i started building this type of hive a few years ago - much nicer than the American type... but i 'pimped' both the house and the hives... first i put two 100w solar panels and hooked up a 400w wind turbine to charge 4 220amp 12v batteries. next, i hooked up 12v silicone heating pads to w1209 thermostats, and put those in the bottom of each hive - two of them, each with thermostats, so the first one turns on when it's chilly, and a second one turns on if the first one can't keep the heat up. AND because i'm a belt and suspenders type of person, i built a solar furnace for the front of the building and put another thermostat inside the entrance to the house so it turns a fan on - amazing that it can be -10c outside and the air coming in is 55c so it heats the building up nicely... also put a backup heater in each hive that draws power from the mains just in case the batteries drain... finally put a infrared heater in the house that is on a nifty gadget called a thermocube - it turns just about 0c and stays on until the temp goes back up... they are pretty happy girls. by the way, when i build my hives, i slightly modify the spacing of the rods so accommodate my langstroth frames and it works perfectly.
@@markferry4865 not much for posting videos but, the theory is easy. just an insulated plywood box about 6" deep - my depth was decided by the fact that i used recycled dog food cans, plus 2 layers of foam insulation (should have put layer of cardboard over it - it literally got so hot it melted the foam!)... the size of the box was decided by the half a sliding i had laying around... hole in the bottom left, hole in the top right... i used duct tape, the shiney stuff to tape all the cans together and just made a sort of slinky, back and forth horizontally so the heat had to travel as much inside as possible. that also turned out to not be the best decision again because of the heat. if you can afford it, i would suggest using metal downspout, so you don't have to stick them all together... paint it black inside and out, put the glass on... even when it's -40c here, the thermostat would read 40c coming out - pretty amazing. but if you google 'solar furnace' there are lots of videos of people making on youtube - out of popcans, and all sorts of stuff - it's a fun project and way to use bits and piece you can get for almost nothing...
@@rapunzeleh546 Can't thank you enough for the reply. Been watching youtube videos on these solar heaters but great to hear from someone being honest (melted foam!) with their experience. Also appreciate the advice on downspouts. Saw people trying that, good to hear the recommendation from you as well. I live in the Syracuse NY area, gets fairly cold here (below freezing, or lower on bad days) in the winter and lots of lake effect snow... so I'm curious how much heat one of these would actually give me given the cold here. Good to hear your experience at colder temps. Seems an experiment worth me trying. :) Thanks again for the help.
@@markferry4865 no worries... always happy to help the like minded... it's not the cold that controls the heat output, it's the sun... even a little bit of sun makes a huge difference. the trick is to make sure you can close the 'hole' when the sun isn't shining... if you haven't played with Arduino's it's well worth getting a beginners kit - something to do on a cold NY night... you can control anything with a 'computer' the size literally of a stick of gum... and lots of code already out there and since it's open source, millions and millions of people that will help.
Such a beautiful bee house! I was REALLY excited to see the Flow frames you have in the top of your most active hive, but how did you fit them in there? I thought the Slovenian frames were a different size than the Langstroth frames and the Flowhive frames are even a bit clunkier than the regular langstroth frames, yet they seem to fit flush with the rest of the frames below. Could you please make a video and/or show some pictures of how you built your hives and fit the Flow frames in? Also, what is keeping the bees from squeezing out and getting all over everything whilst you're removing the honey since there's nothing blocking that like on FlowHives? I'd be most grateful to learn from you!
I believe the Flow frames are designed to be solid across the back, so they don't really have a way to come out the back. You can see that in more detail on the Flow Hive TH-cam channel.
Love your little 🐝 🏠 . It is Absolutely Beautiful 😍 Will you be updating your journey with this set-up? I would also be Very interested in finding out where you ordered your hives and if you are selling your house design. Stay safe!
