Don't buy a Flow Hive until you've seen this!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2019
- We've had Flow hives in several locations for three seasons now, and this is the first time we have had a measurable amount of honey in them. The ivy season is about to start, and we don't want this rapidly-crystallizing honey in the Flow super, as it may prove extremely difficult to remove.
In this video, I explain how the Flow hive is constructed and how it should work, compared to our real-life experience here in Devon.
PLEASE NOTE: Flow hives apparently DO work well in some places: this is NOT and "anti-Flow" video, nor am I a "Flow hive hater" as some seem to think, but I do have reservations about their use in my area for the reasons I explain in the video. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but comments that are merely insulting will be removed.
WATCH THE FOLLOW-UP HERE - • Flow Hive Follow-Up: 4... before commenting.
If you find these videos helpful, useful or interesting. please consider making a donation to Friends of the Bees at friendsofthebees.org
And please feel free to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE any of my videos.
My website is here: biobees.com including links to my books.
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I've been using Flows for 4 years. I build the bees up, use two brood boxes, let them make a honey super for winter, place a Queen excluder and then place the flow hive on top. Twice as many bees, twice as warm. If the bees can't finish the flow hives, I remove them from the hive, brush the bees off and drain them inside. They can be flushed out with water OR you may leave them out for the bees to clean up and store them for next spring. I like mine!
Where are you?
@@PhilipChandler United States, Ohio - a little late this year but putting them on again this year soon! Clover is starting to bloom.
1. Bees cap the ends and outside frames last. That's how you know it's ready. You need it over 90% capped.
2. Tilt boxes back.
3. Harvest honey when it's warm.
4. Don't stick the metal key all the way in. Do it in parts. This way you don't flood the boxes with honey and also make it easier to break the cells. Let me know if this helps.
Wait......they come with instructions?!?!
The problem was not the use of the box, he used it correctly. The problem was that the trees and plants in his area produce honey that behaves more like chocolate where being not cold is not enough but it has to be really warm for it to flow slowly. After a longer period of cold days it crytalizes and wont even flow on warm days anymore. Rather then doing the tidious cleaning himself he rearranged the boxes so that the bees will clean out the honey themselves and store it in another box.
@@rickrapirio3798 WHAT, go ahead and buy products from CHINA.... who wants to rule the world!! PURE insanity to do such a thing!! 👎😣👎😥😝
@@cccalifornia7206 more like capitalism will drive products cheaper for consumers.... get lost you 👎
@@strawberry-parfait3922 now i want chocolate honey
That's not a Northern Bee setup. You need a third short super in between that you never harvest...that's for the bee's winter. You have not put your flow hive together very well. You only harvest honey when all chambers are capped from the visual windows on the outside. Bees work from the middle outward so when the outer chambers are all filled you know that pretty much all of the center ones are ready. By pulling out a flow chamber you have damaged the seal the bees make in the bottom and actuating the flow mechanism will cause honey to drip into the hive causing a mess. You don't flop around boxes. The bottom will be brood naturally, the middle super will be mainly honey for the bees, and the Queen won't get to the top flow box because it's screened and will only contain honey. At the end of the season you remove the Flow box from the hive and cap the top of the middle hive, giving the bees their needed sufficient winter storage supply. The Flow can be cleaned at this time. Also , to aid in cleanup, remove the flow only a few feet away..this will attract the hive workers to clean up any leftover honey without placing more in the Flow and save you a lot of time cleaning yourself. Your current setup restricts the size of the hive, that is one reason why your honey output is so small. I agree some flora produce a more rapid crystallization of the honey in the late season, but if properly set up and developed Flow hive for Northern bees, you should be taking the last flow soon before that is even a problem. You also seem to be too rushed to take honey out of the hive before it's ready and full...patience rewards. Also, visit other flow youtube sites to learn what you are doing different, it may help.
I have to buy new bees every year because they die every winter. I've tried everything I can to save them here in Chicago but I don't know if it's the cold or if it's because of the mites but whatever the cause, they die every winter so therefore I harvest as much honey as I can knowing they're going to die anyway
yes and I don't believe you could decapitate the bees by opening the flow with the tool because the chambers slide for about 2,5 mm so there will be 2,5 mm opening. But my question would be if all the chambers are caped and you harvest the honey will the bees uncap the empty chambers or is that something the beekeeper should do?
@@royal_gambit_e4 bees will uncap
@@WangJinru ok thx. Since you answered maybe you know these one too: will the queen lay eggs in the cells?
@@royal_gambit_e4 no there is the queen separator the black thing
Having read the comments before watching the video you'd never have expected it to be so calm and helpful!
Must be a Chinese army of writers who are upset that their product won't sell well ..
@@mycomment3509 When he opened the back of the hive where you do the extraction and you could see so many bees in an area they are not suppose to be, it was obvious he had not assembled the hive correctly.
When you get stung 20 times a second youd think you were doin something wrong.
Man,you have to read the manual of the flow hive again. You have missed a few critical points
If you not mind I would appreciate if you could give a very brief explanation of what he is missing as regards your comment.
Also are you using this system and if so, what do you think of it?
We have not got any honey for 8 years because of my back but we had got 15 gallons between 2013 & 2014 and still have a few jars left. Would have more except we gave quite a bit away.
So I am considering getting just one which should allow me to extract some honey, if I can keep the wax moths under control.
Thank you in advance if you take the time to answer me.
@@fredjones43I was thinking the same thing. What are they missing?
Like you we were a founding supporter of Flow Hives when they were launched. We now have 3 Flow supers and love them. There is no risk whatsoever to the bees when harvesting. With traditional harvesting many bees can be crushed by the much more invasive traditional process. Initially the bees needed only slight encouragement to use the Flow Frames. We placed small amounts of wax around the frames to tempt them and they have never looked back.
I also believe the honey is of the highest quality as we never mix the honey from each frame. There is no mixing of frames, no spinning, no filtering. Just raw honey straight from the hive. Simple tests have shown us that our Flow Frames produce the same amount of honey (or more) in a season as traditional methods.
I was not so much a supporter as a neutral observer. It is an interesting piece of engineering, but very expensive and doesn't really solve any beekeeping problem other than laziness. You can run a conventional hive using unwired foundation in the honey supers and remove individual frames for cut comb or crush and strain for liquid honey, with no bees killed.
