citrange orange tree in the garden and it has survived over 30 years now. The only thing that is missing is a bee hive! Thank you so much for your very informative way of advising us all. Mick Hall Nottingham UK Home Citrus grower. see mike Sallfeld's Nottingham Citrus -It's ours.
Hi Michael, it's a Langstroth hive. Good luck with your beekeeping - so exciting. Please let us know if you have any questions or there's anything else that we can help with. - Sam
Can you please explain the construction of the Honey harvesting methods of Hive making , as explained by Louise making the 5 frames with variety of foundations.
Hello! So blessed for this beautiful experience and all the help along the way, my question is...Is it ok too use diatomaceous earth near the Flow Hive besides the vegetable oil in the legs too control beetles? Thank you
I see the super with honey in some area... ( maybe) is ready to be taken out... how are you sure that is all full all the way without opening the super all the time ??
Hey Elizabeth, Stu and Cedar did many design trials when creating the frames to ensure any harm to the bees is at absolute minimum. There is a small gap between the two halves of the cells to ensure they don't get their legs hurt when the frames open/close. The worst that can happen is they get momentarily inconvenienced as they're confined to the cell they're working in when the frame was opened, and are then freed up to continue once you close the frame again. - Danika
When I first seen this flow hive, I didn't like it, I figured it was weird and different, but eventually I realized this is a great idea! I don't have bees, but if I did, I would have at least 1 flow hive just because ! Great content too!
Are those jars 500ml? And if so where did you get them? Looking for somewhere to source jars (preferably hexagon) in bulk. Loving the flow frame. Just wish my bees were a bit more friendly during opening.
Hello, I’m a beekeeper in Victoria. My great uncle and I built a flow hive from a standard hive and bought some flow frames. What do you do when the honey goes candid in the flow frames?
Dear friends! Great invention! Just wonder about such kind of honey as heather honey. In Latvia where I live bees harvester heather honey in late part of August and first half of September. It has very dense concistency and hardly flows. Beekeepers has to press it out of the combs with preses, because It is impossible to get out with rotary honey throwing devices. How do you feel whether Flow Hive would be used also for this kind of honey? Do you have heather honey in Australia or any other kind of dark dense sort of honey?
Hello, I'm from BC Canada, we have 2 super brood boxes here and one super we get them to fill for winter. My question is can we leave a flow super on over winter? I've heard that they crack in the cold. We get anywhere from -10c to -50c. Thank you
Hi Adam, wintering a Flow Hive is very similar to a wintering a traditional Langstroth hive, and wintering varies greatly around the world. Here is some further info: www.honeyflow.com/faqs/wintering-your-flow-hive/p/206 but it’s always important to seek local knowledge from other beekeepers in your area. There are two main concerns for a beehive over the winter months; the colony starving, and the queen becoming stranded below the queen excluder. If you have a reasonably full Flow Super at the end of your nectar flow season you can leave it on the hive for the bees to use over the coming months. This will ensure they will not starve; however, you also need to ensure the queen can access these honey reserves. During a cold winter the bees do not forage but will steadily use up the honey stores in order to stay warm. The queen will not be laying brood at this time, so the colony will cluster around the honey that it is consuming. This means that the cluster may gradually move up into the honey super over winter. If you have a queen excluder in place she will not be able to move up with the colony and will die. Therefore, it is recommended that you remove the queen excluder as part of your preparation for winter. Some cold climate beekeepers prefer to reduce their hive to one box, the brood box, over winter. There are usually one or two frames of honey on each side of the brood, and this plus the option of feeding them a sugar solution either before or after the coldest months gets the colony through the winter. This eliminates issues with the queen excluder and there are advantages to the bees being confined to a smaller space. If you decide to take this approach, at the end of your nectar flow season extract the honey in the Flow Super and leave it in place for a day for the bees to clean, then remove the Flow Super with frames and queen excluder and replace the top cover and roof on the brood box adding some insulation in between. To store your Flow Frames wash them in warm to hot water and allow them to dry thoroughly before storing them in a cool, dry, dark location for the winter. Adam, the Flow Hive was trialled in BC, Canada by John Gates in the fall of 2014, and no issues were found regarding the cold. Bees keep the hive warm because the brood nest needs to stay around 35 degrees Celsius or 96 degrees Fahrenheit. In cold climates, it would be recommended to harvest early and often so the possibility of crystallisation is less likely. Remember your bees will still require honey stores or feeding through the winter. If you want to discuss using the Flow Frames in freezing conditions or get more information from the community please visit our forum: forum.honeyflow.com Please let us know if you need further assistance - Leah.