Hello Jonny Vermont! I'm curious about this building and if you have any updates planned. How did it go for you? My family comes from Vermont and I figure that a housed system like the one you're showing in this video may be ideal for that climate? Thanks for sharing, please share more :)
Have just bought a couple of AZ hives and made a sturdy rame for boxes to sit on. Finished it of with a pitched roof with generous overhang over entrance. insulated top and bottom with eco friendly insulation and will make up thin protection sides using SF19 insulation foil to fasten to sides in winter. Versions can be purchased now that use Langstroth frames so bare this in mind. Also top of larger AZ frame can be cut out to allow Standard Langstroth frame to drop in like a cassett. This takes a lot of fettling but is ueful if you have conventional hives and you wish to transfer a frame. They look fab when painted using a suitable low toxic paint suitable for bees. There are many more advantages like lower water content of honey, less food uded in winter and bees not dying of cold... An absolute no brainer!...
Jonny, this is perfectly beautiful! I am hoping to start my first hive next year, but am having difficulty finding a Slovenian hive. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear where you got yours. Thanks!
Hi there have you ever done an update on your hive? Ive looked through your videos but can’t find anything. I would be very interested in seeing how your hive has been doing. :)
I have been wondering how one would add Flow Hive frames to a Slovenian bee hive. I have a couple of questions. 1) Are the Flow Hive frames sitting on the 3/8 rods or did you mount them like a Langstroth hive? I have worried about the design of Flow Hive frames would not work with the rod support method. 2) Flow Hive requires a 2.5 degree slope toward the back. This is needed to get the honey to flow out of the hive. How did you accomplish this?
@@BadgerNNN Same / I've got the same questions. Please do an update video - I'm very interested in doing something similar / shed build with flowframes
I believe that I may be able to answer my own questions. I am using the video above and a video found at Precious Bees. Precious Bees makes a AZ hive with Flow Hive frames. Both views show the Flow Hive frames sitting on a chamber divider. I am guessing that the divider would have slots that align up between the frames. Precious Bees' hives are built with a 3 degree slope in the base. I don't know if Precious Bees addresses the slight slope when placing their hives in a building.
Looks great! 2 questions 1- How do you treat, and check for Varro, and conduct SHB mitigation? 2- were these kits you encapsulated, or did you build the equipment from scratch?
Glad to see you went with the true Slovenia hive and not the American copy. I've heard the American copy causes issues with propolis and burr comb making it tough to get the frames out. Did you run into any of this with your true Slovenia Hive? Nice House for the bees by the way. Very cool Do you have any designs for us to follow in building the hives or the house?
When I keep bees outside I need the sun to be able to see if the queens laying or not. I would be concerned in a situation you have here you can’t see the eggs in the larvae is that true. I am an old guy and probably don’t have a good Iser’s youngsters do.
Hey there! Thanks for sharing! Other than no heavy lifting and better insulation, do you find that there are many differences from raising bees in langstroth hives? I'm wondering how easy it would be to switch from that to this bee house.
As far as I understand it (and it makes perfect sense too), insulated hives are just better suited for bees, the temperature both in summer and winter is much more stable, resulting in more honey collection and less hive maintenance. Most stories I read about insulated hives also state there is far less bee deaths in winter so that the colony has a much stronger start in the spring. And the slovenian house is just a long standing practice that works. The Swiss also have a long standing tradition with bee houses, but as it is a generally more wealthy country the bee houses are more stylized and focused on the esthetics then they are on honey production. There is also a TH-cam channel called Vino Farm that has been experimenting with insulating more traditional langstroth hives, but also applying lessons learned by observing the bees. Very interesting channel. So all in all I would say the main difference is stronger hives both in winter in survival and summer in production.
I am currently working on a mobile truck (old FedEx) which I would like to find out where you purchase these hives? I am going to be using the Langstroth Hive.
Wondering how hive inspections look while enclosed in this room. Obviously you can keep the door open but aren't there a lot of flying bees that would be in that little room? Seems to me that the little insect relocation gun thing isn't enough. At least for a bustling hive.