@@PhilipChandler Laziness? What about someone who loves to bee keep but is too old to physically do all the manual labor to properly harvest the honey? This is a way they can still do the work, take care of the bees since it still needs to be managed, and take pride in the harvest they receive but without having to do all the heavy work to achieve it. This is also a great way to slowly introduce people into beekeeping. When you think about the cost of the flow hive in comparison to the cost equipment needed to extract the honey and wax from plus the time from harvesting the traditional way, the flow hive is not a bad investment and can still be productive. It takes hours to properly harvest honey and wax the traditional way, especially if you intend to render the wax. Not to mention the mess it makes. You did not even assemble it properly and struggled to demonstrate it in the video which sort of tells me you are inexperienced with it, which makes this video less viable to form an opinion. I understand the concern of the ivy season and the honey crystallizing, and I think its a great thing to create a video about it so people can be aware of the potential issue, but my problem is that the video is inaccurate to the degree of how you have managed and used it. I have watched so many videos of people harvesting honey the traditional way, some who even claim to have 10+ years experience doing it and kill at least a lot of bees in their video. I have yet to see a video where bees are killed using the flow hive, and there are videos that even show how it works with a few frames that document what it looks like on the inside, and it obviously does not hurt the bees. This also produces imo a lot more honey and produces a lot less waste for the simple fact that none of the honey leaves the hive, and the minute honey starts to drip, bees are actively licking and cleaning it up. I see so much waste when doing honey harvests the traditional way. Sure a negative is that you do not get the wax or comb, which kind of sucks since comb is delicious and wax can be used for amazing things, but this is great for someone who is getting started with beekeeping. Sure its made of plastic, but with proper management and care, it should last years. In that amount of time, the amount of honey you will have harvest and potentially even sold will be well worth the investment. I could see having problems if you live in an area with little pollination which would produce little honey, which kind of seems to be a problem you are having if you have not had that great of harvest in the time you have had it. Not trying to hate on you, but you seem kind of rude to some people forming opinions in the comments and it kind of makes your video worse due to the bad attitude. You are entitled to your own opinion just as much as we are entitled to our own, but no need to get nasty to people about it. If someone in the comment comes off as being a jerk, make them more mad by being more civilized and nice. Sorry you appeared to have had a bad experience with the flow hive, but I think some of it is with how you have managed and cared for the hive its self. If you have any problems, you should really contact the flow hive team and ask them how you should handle the hive during the ivy season, or why your bees do not seem to be producing all that much.
@@PhilipChandler sad the person who hacked through bees to needlessly scrape at capping....
@@moonfanaras my man, having flow hives doesn't take away any physical labor that comes with owning a hive, you still need to check brood box, you still need to replace frames, and lift boxes... unless you live in country with no varroa, no winter, and have bees that do not swarm, good luck!
@@maleficent3333we have no varoa here and the winters are somewhat warm
Sorry I come from a traditional method and I only see positive things from the flow hive. Especially since the flow Hive is a clean collection and protects the bees. You just want to run your old way and you really don't care about your bees you just want to run your honey and you want to collect your comb the wax Etc. This new way forces you to be patient and allows the Hive to collect the honey in the manner they would have done probably about 70 years ago before you guys started overwhelming them making them work year-round. I know how you professional beekeepers work and those of you who even say it won't I'm only just throwing it for the fun of it how many of you really really take care of them in the winter I mean really. The flow Hive makes everything simple neat and clean for everyone.
Am trying to understand the methods of this madness.. am a bee keeper for 3 years now and I’ve never heard my bees cry for help
Tip for viewers, if you want to remove bees from frames so as to extract them you can waft a bit of a sweet smelling smoke, such as lavender, over and into the spaces between frames you want to remove. bees will scurry off the combs and you can remove it without squishing bees. This is especially helpful if you have large populations and are trying to remove the first one or two combs. I just caution you that very little smoke is needed... just a little time and patience, but by directing small puffs here and there you can use it to move bees out of the way. In addition to being barefoot i generally need no veil or gloves either!
this guy sure knows how to piss off a whole bunch of bees
As a newbie with bees the attraction to the flow hive was immediate. But after talking to many beekeepers…especially LOCAL beekeepers…the general consensus is that they are made for curious children and newbie beekeepers. Two problems that we have is -15C Winters and up to 47C Summers and twice per year we get windstorms up to 105mph over several hours up to a couple days. As I understand it these hives don’t hold up well in extremes…and those that have had them tell me that the parts broke at the most inconvenient times. I think I’m too much of a traditionalist to spend the extra money on them just to see how they work. The greatest weaknesses seem to be Time and Propolis. “Getting no doubt stung in the process”…I had to laugh…my Dr. warned me off beekeeping because of a severe sting allergy (wasp venom mainly) but I just couldn’t help myself. I just carry my epi-pens in my pocket and spent a fortune on a good bee suit…my own surrender to mortality.
Or people who prefer a quill and ink
@@honeymcdonald9120 >I do love me a smooth writing quill, iron phosphate ink and homemade press paper…
You need to be sure that the flow hive super frames are pushed to the front--there are little screws at the back to push the frame to the front to avoid having the bees in the front part--making a better "window"
Looks very good, thanks for showing us. Be sure there is a 3degree tilt to the back or the honey won't flow too well.
The design of the hive is so that if you do crack the cells, the bees will NOT be hurt, only trapped until you re-set the key, and they can then get back out.
17:03 Bees were irritated but calm. 24:00 Bees were properly Pissed off. 😩😩🤣🤣
To summarize what we've done. We've pissed all the bees off!
The caption should be:
Don't buy a flow hive if you don't know how to assemble them.
I am new to the bee industry and from my experience so far.. beekeepers keep bee's as they can't do much else..
I know assembled this product
I am not a bee keeper but I have seen Frederick Dunn's videos, who was an old school bee keeper and he tested the flow hive with an open mind and made his analysis after testing the new tech. The tongue of the spigot faces the flow hive. He found no issues with injuring any of his bees. They move out of the way as you activate the cones but you don't speed turn it. From his video, I already knew it was too early to open your combs. Also, he uses his bees to clean his equipment. You are probably right about the none flowing jelly type of honey not suitable for flow hive.
btw, I saw Frederick Dunn's video today for the 1 time and you might gain some insight as I did.