Hey Brett, Thanks for your message. All of our Flow products and prices are available from our online stores. For customers in Australia www.honeyflow.com.au, Europe eu.honeyflow.com/, Canada ca.honeyflow.com, UK uk.honeyflow.com or international www.honeyflow.com Here you will find product information and pricing listed. If your country is not on our shipping list and you would like to make a purchase, please email us at info@honeyflow.com with what you would like to order and we will give you a price and shipping quote. Please let us know if you have any questions - Danika
I have a flow hive with just the 3 frames and i have put 2 wired and waxed frames on either side. I havnt been game to open up the super box because i just realised that i have not put the seperation sheet between the lid and the super. Also can i take the non flow hive frames out and eat the honey comb directly?
I noticed the middle farms and fuller then the outside frames do honey bees start with the middle frames first then work there way to the outside frames or is it completely random.
Uteopia - Last year was my first year with a flow hive. It was an amazing experience to watch and interact with the bees. I observed that the bees were working on all of the frames to prepare them for the nectar, but the majority of the work was definitely in the center frames and then worked their way to the outside frames. It was a lot of fun to be able to watch the progress from start to harvest. 😀
Hi, Why do you need queen excluder if your honey frames are so wide. The queen cannot lay eggs in a deep frames. Did you try to work without excluder and what issues did you find? Why do you recommend to use excluder? I am curious whether the queen start to lay eggs in your honey frames.
Do you just have to set the hive up and bees will just go to it naturally over time? Or do you have to buy bees? Ive been really interested in starting to bee keep.
How do you split a flowhive I have set up a langstroth hive and didn’t know if purchasing a Nuc or splitting would be best. Higsey. Top of the Swan Valley . Belhus.
Hi Laura, Cedar show's how to do an easy spit here. But t is important that the colony is strong enough to be spit.th-cam.com/video/-G0tVIaJ2MQ/w-d-xo.html Our beginner beekeeping video "Installing a nuc in your hive' is also helpful. www.honeyflow.com/gallery-videos/beginner-beekeeping-videos/p/192#hvORxmvJVUQ Please email info@honeyflow.com if you would like to chat with someone about your options - Leah.
Hi Cedar, do you inspect the flow frames the day before you harvest? Went to harvest yesterday and the frame looked very full and capped from the back window but just thought I would inspect the frame first, when I lifted the frame it had a ball ( about a tennis ball size) in the middle of the frame on both sides that was not capped. So now don't know what to do, inspect first or not. You don't seem too. Thanks Francine
hi Francine, we do recommend inspecting the Flow Frames the first couple of times that you harvest to get used to what you are seeing through the windows and how that replicates on the Flow Frames - Sam
Hi Lyle, We still have some of our launch frames in our Flow HQ Apiary from 2015. We do recommend cycling out the brood frames every couple of seasons. - Sam
Hi Bill, wintering your Flow Hive will be similar to wintering your conventional hive. Leaving enough honey for the bees over winter is so important and applies to all beekeeping. Your bees need honey to get them through the times when there is no nectar available. The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. You should consult local beekeepers as to how much they leave for their colonies over the winter The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. We recommend that you contact local beekeepers and join a beekeepers club, as they can tell you all about how to keep your bees happy and healthy and can let you know how much honey to leave for your bees over the winter. They are the best resource for the most suitable beekeeping methods in your region and climate. You can also ask your question on our Forum: forum.honeyflow.com where you can access information from a wide range of experienced beekeepers.
I’ve been watching your videos for the past week, and I’m very interested in beekeeping. However, I’m very new to this. I know you have a website and sell your amazing product. My question is, where do I get the bees and their queen from?
We have a queen excluder on top of our brood box so the queen can never lay in the Flow Super (the top box). If the queen had access she'd lay eggs in the Super, and when you'd turn the tap on you'd crush all the developing baby bees. The queen excluder prevents this from happening :)
Bees will realise the honey is gone they are in tune with the smells, and temperatures inside the hive, after a few hours to a couple of days the bees uncap, repair and then begin refilling. -Kieran
How long would it take for a 3 frame to fill in california and how much honey would I yield? I just need an estimate if there's not an exact answer. Thank you in advance. 👌
It depends on the season and strength of the colony. In an ideal season, it will take 2- 8 weeks for the bees to establish the brood box and around the same time frame for the Flow Super when this is added once the brood box is established. -Kieran
Hi I am new to bees and love it I live in the Bahamas and where we have seen a drastic drop in bees. I have the flow hive super and the bees where doing great then a day later 1/2 of the colony left I am not sure as to why any thoughts on this thanks
Hi there, there can be a few reasons for a hive to swarm, Please feel free to reach out to our team at info@honeyflow.com with some more details about your setup so we can help you. - Isobella.