Just from my research they said the bees look for frontal attacks to the hive, so where there guard bees are stationed on the outside, and don't generally fight from the back door entry.
I do have questions... is there a blueprint for this build? What kind of vegetation is around you to sustain that many bees? What was the cost of build? I assume each on of those hives has its own queen? What does your weather look like as far as the 4 different seasons? I haven't taken up bee keeping yet but that is what I am researching to add to our farm in the next couple years, and this kind of hive is something new, I havent seen this type of hive yet and I am super interested.
I’m new to learning about beekeeping in general, but I do know that these beehouses are especially useful for places with cold winters. Slovenia has a pretty even divide between all 4 seasons as well as harsher winters in the alpine areas. Beekeeping has been a huge part of their culture for centuries, so I trust them to know what they’re doing😅
@@archeofutura_4606 would these hives do well even where the winter doesn't get terribly bad? Where I am at, we get winter weather but it comes in varying waves. Deep freeze for a couple days then warms a little.. sometimes days sometimes weeks... snow fall is rare. Winds are high some days, that brings stiff wind chills... the wind is why I'm considering this kind of hive. If it's not bolted to the ground you might fi d it 2 counties over type wind.
In Slovenia we usually don't keep more than 30 families/hives at one place as this is the quantity of the bees that can get enough food in their gathering range, that is some 2 miles radius.
That's the general idea; to have them together on the outer wall of a house with easy access from the back. Many people use the AZ hive as a standalone and providing a lid like any typical American hive to be able to harvest and care for the hive without the heavy lifting. It's better to have it standing higher up than the typical ones though as the squatting and bending can be hard too. And since they are not hidden on the other side of a wall they're a bit more prone to need calming.
Once its done the beekeeping is easier with less heavy lifting and therfore very usefull for women or older beekeepers. Also it protects bees much beter from tougher weather conditions. If you have huge bussines with hundreds of hives its obviously not worth it but for smaller beekeepers i would say is much better
![[Official Music Video] ฝังใจ - BOW Maylada [Prod. By Tan LIPTA]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/rSjk1jKWRN4/mqdefault.jpg)
Very cool setup. Thanks for sharing.
i started building this type of hive a few years ago - much nicer than the American type... but i 'pimped' both the house and the hives... first i put two 100w solar panels and hooked up a 400w wind turbine to charge 4 220amp 12v batteries. next, i hooked up 12v silicone heating pads to w1209 thermostats, and put those in the bottom of each hive - two of them, each with thermostats, so the first one turns on when it's chilly, and a second one turns on if the first one can't keep the heat up. AND because i'm a belt and suspenders type of person, i built a solar furnace for the front of the building and put another thermostat inside the entrance to the house so it turns a fan on - amazing that it can be -10c outside and the air coming in is 55c so it heats the building up nicely... also put a backup heater in each hive that draws power from the mains just in case the batteries drain... finally put a infrared heater in the house that is on a nifty gadget called a thermocube - it turns just about 0c and stays on until the temp goes back up... they are pretty happy girls. by the way, when i build my hives, i slightly modify the spacing of the rods so accommodate my langstroth frames and it works perfectly.
@rapunzel eh? Do you have a video of your set-up? Sounds Amazing!
Interested in your solar heater. Could you post a video on it?
@@markferry4865 not much for posting videos but, the theory is easy. just an insulated plywood box about 6" deep - my depth was decided by the fact that i used recycled dog food cans, plus 2 layers of foam insulation (should have put layer of cardboard over it - it literally got so hot it melted the foam!)... the size of the box was decided by the half a sliding i had laying around... hole in the bottom left, hole in the top right... i used duct tape, the shiney stuff to tape all the cans together and just made a sort of slinky, back and forth horizontally so the heat had to travel as much inside as possible. that also turned out to not be the best decision again because of the heat. if you can afford it, i would suggest using metal downspout, so you don't have to stick them all together... paint it black inside and out, put the glass on... even when it's -40c here, the thermostat would read 40c coming out - pretty amazing. but if you google 'solar furnace' there are lots of videos of people making on youtube - out of popcans, and all sorts of stuff - it's a fun project and way to use bits and piece you can get for almost nothing...