Only he didn’t put it together correctly and follow extremely simple instructions….read the comments and FlowHive users who followed the directions explains it several times over.
hello Phil, I am not really Jason Doman but I am his daughter Gretta Doman, and I just wanted to say that you have taught me lots about bees and flow hives. We have a flow hive at home and I was chased by bees twice. I know alot about bees and the types in a hive, the queen, the drones and the workers. I loved your video and I hope that you could make more about garden insects.
I felt as though I was watching the Red Green Show when absolutely everything goes wrong.
hahahaha i know rite holy shit he pissed them off killed a shit ton of them dam !
Red-Green show? Thjeny ou know that duct tape will solve all the gaps, and bees' and hive's problems.. lol
Oh my god! Red green! I love red green!!!
Haaahahaha!
the tube goes in the hive the other way.... the small lip is on the bottom.... it keeps dripping honey from dripping into the hive
Whole family have been howling with laughter at this.
Then we realised it wasn't a parody post!
What’s so funny
It's very obvious that bee keepers from different countries / regions will have different issues with the same product. Thanks for your input. It also would help a lot if people making videos ,can just mention from what country they are.
A possible solution might be to use (I'm not sure what it's called in English) floor with a one way trap door. It is installed between the brood box and the super. This will minimise most of the problems with the bees. ( not the Ivy itself) . But as I have said. Different countries experience different problem and situations.
All others i have seen the bees are not on the outside of the flow tank like that , my guess is youve assembled it incorrectly
I can see already that the queen excluder is exposed. However this isnt really a problem. The problems with the flow hive are outlined perfectly in this video and it has plenty of merit regardless.
Flow tank! Do you keep bees? Those are frames and bees need an entrance access cell areas on the frame to deposit the nectar, either way bees need hex cells to work on and inject their collected nectar grin their (honey) stomachs . Hence the position of the bees... the added worry is large amounts of in ripe honey not at 17%water begging collected, fermenting spoiling the honey harvest and not being honey.
@@Cafferssssl
According to several beekeepers using the flow hives, they have found no casualties of bees after extraction. There is enough room for the bee to withdrawal as the chambers are sheared.
So you mean it is ok to torture them?
@@HERBALNATUMAN1 - OMG man, what an ignorant question. What part of "ENOUGH ROOM" did you not understand? "Enough?" or "room?" Maybe the space between the words? But just in case you don't understand what I just said there, I'm going to put this as monosyllabic as possible... They. Won't. Be. Tortured. Be-cause. The. Bees. Have. E-nough. Room. To. Get. Out.
@@thenotsurechannel7630 I don't even care about your English teaching abilities, I could see you are an expert in grammar and know the difference between a syntax and a wrong clause. On the other hand I am not here for an English class but talking about bees things, as I'm a beekeeper although I am still learning English as my language is a different one.
@@HERBALNATUMAN1 - first off, I am a beekeeper myself. And I own a flow hive super. Secondly, for you to ask such a question, after the original poster of the comment clearly gave enough information to indicate that there is no adverse effects on the bees, implies that you did not understand that fact.
@@HERBALNATUMAN1 it doesn't hurt them at all. No bees are getting smashed. Research it a bit.
Thank you for a great video - very informative.
I have three Flow Hives. One from inception and 15 traditional hives. I spent 3/4 of this video cringing and hoping it would get better. The heading should've read "Don't buy a Flow Hive until you've seen this. See what I do and make sure you do the opposite" Sorry Phil, you've done yourself a disservice here imo. You either didn't read the manual and you blundered into the production of this video without checking the facts. You may have experience with bees but this was just amatuer hour.
@@sailyui no they don't get squashed.
I'm not sure if I have ever seen a set of actions to upset a hive more effective than that. Why didn't you just stick the tube in and extract??
It is strange as he sounds so intelligent and articulate then continues to convince us all otherwise.
Before you purchase please remember that there is a lot of plastic in a flow hive. Plastic whatever grade it is , is made from nasty chemicals . The plastic will brake down over time and your honey will be contaminated with micro plastic.
@@piustell8149 The bees will just about cover all plastic involved. And it's food grade. Once extracted, you can then put it into glass, as I do to sell it. But just about every honey container you might see in a supermarket is plastic.
This is bad ownership, assembly and use. I have three flowhives and I love them.
I know a person who has raised bees for little over 75 years. His wife actually bought him one and he didn't care for it. Don't get me wrong he used it for the first year and took it down that following spring. I guess after doing something a certain way for that long he was just set in his ways. An didn't care for new and improved. He said if I am going to have to remove the combs to see when they are done I might as well use my old stuff. He said it was much easier to remove the combs with the wood frames than with the plastic. He said every time he went to check the plastic ones he felt like he was going to break them.
@@Sabrina-rn9dn New does not mean improved. This is a great example.
Check the top of your frames for cracking, I have two cracks.
I’m not a bee keeper...but it looks like an old school guy trying to use a new tool like an old tool.
10:39 He actually says in his Flow Hive video "not" to extract the honey until all the visible ends are full.
Everyone should watch Frederick Dunn’s videos on the flow hive, they are very informative.
@Scuriosity, I dont know why he didnt, but you're supposed to shake the bees off the frame onto the top of the hive. It makes him look like an amateur. So do those gloves.
Yes Freds Videos r the best 🐝📦 he 1st started 2007 & grew from there Like the glass hive display in his shed when he Films daily dose of freds hives the best
the flow free Hive 1st one 2017 a guy showed us had a hive rear his house along local River puts jar and it just flowed out tasted great 👍
Yeah that doesn’t look too bee friendly... no wonder they’re stinging him 😁🌼🐝🧡💛🖤
Just copied and pasted this from Frederick Dunn's SHOW MORE from his flow videos - If you are thinking about purchasing a Flow-Super or complete Flow-Hive, please use this link to save $50.00 - DUH - THINK PEOPLE of course he's not the only youtuber who are putting out videos that are basically commercials - check their show more -
Not impartial source, he sells them.
So have do you plan on making the adjustments suggested? I’m wondering why you didn’t just drain off the honey before removing the frames?
I think this is the first time I have seen some one that pissed the bees off more than African bees! Wow!
@24:00
Queen: "Minions attack the interloper!!"