Hi Dimitrios, There are a few different ways that you can source a bee colony to call your own - we have a great blog here support.honeyflow.com/how-do-i-get-bees/ which outlines the different methods and the benefits of each. It's a great idea to contact local beekeepers and join a beekeepers club, as they can tell you all about how to keep your bees happy and healthy and are the best resource for the most suitable beekeeping methods in your region and climate. They can also help you to obtain or purchase a bee colony, and instruct you on how to place them in your hive. If there are no bees available locally you may be able to buy them from a bee supplier online. If you're new to beekeeping we also now have a great online beginner beekeeping course, which we recommend to all new beekeepers www.thebeekeeper.org which is free for the first month. And we are proud that at least 50% of the profits from the course go towards supporting pollinator conservation and education projects. If there's anything else we can do to help please let us know. - Sam
From what I've seen on their channel, the brood box is below these honey flow frames, where there's an excluder screen to keep the queen bee from coming up to the top flow frames to lay eggs. The top flow frames are used for honey only.
It ultimately depends, usually it takes around 2-8 weeks for bees to establish a new box, given that they have enough bee population to do so, we advise adding the Flow Super only once your bees are at around 80% bee population, visible as thick carpet of bees atop the brood frames. -Kieran
Hey Kelly :) 6 Flow frames fit into a standard, full depth 8 frame Langstroth box, and 7 Flow frames fit into a standard, full depth 10 frame Langstroth box - I hope this helps? - Danika
Hi Scotty, We haven't found the Flow Comb needs cleaning if it stays in the hive - the bees do a great job of keeping it clean. You don't need to clean Flow Frames if left within the hive unless you detect disease in them. If you detect disease, you will need advice from experienced beekeepers on disease prevention and response for your area. The Honey Trough at the bottom of the frame is designed so that any honey remaining after harvest can drip back into the hive for the bees to use. If the honey leak-back gap remains clear this works well; however, if the bees block it up some honey may remain in the honey trough after harvest. Clear the leak-back gap prior to harvest and inspect the honey trough. If the honey trough is dirty it can be cleaned from outside the hive using a bottle brush or something similar. If you remove Flow Frames from the hive for storage it is a good idea to remove residual honey. To do this, set the Flow Comb to ‘cell open’ position and rinse in hot water (no hotter than 70 Celsius / 160 Fahrenheit). Allow the frames to dry thoroughly before storage. I hope this helps - Leah.
Hi! I purchased the FLOW HIVE2- I purchased a nuc from a local bee breeder and ALL of my frames were full (with her highness). They are filling up the super but not yet to harvest. My question to you is- Since I started with FULL FRAMES- How can I tell when/if they will SWARM? Some days the front is very busy and they are pretty busy. I don't see anything on this content!
Hi there, Swarm prevention is a difficult topic. Any experienced beekeeper will attest that because bees are a wild creature, they simply do not always perform how we expect or would like them to behave. Swarming is a natural process and is considered reproduction for a bee colony. Bee swarming is caused by an increase in the hive population (usually due to warm weather) where the numbers become so excessive that the worker bees cannot smell the queen's pheromones anymore, so they raise a new queen. The old queen will then leave with up to 60% of the population to start a new colony. Swarming can be prevented by performing brood inspections in the spring to see if there are any queen cells present. - Isobella.
From my research into beekeeping, traditional or conventional (outdated) methods of beekeeping kills more bees than flow hive technology, is vastly less labor intensive and does not require a lot of unnecessary and expensive honey extracting equipment.
I will endorse this new and innovative approach to future beekeeping and encourage new beekeepers to use this system. I would also help to invest in the product if necessary.
You will get push back from the people who used to make a lot of money from the sales of equipment, tools and materials combined with unwavering ignorance and unwillingness to move into the 21st century, thus, hindering the knowledge base and growth of new beekeepers by pushing product propaganda which only confuses current and potential new beekeepers.
I would just chalk it up to jealously that one of the complainers did not think of this system first.
Thank you guys for the ideas, the upgrades and innovation.
I like the amount of triggered self-decribed "real" beekeepers are in this comment section. Sure this design isn't perfect but it makes joining the hobby and harvesting honey so much easier. Just because it isn't infallible doesn't mean it's not revolutionary.
This is a great video! Very informative. I have the flow hive 2 and it just arrived. I can not wait to stain and build! Thank you so much for sharing these videos!
I went into a pet shop and asked for twelve bees. The shopkeeper counted out thirteen and handed them over.
“You’ve given me one too many.”
“That one is a freebie.”
I`m in Cape Town South Africa how can order flow frame
@@zamamatayi6107 Its a freebie
freebee
nice one
I've got used to his voice. Makes the honeybee videos more relaxing to watch ☺😁
Oy I hope everyone can ignore all the hater dinosaurs who just can’t stand new technology- they probably yell at people to get off their lawns and use words like “whippersnappers” and say things like ‘back in MY day”. This is a great way to harvest honey as a hobbyist if you don’t want to invest in all the other tools and time and mess. Check Amazon or your local farm store or apiary supply store for the cost of an electric extractor (watch videos about how it’s done, it’s very work intensive and heavy) and all accessories, consider the effort involved in removing the frames, keeping bees off the frame and out of your home/shop/garage/dedicated honey processing space, addressing cleaning up all the mess and the equipment and tools and that you’re stressing bees who have to completely rebuild cells, He’s standing there so nonchalantly, taking his share of the honey and the bees are not fussed at all. You can definitely keep bees without fancy equipment (which does not make you any more or less of a beekeeper) but if you can afford it and it suits you, why not?