@@rapunzeleh546 Can't thank you enough for the reply. Been watching youtube videos on these solar heaters but great to hear from someone being honest (melted foam!) with their experience. Also appreciate the advice on downspouts. Saw people trying that, good to hear the recommendation from you as well. I live in the Syracuse NY area, gets fairly cold here (below freezing, or lower on bad days) in the winter and lots of lake effect snow... so I'm curious how much heat one of these would actually give me given the cold here. Good to hear your experience at colder temps. Seems an experiment worth me trying. :) Thanks again for the help.
@@markferry4865 no worries... always happy to help the like minded... it's not the cold that controls the heat output, it's the sun... even a little bit of sun makes a huge difference. the trick is to make sure you can close the 'hole' when the sun isn't shining... if you haven't played with Arduino's it's well worth getting a beginners kit - something to do on a cold NY night... you can control anything with a 'computer' the size literally of a stick of gum... and lots of code already out there and since it's open source, millions and millions of people that will help.
Wow, what beautiful crafted beehives. Love it.
I'd love to see a more recent update. How has it been over the last four years?
I have been wanting to build one of these for a few years now. Very awesome.
So beautiful !! And relaxing to sit in there as well !!!❤
So nice to see the Flow Hives. An amazing set up.
This is awesome! I can only imagine the aroma in the room.
Way nicer & bigger than my apartment in college!
Such a beautiful bee house! I was REALLY excited to see the Flow frames you have in the top of your most active hive, but how did you fit them in there? I thought the Slovenian frames were a different size than the Langstroth frames and the Flowhive frames are even a bit clunkier than the regular langstroth frames, yet they seem to fit flush with the rest of the frames below. Could you please make a video and/or show some pictures of how you built your hives and fit the Flow frames in? Also, what is keeping the bees from squeezing out and getting all over everything whilst you're removing the honey since there's nothing blocking that like on FlowHives? I'd be most grateful to learn from you!
I believe the Flow frames are designed to be solid across the back, so they don't really have a way to come out the back. You can see that in more detail on the Flow Hive TH-cam channel.
Love your little 🐝 🏠 . It is Absolutely Beautiful 😍 Will you be updating your journey with this set-up? I would also be Very interested in finding out where you ordered your hives and if you are selling your house design. Stay safe!
Me too!!!! Please!
That poor bee that got squished on the door
I've never heard of that concept before. Awesome.
Perhaps not the most cost effective method, but definitely looks great. I can think of worse hobbies. Great job
Awesome!
Do you have blueprints for this build?
Also, do the flow frames fit without modification?
the flow frames are langstroth size so they need modification
THAT WOULD BEE A BEEKEEPERS DREAM, VERY NICE
Hello Jonny Vermont! I'm curious about this building and if you have any updates planned. How did it go for you? My family comes from Vermont and I figure that a housed system like the one you're showing in this video may be ideal for that climate? Thanks for sharing, please share more :)
beautiful. thanks for sharing
I want one of these Soooooooo bad! My cousin in Slovakia finished his a few years ago. I love it. Thank you for sharing.
Its Slovenian not Slovakian
Very cool setup!
Can we get an update on this bee house?
Have just bought a couple of AZ hives and made a sturdy rame for boxes to sit on. Finished it of with a pitched roof with generous overhang over entrance. insulated top and bottom with eco friendly insulation and will make up thin protection sides using SF19 insulation foil to fasten to sides in winter.