Bees: *bzzzzz* "Yes my queen!"
Maybe you could avoid killing half your bees by turning the key really slowly, so that the workers have enough time to get their heads out of there.
It doesn't shift enough to kill anything it barely shifts the comb enough to crack the cells and allow flow. Anyway the harvest should be waiting until most cells are capped anyway so nobody's head is in a cell to begin with...
The flow people suggest waiting until the end is full and capped. You can then check the frame for full capping if you wish but generally if the end is capped the frame is likely very full and there should be minimal bees actually in cells.
@@SageandStoneHomestead have you even watched the fucking video?
@@user-kk5qe9fj2l yes. And many others.
@@SageandStoneHomestead well you are not the only one. But it seems like instead of watching this one, you went directly to the comments.
That was awesome. Thank you for the information!!! I just got a flow hive and I’m glad to know what problems I could face.
My little sister gets stung by a bee and she dies. This guy gets stung by a bee and says these bees are a bit on the stingy side. Gonna use gloves for the rest of this box.
1:) you need to adjust the screws in the other end of the frame to locate the flow frames all the way to the window view so no bees can get up via the end gaps. Ask Flow support or read manual on how to avoid bees getting into back window view. You may miss the side bars where it blocks the gaps next to the box walls.
2:) You said you don't want to feed sugar and leave plenty of honey for winter, why didn't you add the ideal box first then flow super? Should everything in the flow super be yours? It seems to be contradiction on what you said and what you done?
3:) Your tool needs a hook to pick up one end and other end by hand rather than pickup by the cables, this risks the damage of the frames structure by flexing it.
4:) You shouldn't harvest off the hive as it defeats the purpose of flow hive, it will be a sticky mess when you do it inside so don't complain if it doesn't go well!
5:) Honey Super at the entrance? It's an invitation to robbers to come in and help themselves while you are at the dearth time?
6:) it seems to add more dramas when you don't use smoker during inspection???
You haven't followed Phil very long, have you.
@@W1ldt1m Yeah, I think your right. Most of the Pro FloHive comments are really angrily pointing out all the unrelated things he "got wrong" without knowing who he or what he normally advocates. Funny.
Ir stressed the bees much more than turning the key of the flow hive. Jesus, this guy has issues
He's not using it right, and the hive wasn't put together totally right. He needs to watch a few videos, and learn how to do it right. . .
And where's his smoker?? I've never had that much trouble with mine.
I appreciate you sharing with us your experience. Every beekeeper has a different opinion about how they do things and this video is a perfect example. I have a flow hive. I love it. I also live in Colorado and I do not leave the flow frames on my hive over the winter. But first, it looks as though your bees are at the end of a flow, possibly being robbed and that is partly why they were so defensive. Because your flowhive wasn’t put together with the metal piece and the screws properly used to put the frames in the correct position, it led to more issues. I read that you think smoke causes the bees to prepare to leave and fill up with honey, but the chaos produced in not smoking the bees would be more likely to cause them to abscond. I try not to use much smoke with my bees, but it is a necessity if you are dealing with defensive, irritable bees. I start with a bit of smoke on my hands, hive tool, clothes and at the entrance. After opening the top or removing a box, I give another puff of smoke. This helps protect you and the bees from more stress and stings later. The smoke confuses the alarm response and pheromones used to communicate danger to the other bees. If a bee is bumping me and letting me know she doesn’t want me there, I give her some smoke. If a bee jumps at my hive tool, I give a puff of smoke to that bee. If stung, smoke where you were stung, because bees will be drawn to attack that spot. More alarm pheromone in the air will make it impossible to work bees without chaos. More chaos~more stings~more dead bees~ more alarm pheromones~ and the cycle continues. Fewer stings mean fewer bees dying. The bees will also put the honey back into the frames from their honey stomachs when the threat of fire is gone. If I can tell my bees are more on edge than normal, I will wrap up the inspection. I don’t know your climate there, but it looks cooler. If you have enough time for the bees to put the honey somewhere before winter, I would turn your flowhive box so you can harvest from the back of the hive. If it is too cold for the honey to be harvested outside and won’t be able to run out of the flowhive, then bring in the frames and harvest inside the house where it will be warm enough for the honey to run out of the frames. Use a regular deep box to put your beeless flow frames in one at a time to transport into the house. Once inside you can put back into the flowhive box. I would harvest the two middle frames that were capped for yourself by tilting the box at an angle like the flow videos suggest, then I would harvest the uncapped frames and feed the honey back to your bees. Just put the honey containers inside a deep on the top of your hive where the bees can move it back down into the hive. Also, be sure to put pine needles or something on top of your honey to keep the bees from drowning and make sure no bees can enter the hive from anywhere but at the bottom where they can defend it. I would also make sure you have the entrance reducer on. I’m sure you are a veteran at all of this, but I thought u would go into tail for the non beekeepers following this. I let the bees clean the flow frames but make sure you put them at least 30 feet away from your apiary to not attract robbers. Then store the frames for winter. I always make sure I have a whole deep filled with honey before I put on my flowhive. I’ll put it on my strongest honey producing hive and will empty it for winter whether for us or the bees. I do think living in Hawaii would make the flowhive much simpler, but here in Colorado I just adapt to what works best for me. I wish you all the best with your hives.
Where in Colorado? Been looking for some local beekeepers to support
long comment man
Thankyou for your fascinating and educational comment.
My first time watching this video, and I think the comments are why there’s no like-dislike count.
This guy has no clue
dang you made those bees angry
I do not think I have ever seen bees that mad, especially when using a flow hive.
Then you haven't been around bees very long. There is a wide range of temperament among bees, from the most passive to the most defensive, This colony is only slightly above average in defensiveness.
@@PhilipChandler It was merely an observation. They were mad. I never said anything negative towards you about it. No need to get your panties in a wad over it. They were mad. Plain and simple.
I once had a colony that was so narky that I couldn't even walk past it on the path in a beesuit let alone without one. They hated the very sight of me and would attack. They also were extremely swarmy and I couldn't get anywhere near them to deal with it. It was my 3rd year of beekeeping and having had 2 very easy ones up until that colony, I very nearly gave up beekeeping altogether. If it hadn't been for my mentor coming in to help out and sorting the hive out for me, I'd not be keeping bees now, 10 years later.