Oh this is amazing.
I think the Flow Hive is amazing! Makes me serious thi k about beekeeping, recreationally.
Dude it's terrific 👍👍👍👍👍👊👊👊👊👊👊👊nice work
Flow Hive got me into beekeeping. Thanks
This is sooooooo satisfying.
How do you know you've left enough for the bees to survive the winter?
Excellent explanations. Positioning of hive and orientation. Surrounding features necessary. Thanks
Thanks Peter, glad you got value from it :) Happy beekeeping! Danika
Hello, just thought I’d let you know that I carried out my fist harvest from my flowhive yesterday and it went extremely well, what a brilliant product, a lot of people had told me that it wouldn't work here in the UK climate. It was good to prove them wrong! Ive posted a video on youtube titled Bluebell Farm Flow Hive. Please can you tell me how to prepare the frames for the next year, how do you clean them etc,?
This is wonderful to hear. We would really love to share this even. If you visit our website, link in the description. You should be able to contact us there more directly, or if you locate the stories page you can share your story with a picture.
In regards to your questions, Bees will carry out uncapping, and resealing for the next filling. If you are leaving it on the hive for the bees over winter, they will sort it out. Just make sure you are wintering your hive, the best way for your area. If you are removing it over winter, storing in a cool dry location is best. In an air tight storage tub would be good to keep pests out. You can always soak the Flow Frames in 60ºC/140ºF warm water, opening and closing them repeatedly. Using a plastic bristle dish brush to clean some more. This isn't even going to be neccessary under most circumstances.
-Kieran
Ed Sheeran knows heaps about bees. Would'nt have guessed that.
Very mellow great aussie guy. ---- Than you mate.
Wow this is cool stuff..
We had a hive beetle on a flow frame I immediately shook it hard to dislodge the beetle and the whole frame fell apart. My wife was a blessing got it put back together about 80% usable for now. We plan on taking it apart after honey season.
You people are awesome 👍 we have only one super box. I really appreciate your maintenance 👏
Just like some of the other people that have talked I also think that the play frame looks like it is a wonderful invention I was wondering if y'all had any in Florida that someone who was interested in them might be able to go and have a look God bless and thank you
Dear Sam Thank you so much for the reply which was very quick and much appreciated. There will no doubt be lots of questions but I've learnt a great deal from your incredibly informative videos. Two important questions I must ask that will resolve my conundrum is that I have been supplied with a hard wood round lathe queen excluder but I read an article today which says a very experienced bee keeper does not use a Queen excluder because he says workers do not 'like' working their way right up through the Brood chamber to access the 'super' in this case mine will be as I said a Flow Honey system. He says he has never had a Queen laying eggs in the super but he knows that the Queen avoids light & so always tends to lay from the bottom of the brood box upwards.
He also says he drills a hole just below the honey super to give easier access to the workers. Mr Dunn of the USA a quiet speaking bee keeper but seemingly, a very efficient and a 'thinking' bee keeper does the same and is on You Tube same as you. I see you are both extreme experts in the craft of Bee keeping and I have never approached any task and especially a technical task without keeping firstly an open mind and a very enquiring one also. No one is ever too old to learn and I hope to give the very best treatment to my bees when I get them.....
Buying items from China may save money but my hive from Amazon advertised as a National hive when it is not!
I have a printout of the differences in a reference sheet between the two hives so yet again what would we do without the 'net'? Reading was the key to knowledge a long time ago but since 2000 it became the internet but of course reading still applies but not in books. I sincerely thank you for your valuable advice ,which makes me wonder ,what on earth would we do without such people as you...... We are all indebted to you. best Wishes Mick in the UK
I like the flow hives
My first year beekeeping with this. They built out the entire hive in a couple months. My super is almost full and I am gonna pull one frame in late spring before summer. I'm worried they try to swarm since all the super frames are full. Thank you for the video!
Good luck!
Dear Cedar - I'm sorry I called you Sam. I must have inadvertently seen someone called you that. Great interview on my hero Frederick Dunn. I follow his teachings always. He must be a very intelligent bloke there's no doubt about that..... His photography is exquisite.
Do you use any type of tracking log to measure progress/ inspection notes/ dates etc ?
I built a greenhouse to try to grow flowers to hopefully help butterfly populations. I planned on getting into beekeeping too and this is 100% going to be my first step.
That is exciting to read, sounds like a wonderful project. -Kieran
Hi Sam, thanks for the videos. I started my Flow Hive one and a half years ago and the bees were really busy. But before I could see any honey, they swarmed. Only a few tens were left.