Versions can be purchased now that use Langstroth frames so bare this in mind. Also top of larger AZ frame can be cut out to allow Standard Langstroth frame to drop in like a cassett. This takes a lot of fettling but is ueful if you have conventional hives and you wish to transfer a frame. They look fab when painted using a suitable low toxic paint suitable for bees.
There are many more advantages like lower water content of honey, less food uded in winter and bees not dying of cold... An absolute no brainer!...
Omg - that’s amazing!! Are there plans available?!??
How is the bee house doing? Would love to see an update 😊
Jonny, this is perfectly beautiful! I am hoping to start my first hive next year, but am having difficulty finding a Slovenian hive. If you don't mind, I'd love to hear where you got yours. Thanks!
Hi there have you ever done an update on your hive? Ive looked through your videos but can’t find anything. I would be very interested in seeing how your hive has been doing. :)
Wonderful!
just found this video. Can you tell me how you built this? did you follow a set of plans? Was it a kit? I really like this setup.
I have been wondering how one would add Flow Hive frames to a Slovenian bee hive. I have a couple of questions.
1) Are the Flow Hive frames sitting on the 3/8 rods or did you mount them like a Langstroth hive? I have worried about the design of Flow Hive frames would not work with the rod support method.
2) Flow Hive requires a 2.5 degree slope toward the back. This is needed to get the honey to flow out of the hive. How did you accomplish this?
I was wondering the same questions. Hoping to see an update on how it works.
@@BadgerNNN Same / I've got the same questions. Please do an update video - I'm very interested in doing something similar / shed build with flowframes
Hi Guys did anyone get any answers to these questions
I believe that I may be able to answer my own questions. I am using the video above and a video found at Precious Bees. Precious Bees makes a AZ hive with Flow Hive frames. Both views show the Flow Hive frames sitting on a chamber divider. I am guessing that the divider would have slots that align up between the frames. Precious Bees' hives are built with a 3 degree slope in the base. I don't know if Precious Bees addresses the slight slope when placing their hives in a building.
@Jonnyvermont2 everyones waiting for an update. Please can you share how its been?
am curious where you got your hives from do you have plans at all?
Nice Bee House! Did you have to do any modifications for the Flow hive frames? Are these from Slovenian Beekeepingdotcom?
I'd like to find an answer to this as well...
How has this house been for you? Do the bees get stuck in the house while checking frames?
Looks great! 2 questions
1- How do you treat, and check for Varro, and conduct SHB mitigation?
2- were these kits you encapsulated, or did you build the equipment from scratch?
Did you have to modify your flow hive frames for them to fit into your AZ Hive?
How much did you spend on the total construction? Been thinking of doing something similar, so just curious
Where did you get the honeybee vacuum tool? Can it be used in reverse to blow bees back into a hive? You have a fantastic setup! 👍🍯
Where do we get the blueprints to create this?
So how’s it going now? Looking at doing this down in texas.
Very Nice, I'm going the AZ route also. Where did you purchase your 3 story 5 frame NUC and all of your Slovenian hives from ?
Glad to see you went with the true Slovenia hive and not the American copy. I've heard the American copy causes issues with propolis and burr comb making it tough to get the frames out.
Did you run into any of this with your true Slovenia Hive?
Nice House for the bees by the way. Very cool
Do you have any designs for us to follow in building the hives or the house?
How deep are the hives? I have a tiny house very similar, 8 x 16, that I want to convert to a bee house
Does the structure need to be made out of wood?
When I keep bees outside I need the sun to be able to see if the queens laying or not. I would be concerned in a situation you have here you can’t see the eggs in the larvae is that true. I am an old guy and probably don’t have a good Iser’s youngsters do.
How do you deal with ants
Remember to take the queen exclude in the winter =)
How did you combine the Flo Hive with the Slovenian Hive?
Hey there! Thanks for sharing! Other than no heavy lifting and better insulation, do you find that there are many differences from raising bees in langstroth hives? I'm wondering how easy it would be to switch from that to this bee house.