Idk anything about bee behavior, how can you tell they’re mad? I’m curious
@@ericplut8930 the noise they were making and the rapid flight. It didn't help that he got stung several times letting the bee's know its game on. I got a hive last spring and a cheap bee suit. I came in off the road one day about dark and decided to pop the lid. They don't like to be messed with at dusk and came out after me. I had a couple get inside my hood and I panicked knocking it to the ground. When I managed to get away had 14 or 15 stingers in my face and 15 or 20 stings on my bald head. Lol. PS. I bought a good suit and leave them alone when it gets dark.
A few things here, 1) you didnt follow instructions when u put it together, flow frames not adjusted tight to back of box and missing metal pc which keeps them from escaping out the back. 2) the cells split down the middle when opened and have a slight gap which will NOT trap a bee head, and you shouldn't be harvesting until a frame is full anyway. 3) Most beekeepers know that bees fill generally from interior to exterior, so if the window shows capped cells, you can be reasonably sure the interior is capped as well. Opening and checking before harvesting is always best practice for any beekeeper. 4) You didn't know which way the spigot is inserted, and actually guessed wrong, it will only fit 1 way with a tab and slot, your lack of knowledge of the product does not give the impression that i should trust your opinion of it. Perhaps another view of the instructions and possibly speaking with flowhive owners would make you more comfortable with the product before you post a review next time.
I have owned a flowhive for 3 seasons now, harvested exceptionally clean and clear honey every season with minimal injury to any bees. I also have traditional hives, pros and cons to both systems. Flowhive themselves have stated that owning a flowhive should not be an excuse for practicing poor hive maintenance, regular inspections and treatments are still necessary for healthy and productive bees. Anyone who thinks they can just throw a flowhive in the backyard and collect honey without taking responsibility for the care of the creatures that produce it hasn't done their homework. I don't direct this last statement at you personally, as I can see you have productive healthy bees.
You clearly didn't watch all of it as I covered all of those points, as did about thirty of the comments below. But happy to give you a chance to sound off.
@@PhilipChandler my apologies, I wasn't trying to slam you by sounding off, tried to point out a few of the issues that may have led you to your opinion on the flow hive. If that came off as harsh, I apologize. I did watch all the way through, and yes you did address some of those issues, also spillage of honey into the hive during harvest is a valid concern, although opening 1/3 of a frame at a time pretty much stops that. It does slow the process however. Your concerns with the thicker honeys not flowing was very informative as I live in a part of Canada where I don't have that issue. Anyway, keep doing what you do and good luck with your bees!
@@johnnybgoodbeesandbarbecue5788 we have ivy (Hedera helix) that sets like hard candy, and would really jam this thing up if it got in there. I think the only way to extract it would be to let the bees do it.
Show us your review of the flowhive! give us another perspective please. I am debating whether to buy a flowhive or not, so any information is good information
@@PhilipChandler It makes a difference on how you use it, my friend. I suggest you watch a few videos of flowhives just to sharpen up on your harvesting knowledge when using these frames.
*gets stung multiple times by bees* - "these bees are a little bit on the stingy side" LOL most British comment ever, this guys a boss
I have 5 Flow Hives. Very happy with them . Strongly recommended.
The cells even when split won't squash the bees. The inventors already worked that out
Aloha Phil,
Flow hives work 'if' the beekeeper stays ahead of the nectar flow and doesn't let the crowding of the brood area happen with nectar/honey storage happen where there should only bee brood and the nurses signal that the scouts should look for a new hive location. Once the field bees are actively turned their attention to finding a new home to swarm to, it is with the loss of honey production in the parent hive.
In Hawaii, 'new' beekeepers should 'bee' on their 'game' and careful not to lose the energy of their hives by their not giving attention to the honey chamber being more than 80% capped with honey, otherwise if the swarming signal has been given, you lose much honey production. Here also, you always have the 'next' nectar flow following your current flow, so if you wish not to get 'mixed' wild kinds of honey inside your hive but wish to harvest each type as it is finished, you must be there to ripe the capped combs. It very possible to get, on average, 5 kinds of honey- 30 kinds, yearly here.
Mahalo from Oahu!
Can I come work for you in Hawaii when I retire? Ha!
Aloha and mahalo for that post. I have been a resident of Hawaii off & on for 50 years. Currently in Mexico.
I'm not a beekeepet because I'm allergic to the stings.
Although, I do build complete hives.
I worked as a carpenter on the Big Island for years. I am very acquainted with termites & treated lumber.
Can new hives be imported into Hawaii or are they all made there ? Curious.
Mahalo.
@@rickrapirio3798 sadly, on 9/1/22,my wife came down with APL, a rare form of Leukemia and after the first round of chemotherapy, she suffered not one but 3 atypical strokes one evening between midnight and 7am. After things settled down a bit round 2 of chemotherapy was to begin but we thought it best to move to San Diego and live with our daughter.
But to retire in Hawaii:
Great , bees there can easily support a young family. Mine did. With just 20 hives located in the Kiser Honey Forest of South Kohala’s Hotel Resort Area, bees can steadily give 1200 pounds of fresh honey Every 2 Weeks,year round!
That’s 1560 pounds per hive per year and at current prices if $15-18 per pound, you can always enjoy your bees in shorts and flip flops.
@@davidflareau5801 beekeeping equipment (used) should not be brought in, but new equipment, no problem.
I see your in some sort clamzy you upseted those bees heavily.. I knew bee keeper is kind zen and cool. I was wrong I think. You were so rough removing those cells and I suffered watching this video lol..any ways honestly was interesting 'learnt a lot specialy from you commentators.cheers and good luck sir
9:55 That wasp just entered a beehive thats artificial casually.
Also 25:00 subtitles read [music] to the bees frantic angry attacks and noises lol TH-cam hive mind liking the sound perhaps? :D
I have one of these in Ireland North west with no issues. You obviously have to take it off at the end of August before Ivy comes in.
Obviously. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if the Flow frames are capped without removing them, so if beginners leave them in place because they can't see cappings through the window, they will get ivy in there.
@@PhilipChandler I normally take it off in August. If its not capped, then feed it back to the bees. Ivy here is still not on. Removing frames to check is not an issue either.