Then a few weeks ago, they came back. Thousands of them! I was thrilled.
Now I believe I have to harvest the honey. It seemed a lot. I followed all the instructions in the videos, from you and others.
I found it hard to turn the key once inside. Which hole again ? The lower or upper one to open? Thank you.
flow hives is very awesome, i wish i have that one here in 🇵🇭
I think the flow hives are awesome, I wish I had a place for the bee's and the money to get a flow hive.
I know Im asking randomly but does anyone know of a trick to get back into an Instagram account?
I was stupid forgot the login password. I love any tips you can offer me!
@Ira Stefan instablaster ;)
@Grayson Vincenzo I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and Im in the hacking process now.
Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.
Do you take the flow hives off during the winter time after you pulled all your honey or do you leave them on your around.
this is fascinating. I wish mom wasn't allergic. I would love to set up a flow hive near my flower beds and garden. So I could help ensure pollination of blossoms and my fruits/veggies and berries and get a little bit of honey each season to use with my home made pastries.
Thank you for your comment. Being allergic is really difficult and it is best to steer clear of bees, ensure you have an action plan. I do hope you have an epipen on hand too. Maybe you could look at supporting solitary pollinators. www.honeyflow.com/resources/blog/what-is-the-pollinator-house/p/361
-Kieran
@@FlowHive Do all of the Flow Hives come with a base that is already tilted at a 2.5 to 5 degree angle? Or is that something you have to do yourself. I was told only the classic kits come with it already tilted, but I am not sure that is true. I assume the new models do not have that feature?
I'm allergic to bee venom and honey. But I want a flow hive soooooo bad!
I like the hives
Certain times of the year in certain areas of the world cause the bees to produce thicker honey than others. Ivy is a major contributor to thick honey in some parts of the world
I’ve been wanting a flow hive since you guys first launched!! I will get one one day, I’m in New Jersey USA if you guys are feeling generous for a young father trying to help our bee population and eat honey message me and send me a hive 🙌
How long should it take for a brood box to fill, on Queensland coast? it take
Can you buy the brackets that hold the shelf separately
Do I need to leave the screened bottom board with the slide board in place here in Arkansas in the heat of the summer ? How do I vent the Flow hive, and keep fighting the hive beattles?
Please consider repeating the question asked, prior to answering the question. Thank you so much. Love your videos.
Please did you say you hive is a langtroff hive? I hope I spelled that correctly. I am an engineer but new to bee keeping and I have a Langstroff hive with the flow frame as yet to come. You look to be very experienced and put info across very well. Brilliant jar filling...... I don't think for a minute I'll be able to steal any honey this first season but I hope to get some next year. Although we are in the UK we have a Citrange orange tree in the garden and it has survived over 30 years now. The only thing that is missing is a bee hive! Thank you so much for your very informative way of advising us all. Mick Hall Nottingham UK Home Citrus grower. see mike Sallfeld's Nottingham Citrus -It's ours.
Hi Michael, it's a Langstroth hive. Good luck with your beekeeping - so exciting. Please let us know if you have any questions or there's anything else that we can help with. - Sam
would you recommend a flow hive for someone who is afraid of bees, but might want to have their own hives?
Can you please explain the construction of the Honey harvesting methods of Hive making , as explained by Louise making the 5 frames with variety of foundations.
Hello! So blessed for this beautiful experience and all the help along the way, my question is...Is it ok too use diatomaceous earth near the Flow Hive besides the vegetable oil in the legs too control beetles? Thank you
Hi Christine, yes that's fine :) - Sam
Never had real honey,. I wish you could send me one jar of honey. I am from Saudi Arabia. That looks so rejuvenating. Well done
You recommend to use just one hive body with your Flow, or two?
I see the super with honey in some area... ( maybe) is ready to be taken out... how are you sure that is all full all the way without opening the super all the time ??
How do the bees get in and out of the hive?
So how much honey do you left for the bee's
I love this consept. What harm is don to the bees when the honey is being removed?
Hey Elizabeth,
Stu and Cedar did many design trials when creating the frames to ensure any harm to the bees is at absolute minimum.
There is a small gap between the two halves of the cells to ensure they don't get their legs hurt when the frames open/close.
The worst that can happen is they get momentarily inconvenienced as they're confined to the cell they're working in when the frame was opened, and are then freed up to continue once you close the frame again.
- Danika
I love bees
When I first seen this flow hive, I didn't like it, I figured it was weird and different, but eventually I realized this is a great idea! I don't have bees, but if I did, I would have at least 1 flow hive just because ! Great content too!
Are those jars 500ml? And if so where did you get them? Looking for somewhere to source jars (preferably hexagon) in bulk.
Loving the flow frame. Just wish my bees were a bit more friendly during opening.
Eternal Dog - I got these hexagon jars off of Amazon. I think I got a case of 24 for about $17.00
Do the caps need to be removed by the bee keeper or do the bees know to remove the capped cells to start to refill the frames?