As far as I understand it (and it makes perfect sense too), insulated hives are just better suited for bees, the temperature both in summer and winter is much more stable, resulting in more honey collection and less hive maintenance. Most stories I read about insulated hives also state there is far less bee deaths in winter so that the colony has a much stronger start in the spring.
And the slovenian house is just a long standing practice that works. The Swiss also have a long standing tradition with bee houses, but as it is a generally more wealthy country the bee houses are more stylized and focused on the esthetics then they are on honey production. There is also a TH-cam channel called Vino Farm that has been experimenting with insulating more traditional langstroth hives, but also applying lessons learned by observing the bees. Very interesting channel.
So all in all I would say the main difference is stronger hives both in winter in survival and summer in production.
cool.
Hello,
I am very interested in where/how you got AZ hives that the flow frames fit into.
Any information appreciated.
Thanks
I am currently working on a mobile truck (old FedEx) which I would like to find out where you purchase these hives? I am going to be using the Langstroth Hive.
where can I find building plans for a slovenian bee house?
How can I find plans to build a AZ bee hive.
wow! stunning! How is this working out for you?
Wondering how hive inspections look while enclosed in this room. Obviously you can keep the door open but aren't there a lot of flying bees that would be in that little room? Seems to me that the little insect relocation gun thing isn't enough. At least for a bustling hive.
Just from my research they said the bees look for frontal attacks to the hive, so where there guard bees are stationed on the outside, and don't generally fight from the back door entry.
These bees seem really calm. th-cam.com/video/QP7tQLv5fzI/w-d-xo.html
WOW thats so cool ! i live in Vermont near the lake , do u by any chance want to be a mentor?
Finnaly someone showing the proper way to keep bees.
How much will cost an Apiary like this ?
I do have questions... is there a blueprint for this build? What kind of vegetation is around you to sustain that many bees? What was the cost of build? I assume each on of those hives has its own queen? What does your weather look like as far as the 4 different seasons?
I haven't taken up bee keeping yet but that is what I am researching to add to our farm in the next couple years, and this kind of hive is something new, I havent seen this type of hive yet and I am super interested.
I’m new to learning about beekeeping in general, but I do know that these beehouses are especially useful for places with cold winters. Slovenia has a pretty even divide between all 4 seasons as well as harsher winters in the alpine areas. Beekeeping has been a huge part of their culture for centuries, so I trust them to know what they’re doing😅
@@archeofutura_4606 would these hives do well even where the winter doesn't get terribly bad? Where I am at, we get winter weather but it comes in varying waves. Deep freeze for a couple days then warms a little.. sometimes days sometimes weeks... snow fall is rare. Winds are high some days, that brings stiff wind chills... the wind is why I'm considering this kind of hive. If it's not bolted to the ground you might fi d it 2 counties over type wind.
I want to have 50-60 hives in one building. Is that possible? Or could I have more? Thanks!
In Slovenia we usually don't keep more than 30 families/hives at one place as this is the quantity of the bees that can get enough food in their gathering range, that is some 2 miles radius.
Do you still have the Bee House?
Do you just build house so the hive sit out on the wall ? I’m not understanding that part
Thank you
yes,you build a shed with corresponding openings,it's that simple
That's the general idea; to have them together on the outer wall of a house with easy access from the back. Many people use the AZ hive as a standalone and providing a lid like any typical American hive to be able to harvest and care for the hive without the heavy lifting. It's better to have it standing higher up than the typical ones though as the squatting and bending can be hard too. And since they are not hidden on the other side of a wall they're a bit more prone to need calming.
What are the dimensions please and would you be willing to share the dimensions please?
Incredibly diifucult, expenisve and time intensive. How or why would anyone do this?
Once its done the beekeeping is easier with less heavy lifting and therfore very usefull for women or older beekeepers. Also it protects bees much beter from tougher weather conditions. If you have huge bussines with hundreds of hives its obviously not worth it but for smaller beekeepers i would say is much better