My grandfather was a beekeeper for many years and he always told me to wear a bee keepers hat and use plenty of smoke when you take the top off the hive
I don’t have actual experience in this. That being said of all and many videos I’ve seen of beekeeping I’ve never seen bees that pissed off at their beekeeper. Something isn’t right here.
He left the hive open for faaaaaaaar too long. That and leaving honey frames lying around outside the hive he would have triggered the robbing instinct. He also didn't use so much as a puff of smoke.
It would have been all out bee war.
You in it mainly for the ASMR too?
1. You have not fitted the flat metal bar on the bottom of the Flow Hive super so the bees can enter the honey harvesting space.
2. It doesn't look as though you have adjusted the Flow frames correctly either also allowing the bees in to the harvesting space.
3. What kind of beekeeper discards burr comb as you do in the video? Great way to encourage vermin!
1. There was no metal bar in the kit.
2. There was no visible adjustment that would prevent access.
3. Nothing I know of eats beeswax.
@@PhilipChandler There should be a metal bar and you adjust the way the frames fit by a screw on the back of the frame. You did read the instructions?
th-cam.com/video/0UMyWfxe2NI/w-d-xo.html
@@trevor311264 thank you.
@@PhilipChandler www.honeyflow.com/media/images/content/detail/gallery_DSC00618_2500px_72dpi_no_wm-gallery1029_May31101549.jpg shows the metal bar in place (it's silver).
I've researched flow hives since they gained popularity, regardless of all the ignorance in this video... you're the only person I've seen getting stung attending to a Flow hive. And for good reason.
Gray Au yeah because bees never use the honey in the frames... wait... do you even keep bees?
I've had a Flowhive for 5 years now and I love and my bees love it. I don't have to invade their home to extract the honey. We never take it all. We always leave them with two full frames. This year we got 23lbs/16 pints of beautiful honey.
Clearly, this Flow hive box has been assembled WRONGLY. There should be no bees anywhere near the output external of the box. Something is seriously wrong there for starters.
I don't even keep bees yet, but I've been researching so I can decide whether or not I want to go with the flow or traditional way. But when he opened the back and all those bees came flowing out, I knew something was wrong with the construction. If honey crystallized, isn't that something preventable by just keeping an eye on them and making sure the honey with a high water content gets drained out before it has a chance to crystalize? Honest question because I just watched a video where a man drained the cells and he said the honey was very runny and watery, but then a month later all those cells were filled again. As he drained those cells, he said the viscosity of the honey was thicker and less watery, so he was really pleased. Of course, it has to do with the source, but I thought crystallization happened because of water content. Is that true?
@@terrimartinez6547 Incorrectly assembled. This doesn't happen when assembled properly.
I watched this as I wish to start bee keeping and was hoping to buy a flow hive. After watching your demonstration, argument and the stress of the bees plus the deaths of bees. I believe buying a flow hive is still the way forward, but make sure I read the instructions until I understand how this method works
Flow hive honey can spoil unlike natural honeycomb
The bees don't die by opening the honey flow. That is a misunderstanding. if the chambers slide for 2,5 mm than there will be an opening for 2,5 mm so therefore the bees will not be decapitated. Any type of bees harvesting is stressful for the bees, because you are basically stealing its honey.
@@royal_gambit_e4 Natural honeycomb vibrate & breathe in tune with the honeybee & it's biorythms .. You take that away & you mess with nature ... The bees die. Just like human behavior is affected by a full moon ... The behavior & health of bees are negatively affected by the removal of what they naturally build to store & reproduce. It's really common sense.
@@Mokimanify 1 , please tell me how you are getting Honey
2 Honey does NOT spoil
@@Mokimanify there’s nothing remotely common OR sensible about what you said. That’s right up there with healing rocks and micro dosing. I don’t know what the fuck you’re putting in your honey but I’m pretty sure it’s illegal in the United States. Does your honey also make you see between dimensions and give you feelings of oneness with the universe?
My flow hive works perfectly. Love it.
Opening a super, removing, replacing frames, kills bees. There is much to be said about a flow hive preventing any of that during harvest time. Also opening a super means your break the microbial barrier bees have built, so they have to spend time/energy sealing the super back up, all of which a flow extraction avoids.
Can i buy? How many honey produces in month? Please help
I spent all video trying to understand what this guy was doing, he has no reason to be removing the comb, and to make matters worse he's brushing the bees? I don't beekeep and even I know that bees despise brushes.
@@benlzicar7628 Yes your right. I mean its not as if people have been doing it for a few hundred years or anything while maintaining hives for decades. However did they do it for so long without the flow hive....
Timothy Jahn they haven’t been doing modern bee keeping for centuries, no. The whole frame concept is newer than that.
Obviously didn’t read the instructions carefully nor constructed the flow hive . What do you expect. Please see the other vids on correct use and construction.
21:34 "Kinda wish I'd put a proper suit on." [laughter in background]
"You may laugh young man, you may laugh."
Bees really heat up when he removes brood chamber and bangs guard bees off of the bottom board. Not surprising. OK I'm relatively new to beekeeping. Dad taught me to always use a smoker, try not to crush bees and move slowly. Dad worked for a guy who managed 10,000 hives so I assume dad knows an thing or two.
Good job Dad !!
Wow, at 24 mins, this became a honey bee horror movie. LOL
Get it?
A B Horror movie? A Bee Horror movie?!?!!!!
HAH!
Tell me more lol
😂😂😂😂😂
I never wanted to throw my phone away so bad..
Totally agree, 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 , but it was a cool sounding horror movie
Hey Phil, if I missed any other questions, sorry. I've had to liquidate everything and move up to San Diego due to my dear wife coming down with a very rare form of Laquania, APL .
I will continue my studies in this new field as time allows but for now I'm a Bee-less Beekeeper/ Researcher.
Mahalo !
Mark Baker
Some constructive criticism. You need to slow down your movement when working your colonies. Rapid, spastic movements tend to piss the bees off...
I don't like the video uploader much, but your comment takes the cake. Why the offensive tone?
@@yui907 He means spastic in the clinical way, relating to muscle movement.
@@yui907 Talk about LOOKING to take offense from something, roflmfao.
He's really upset those bees now hasnt he!
No smoke does that
Man it was really difficult to hear them so upset. I get that he doesn’t use smoke but even leaving them alone for a few minutes to allow them to calm down would have helped a lot. Not my bees though so... whatever works for him I guess.