Nice warm days are my dream for harvesting! Hmmmm
Hello, I’m a beekeeper in Victoria. My great uncle and I built a flow hive from a standard hive and bought some flow frames. What do you do when the honey goes candid in the flow frames?
The real flow hive is my goal and can’t wait until I have enough money for it
Can you harvest only half of a single frame and close it without the rest leaking back into hive?
My bees hang around the front of the flow area, in and out next to to sections, while I’m harvesting, is there anything I should do?
Dear friends! Great invention! Just wonder about such kind of honey as heather honey. In Latvia where I live bees harvester heather honey in late part of August and first half of September. It has very dense concistency and hardly flows. Beekeepers has to press it out of the combs with preses, because It is impossible to get out with rotary honey throwing devices. How do you feel whether Flow Hive would be used also for this kind of honey? Do you have heather honey in Australia or any other kind of dark dense sort of honey?
Which model of flow bh are you using in this video
This may be a dumb question ? but why is fermented honey not a good thing? 🙏🤔
Hello, I'm from BC Canada, we have 2 super brood boxes here and one super we get them to fill for winter. My question is can we leave a flow super on over winter? I've heard that they crack in the cold. We get anywhere from -10c to -50c.
Thank you
Hi Adam, wintering a Flow Hive is very similar to a wintering a traditional Langstroth hive, and wintering varies greatly around the world. Here is some further info: www.honeyflow.com/faqs/wintering-your-flow-hive/p/206 but it’s always important to seek local knowledge from other beekeepers in your area.
There are two main concerns for a beehive over the winter months; the colony starving, and the queen becoming stranded below the queen excluder.
If you have a reasonably full Flow Super at the end of your nectar flow season you can leave it on the hive for the bees to use over the coming months. This will ensure they will not starve; however, you also need to ensure the queen can access these honey reserves. During a cold winter the bees do not forage but will steadily use up the honey stores in order to stay warm. The queen will not be laying brood at this time, so the colony will cluster around the honey that it is consuming. This means that the cluster may gradually move up into the honey super over winter. If you have a queen excluder in place she will not be able to move up with the colony and will die. Therefore, it is recommended that you remove the queen excluder as part of your preparation for winter.
Some cold climate beekeepers prefer to reduce their hive to one box, the brood box, over winter. There are usually one or two frames of honey on each side of the brood, and this plus the option of feeding them a sugar solution either before or after the coldest months gets the colony through the winter. This eliminates issues with the queen excluder and there are advantages to the bees being confined to a smaller space. If you decide to take this approach, at the end of your nectar flow season extract the honey in the Flow Super and leave it in place for a day for the bees to clean, then remove the Flow Super with frames and queen excluder and replace the top cover and roof on the brood box adding some insulation in between.
To store your Flow Frames wash them in warm to hot water and allow them to dry thoroughly before storing them in a cool, dry, dark location for the winter.
Adam, the Flow Hive was trialled in BC, Canada by John Gates in the fall of 2014, and no issues were found regarding the cold. Bees keep the hive warm because the brood nest needs to stay around 35 degrees Celsius or 96 degrees Fahrenheit. In cold climates, it would be recommended to harvest early and often so the possibility of crystallisation is less likely. Remember your bees will still require honey stores or feeding through the winter.
If you want to discuss using the Flow Frames in freezing conditions or get more information from the community please visit our forum: forum.honeyflow.com
Please let us know if you need further assistance - Leah.
How much do they cost please?. Amazing invention
Hey Brett,
Thanks for your message. All of our Flow products and prices are available from our online stores. For customers in Australia www.honeyflow.com.au, Europe eu.honeyflow.com/, Canada ca.honeyflow.com, UK uk.honeyflow.com or international www.honeyflow.com
Here you will find product information and pricing listed.
If your country is not on our shipping list and you would like to make a purchase, please email us at info@honeyflow.com with what you would like to order and we will give you a price and shipping quote.
Please let us know if you have any questions - Danika
If I had known about this process I would have gotten bees a long time ago.
Is it in Poland?
I have a flow hive with just the 3 frames and i have put 2 wired and waxed frames on either side. I havnt been game to open up the super box because i just realised that i have not put the seperation sheet between the lid and the super. Also can i take the non flow hive frames out and eat the honey comb directly?
How do I introduced new bees to the hive. The bees I can get come on their own frame and I want them to build there own.
Once you harvest a frame, do you have to remove the wax caps?
My question too!!
I noticed the middle farms and fuller then the outside frames do honey bees start with the middle frames first then work there way to the outside frames or is it completely random.
Yes they start in the middle, it gets worse the more you know about beekeeping mate! These things are ridiculous, time will show.