You think they're upset? I am a mohave desert beekeeper. If those were our bees, he'd be dead already.
@@lordofthestings why? Do you keep different bees?notorious killer bees?thank you for the answer
But Not Today you should start uploading your “pro” skills then so we can see how it’s done champ
0mg those bees are very angry
Man they are hacked off.
They’re mostly peaceful
"These bees are a bit on the stingy side." Classic. Good video about the pros and cons. Thanks for sharing.
An Excellent informative video and states early on this is Not a critical video but one on observation, practical aspects, reality, informative. Sales in the UK are low, for good reason. Cost being one.
Clearly many here are criticising I question if they ever used a Refractometer to check the water content of the honey before extracting and selling it! Fact it is not honey if the bees have not sealed the cells, the water content evaporated to around 17%, as shown large areas of the frames have not been capped therefore this can, depending on water content, ferment into mead! So guess many uncapped cells have higher water content with headless bees?! Constructive criticism is useful.
In UK flow hive make a specific supper with I think 10 frames to fit a stnd National hive. However, as we do not have very viscous free flowing gum honey (as in Oz) you need sometimes need to warm the honey frames/box inside before opening up the frames.
Thanks for taking time to do the video. Personally I really like the traditional langstroth, top-bar and, even more simple, Japanese style hives, as they're simple, in-expense and all maintenance I can do on my own. Plus I enjoy working with bees.
I’ve used my 2 flow-hives for 2 & 1/2 years and I’ve never had a single problem you discussed, you NEED TO FOLLOW the instructions on assembly and harvest and it works, I’m happy with mine, plus there is no additional equipment needed to harvest the honey, just jars to put the honey in.
I’m in the process of changing all my hives to flow-hives, to be honest the only real problem I’ve encounter in the cost of the flow-hives’s,
Where are you?
Australia
So informative thank you
The motorcycle that went by sounded so good 😊
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, and thank you for it. So many things I learned, and without offense, things I learned NOT 😆
You're clearly very experienced in your area and your craft 👍
I'm SO new, that my hive is 'rented', and between their compost bin origin and their man made box 😀.
I'm not at ALL dissuaded from wanting a flow hive to START with, having full awareness that a best case scenario will still mean extensive hands on maintenance...
Your wonderful video has given me the most answers about actually USING this product to house and accommodate our new tenants here at our home 👍
... BTW, my favorite parts of watching this were that anytime the only noise heard was from agitated bees, the auto caption would read :
'MUSIC'
🐝🐝🐝🐝😆🐝🐝🐝🐝
Sincerely, Just Bee Cause
Hallo Phil, I'm a South African bee keeper. I was surprised with how calm your bees were and how you could, initially handle them without being stung too much. Here in Pretoria we have a lot op aloe. It crystalizes quickly and sounds a lot like your Ivy honey. Thank you for the info. I wanted to purchase a flow hive, but it wouldn't have worked with the type of nectar our bees collect.
Hey Petria,just started with a flow hive in Centurion,should I be worried about the aloe?
@michaelgeldenhuys8267 Hi Michael. I am down by the Vaaldam. No aloe here. But what is your experience with the hives in Pretoria in general. Please tell me it is worth it. I am keen to replace my old hives.
I know of a dude who has a system similar to the flow hive, but his doesn't have plastic honey combs. The design is different as in it has a permanent crank on each one following left to loosen, right to tighten or open and close and there aren't any bees in the back section where the honey is extracted because there is a seal between them in the back and next to the walls as it slides in grooves that are too tight for bees to wiggle through. It's mostly metal except for the comb part it's self and the outer wood box. The comb part is made out of plex glass instead and is shatter resistant. The moving parts when turning the crank to allow the honey to flow out the spout at the bottom are all made out of metal and you really have to beat on it with a hammer hard just to warp it. Now only if I could remember the name of the system he has, been a few years sense he explained it to me but I'm sure I've forgot a bunch of details. One last thing is his has 3 sections or boxes. Brooding section, honey comb and another honey comb that can't be extracted. The one that can't be extracted is in there to allow the hive to survive during the winter and you only are suppose to extract the extra where the system is built into it.
One day I'll own some land in the country and have a system setup as well, but it wont be flow hive.
Wow, those bees DID get browned off. Do you have anything against using a smoker?
He often doesn't use them, but not normally against them in these extreme angry scenarios. Honestly imo if they get angry after your expected calm, then lighting a smoker vs just getting finished quick is pretty moot.
You'd be surprised at how a po'd colony will calm down with a little smoke and time. Just walk away for five minutes and it's a new ballgame. If they're persistently pissed they're telling you it's a no go zone. Probably queenless with cells about to pop. Something like that orrr skunks been eating your bees at night.
The issue is he's doing things majorly WRONG, that's why the bees are pissed off with him. I've harvested honey from my Flow hives without any bees annoying me, in fact they didn't even know what was doing, or that I was even there.
anyone tried smokin’ em with
weed ?
don cahooti 😆😂🤣 that’d work I reckon 😎🤪🐝
This was quite interesting, it’s good to see some likely problems you might run into as a beginner to the flow hive.
If you’re a beginner, save yourself the headache and just stick to tried and true methods. If you want to try something new (low maintenance…no painting), spend your money on Apimaye hives or something that the bees actually can use everywhere. I’ve heard many many more people swear off FlowHive than people who can make them work.
Getting honey from the flow hive is so simple!
also from other types of hives. This hive has a lot of cons
Once you're into advanced honey production you might try comb honey. It does not get better tasting. We do a few boxes (supers) worth every season for the children. It sells out every year.
Comb honey is hard to find.
step 1 - get a flow hive.
step 2 - don't read all the instructions, and adjust things accordingly.
step 3 - treat the flow frames just like regular frames.
step 4 - do some random unnecessary steps.
step 5 - lament the flow system isn't working as advertised.
lol
@@mikeries8549 most of my honey production is comb honey.
@@PhilipChandler then put a regular super on top of the Flow super or a half-&-half on instead.
Good informative video. whether you hate it or not. the problems you facing are real. are there any other easier methods life flowhive to extract the honey ?
Any Solution ?
If We Don't Want To injure The bees ?