Uteopia - Last year was my first year with a flow hive. It was an amazing experience to watch and interact with the bees. I observed that the bees were working on all of the frames to prepare them for the nectar, but the majority of the work was definitely in the center frames and then worked their way to the outside frames. It was a lot of fun to be able to watch the progress from start to harvest. 😀
Hi, Why do you need queen excluder if your honey frames are so wide. The queen cannot lay eggs in a deep frames. Did you try to work without excluder and what issues did you find? Why do you recommend to use excluder? I am curious whether the queen start to lay eggs in your honey frames.
check out TH-camr Frederick Dunn's beekeeping videos. he showed the queen can lay eggs in the upper box without the excluder on.
Do you just have to set the hive up and bees will just go to it naturally over time? Or do you have to buy bees? Ive been really interested in starting to bee keep.
Generally, you will either need to purchase bees or catch a swarm.
How do you split a flowhive I have set up a langstroth hive and didn’t know if purchasing a Nuc or splitting would be best.
Higsey. Top of the Swan Valley . Belhus.
Hi Laura, Cedar show's how to do an easy spit here. But t is important that the colony is strong enough to be spit.th-cam.com/video/-G0tVIaJ2MQ/w-d-xo.html
Our beginner beekeeping video "Installing a nuc in your hive' is also helpful.
www.honeyflow.com/gallery-videos/beginner-beekeeping-videos/p/192#hvORxmvJVUQ
Please email info@honeyflow.com if you would like to chat with someone about your options - Leah.
Hi Cedar, do you inspect the flow frames the day before you harvest? Went to harvest yesterday and the frame looked very full and capped from the back window but just thought I would inspect the frame first, when I lifted the frame it had a ball ( about a tennis ball size) in the middle of the frame on both sides that was not capped. So now don't know what to do, inspect first or not. You don't seem too. Thanks Francine
hi Francine, we do recommend inspecting the Flow Frames the first couple of times that you harvest to get used to what you are seeing through the windows and how that replicates on the Flow Frames - Sam
How long do the frame's last or how often do they need replacing
Hi Lyle, We still have some of our launch frames in our Flow HQ Apiary from 2015. We do recommend cycling out the brood frames every couple of seasons. - Sam
Do you have to deplete the frames when taking honey? Or can you just do 1/2 frames so not to deplete them?
Absolutely not Skylar! The great thing with a Flow Hive is that you can harvest as much or as little as you like leaving plenty for the bees :) - Sam
How many ounces of honey can it hold when it’s full ?
do we need to clean the super box frames after every harvest?
Just another hobbyist - No, the bees will do that for you. And start filling almost immediately if there is a nectar flow.
How do you know when to stop taking the honey and leave enough for the bees for over wintering?
Hi Bill, wintering your Flow Hive will be similar to wintering your conventional hive. Leaving enough honey for the bees over winter is so important and applies to all beekeeping. Your bees need honey to get them through the times when there is no nectar available. The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. You should consult local beekeepers as to how much they leave for their colonies over the winter
The number of frames of honey that you should leave depends on your climate. We recommend that you contact local beekeepers and join a beekeepers club, as they can tell you all about how to keep your bees happy and healthy and can let you know how much honey to leave for your bees over the winter. They are the best resource for the most suitable beekeeping methods in your region and climate. You can also ask your question on our Forum: forum.honeyflow.com where you can access information from a wide range of experienced beekeepers.
How much honey, (in pounds) does a gram hold when it’s full?
Is it ok to take all the honey from all the frames at once or should the harvesting be spaced out?
You need to leave the bees some honey when you harvest. It is their food after all.
I’ve been watching your videos for the past week, and I’m very interested in beekeeping. However, I’m very new to this. I know you have a website and sell your amazing product.
My question is, where do I get the bees and their queen from?
I do not know where you are from but in the US you can usually find a bee keeper near where you live. They sell packages and nucs.
You must use a queen excluder, to keep her from laying in the flows honey chamber??
We have a queen excluder on top of our brood box so the queen can never lay in the Flow Super (the top box). If the queen had access she'd lay eggs in the Super, and when you'd turn the tap on you'd crush all the developing baby bees. The queen excluder prevents this from happening :)
Try putting your captions on if you can't hear them well.
How many liters. You pull out for each cell.
If the frames become so full of honey is it possible they can leak out before you actually harvest the honey in any way?
Peace, brother. I want to buy a box like it, knowing that I keep bees. Can you guide me please
How many gallons of honey can u extract in a season
How do the bees know that the frame is empty? Does opening the frame with the key crack the capping so they know its empty?
Bees will realise the honey is gone they are in tune with the smells, and temperatures inside the hive, after a few hours to a couple of days the bees uncap, repair and then begin refilling. -Kieran
How long would it take for a 3 frame to fill in california and how much honey would I yield? I just need an estimate if there's not an exact answer. Thank you in advance. 👌
Johnny Vida - 3 kg of each frame depending on Bee population in the Base Box and Nectar in the field.
how many ml does that bottle have ?