What ABout Keeping The Bees Away From The Clone And Extract The Honey
You need to watch Fredrick Dunn .works every time and he has a lot of them .
Plus you got yours on backwards.
No wonder bees are escaping. Or wrong size deep . Etc.
Flow hive I put one on top of my horizontal hive. It’s great.
What do you mean by "backwards"?
@@PhilipChandler
In film it looks like it's in front . To get honey . The way I have seen it and done mine it's in the back to get the honey . That way bees are not disturb.
@@coziii.1829 I am taking the honey from the back of the hive, as should be obvious from the video, which shows the front of the hive with the entrance facing away from the wall.
@@PhilipChandler I suspect he's refering to the amount of bees coming out from the gap near the righthand frame.
Bees will always work the from inside out, so if your outer cells are mostly capped then chances are the inner ones will be ready to harvest.
Right and there won't be bees to injure inside capped cells. The cells don't shift enough to hurt the bees anyway.
I'm thinking of getting a flow hive does the honey in fruit trees set fast or will it be good for the flow hive
How do you avoid hurting the bees when moving things? Are stings common? Do you keep them for the honey, environment conservation or something else?
I can only answer one thing which is stings are common if you're playing with there nest but if you get a good bee suit it shouldn't happen much
You need to study up on a product before you try to teach a procedure. You also need a hive tool that has the "hook" on one end that is designed to go under the top frames. That works on regular brood frames and the flow frames. Also, the frames are designed not to move to the point that the bees are injured when you operate the flow tool. Also, bees work the flow and regular frames from the center outwards, and top to bottom.
(1) I was not intending this to be a teaching video, as I pointed out (more than once) that I had not extracted honey from this hive before. (2) I was contacted by the makers 6 months before the product was launched, so I had both an early education and advance notice of its release. (3) see my follow-up video. (4) Yes, I know how bees work frames after 20 years.
This video explains very well some of the weaknesses in the flow hive. No where can you verify eaily all youy honey cells are sealed therefore youy could have high water content, which if extracted too early ferments into mead, alcohol. So am adopting is made that when the end frames are called all should be, but that is not any where near always the case
I watched them demonstrating this earlier and they've designed it so that rhe size of the combs are always going to be bigger than any bee so would never trap them. May be worth watching their videos because a few thubgs youve said they explained and appears you are wrong.
How is the water content of the honey coming out of this? I learned that a certain amount of honeycells need to be capped by the bees to get good qty honey.
Edit: Should watch before ask :D
Having you had any troubles with the base board of the Class Flow Hive?
Those bees got real mad at the end.
He needed smoke
Because he is horrible.
I am considering getting a Flow Hive 2 and have been watching a lot of videos on it's setup, care and harvesting. From what I have learned you set up your Flow Hive Super wrong, you really need to watch their videos so you can get yours set up properly. Thank you for showing us what NOT to do.
Very interesting. Does different pollen make a slightly different taste and quality of honey? I’m learning about bee keeping and would like to start in 2023
Different nectar produces different honey
Wow, never saw such a disaster performed by a ''beekeeper''. 🤔
I'm brand new to beekeeping, and just from watching this vid and vids from other Flow owners, I can see several things he's got wrong with the Flow here. Use any tool incorrectly and you'll get bad results.
The only think I "got wrong' was not fitting the metal bar. But it's always good to be coached by a novice.
@@PhilipChandler From the comments here, it doesn't sound like you like to take coaching from anyone. So it's a bit moot.
@@andybaldman I'm always willing to listen to experienced beekeepers.
@@PhilipChandler Well there are many experienced beekeepers with vids here on youtube about the Flow Hives, and most of them are very successful. Your video is a bit of an outlier.
@phil why are you such a jerk? Cool, you have experience at bee keeping but you’re obviously not mechanically inclined or able to understand the process. You’ve completely botched the build and now blaming the company due to your own inadequacy.
This video seems ignorant of the product. Frederick Dunn proves they work time and time again!
I didn't say they didn't work. No doubt they do in some places, but they don't work consistently well in my area, and they definitely have some serious limitations when it comes to rapidly-crystallizing honey.
@@PhilipChandler They also have serious limitations where jellybush honey is concerned. They also flood onto the brood which can lead to SHB problems if they are in the area.
I have seen his videos and he has reservations too. He had to make up special tubes and use special lids on his jars to stop the bees taking the honey back.
Phil actually does say "Don't let this put you of buying these" his point is there are limitations and its not a wonder tool. Besides Frederick Dunn is also quite honest about the limitations and issues with Flow hives. Hes pretty good at being frank about it.
@@PhilipChandler Yep, needs good strong flow and strong hives. Liquid honey and warm collection days.
Aloha Phil,
New Hives can be sent to Hawaii. Cost of shipping verses building it myself was why I built all my Little Family-run Farm of 220 hives across 40,000 acres . Since this state is so asleep as to the imported troubles, they allowed old hives from the mainland, even, to be shipped in and this brought the state the Varroa Mites and SHB's as well in the past 10 years!
what is the total honey yield of your farm?
what is the difference in the cost? comparing the ones you buy and ones you make at home
5:41 is this struggle because you have left it? or would it always do this?
Phil, just wondered why you don't use a smoker? Every other demo I have seen, uses a few light puffs to calm the bees before opening hives or drawing out frames.
Think this guy needs to watch actual Flowhive videos.
I have. Most are not made in the UK.
Yes, he needs to watch a dope smoking hippy from nimbin named after a tree, trying to flog his own product his dad stole from a fella JB Garriga in the US in 1940 that was made from aluminium.
@@glencoughlan2209 no point making a colon of urself... lol... i found ur origonal comment informitave but insulting ppl isnt how we need to press forward. im looking into beekeeping to learn not to watch chilish comments. trully there will be ppl who only have vids to go on and we need wize beekeppers to help us out... ty
@@rushbayou5230 Glen is also wrong as well as making a "colon" of himself: the Flowhive operates in a totally different manner than the Garriga design.
@@rushbayou5230 buy a large wooden hive.... not plastic or polystyrene
I don’t much about beekeeping as I’m still doing my research before i ever get started. But can’t you just take off the top and put a cherry scented lid on it to send them all down to the brood box while you drain the flow hive?
Notice he didn’t need the suit with the flow hive. The traditional vertical method with his handling technique really has them stirred up