How long does it takes from start of a brood to produce honey
It depends on the season and strength of the colony. In an ideal season, it will take 2- 8 weeks for the bees to establish the brood box and around the same time frame for the Flow Super when this is added once the brood box is established. -Kieran
Hi I am new to bees and love it I live in the Bahamas and where we have seen a drastic drop in bees. I have the flow hive super and the bees where doing great then a day later 1/2 of the colony left I am not sure as to why any thoughts on this thanks
Hi there, there can be a few reasons for a hive to swarm, Please feel free to reach out to our team at info@honeyflow.com with some more details about your setup so we can help you. - Isobella.
Hi, this is a great video really excited, how much or where can i to pay? Im from colombia tanks....
thank you, have a look at our website www.honeyflow.com
Hi mate. Once I have my bee hive how do I start? Where do I get the bees from?
Hi Dimitrios, There are a few different ways that you can source a bee colony to call your own - we have a great blog here support.honeyflow.com/how-do-i-get-bees/ which outlines the different methods and the benefits of each.
It's a great idea to contact local beekeepers and join a beekeepers club, as they can tell you all about how to keep your bees happy and healthy and are the best resource for the most suitable beekeeping methods in your region and climate. They can also help you to obtain or purchase a bee colony, and instruct you on how to place them in your hive. If there are no bees available locally you may be able to buy them from a bee supplier online.
If you're new to beekeeping we also now have a great online beginner beekeeping course, which we recommend to all new beekeepers www.thebeekeeper.org which is free for the first month. And we are proud that at least 50% of the profits from the course go towards supporting pollinator conservation and education projects.
If there's anything else we can do to help please let us know. - Sam
How to maintain the brood in this? Don't you need to extract honey and remove beewax from there?
From what I've seen on their channel, the brood box is below these honey flow frames, where there's an excluder screen to keep the queen bee from coming up to the top flow frames to lay eggs. The top flow frames are used for honey only.
I just put my flow box on top how long dose it take for them to start putting honey in it and how do I get them to start to put honey in it
It ultimately depends, usually it takes around 2-8 weeks for bees to establish a new box, given that they have enough bee population to do so, we advise adding the Flow Super only once your bees are at around 80% bee population, visible as thick carpet of bees atop the brood frames. -Kieran
How wide is each slot of honeycomb in the top box. Im trying to determine how many i need for my current box.
Hey Kelly :) 6 Flow frames fit into a standard, full depth 8 frame Langstroth box, and 7 Flow frames fit into a standard, full depth 10 frame Langstroth box - I hope this helps? - Danika
I wonder if the bees are all stressed out because their honey keeps leaking out!
What do you think of colony collapse disorder?
How about traditional bee keeping method ? , its that making the bee stress out too ?
Ok, how much this product cost to get 3 of them to 🇨🇷 Costa Rica?
Iam from india
Actually what type of wood it was made?
I need 2 pcs how can i get?
Have a chance to get super chamber only?
How clean do I need to keep the upper hive?
Hi Scotty, We haven't found the Flow Comb needs cleaning if it stays in the hive - the bees do a great job of keeping it clean.
You don't need to clean Flow Frames if left within the hive unless you detect disease in them. If you detect disease, you will need advice from experienced beekeepers on disease prevention and response for your area.
The Honey Trough at the bottom of the frame is designed so that any honey remaining after harvest can drip back into the hive for the bees to use. If the honey leak-back gap remains clear this works well; however, if the bees block it up some honey may remain in the honey trough after harvest. Clear the leak-back gap prior to harvest and inspect the honey trough. If the honey trough is dirty it can be cleaned from outside the hive using a bottle brush or something similar.
If you remove Flow Frames from the hive for storage it is a good idea to remove residual honey. To do this, set the Flow Comb to ‘cell open’ position and rinse in hot water (no hotter than 70 Celsius / 160 Fahrenheit). Allow the frames to dry thoroughly before storage. I hope this helps - Leah.
Hi! I purchased the FLOW HIVE2- I purchased a nuc from a local bee breeder and ALL of my frames were full (with her highness). They are filling up the super but not yet to harvest. My question to you is- Since I started with FULL FRAMES- How can I tell when/if they will SWARM? Some days the front is very busy and they are pretty busy. I don't see anything on this content!
Hi there, Swarm prevention is a difficult topic. Any experienced beekeeper will attest that because bees are a wild creature, they simply do not always perform how we expect or would like them to behave.
Swarming is a natural process and is considered reproduction for a bee colony.
Bee swarming is caused by an increase in the hive population (usually due to warm weather) where the numbers become so excessive that the worker bees cannot smell the queen's pheromones anymore, so they raise a new queen. The old queen will then leave with up to 60% of the population to start a new colony.
Swarming can be prevented by performing brood inspections in the spring to see if there are any queen cells present. - Isobella.
How much is Flow Hive? How can some one construct it?