Flow Hive - more info

[Thymallus]

Still, what do I know? I'm just a mug with a flow hive - I must be an idiot, right? Well, I guess we will find out, but in the meantime I will endeavour to keep an open mind...

If you've never kept bees before and are starting off with a flow hive there could be some truth in your statement. It will be a steep learning curve, not least actually getting your bees to produce surplus honey to store in these new fangled frames

 

[einsteinagogo]

I wish I had $786 to purchase one, now that they have the complete Flow Hive on offer, Western Cedar version, available direct from the website, shipping in Feb 2016.

$670 Complete Full Flow Hive
$116 Shipping to the UK

Order before the end of August 25th.

http://www.honeyflow.com/shop/flow-hive/complete-full-flow-hive/p/133

So Flow Hive or New 9 frame extractor ?

 

[For want of a better word]

There's a lot of pressure on these guys now, to come up with the goods. Wonder how long it'll take for the bubble to burst this time?

I am still waiting for delivery of the Rolls Washing Machine I paid for a few years back.


Grandmother's sage words were " Never gamble with anything you are not prepared to loose"

All this sounds like the biggest beekeeping scam since time began!

Mytten da

 

[dexter's shed]

Wow, what an introduction to this site. Welcome to the forum, unless you're one of the muppets who have bought a Flow hive...in which case just stand there so we can laugh at you.

I like to think of the old saying, everything comes to those who wait

 

[Obee1]

Wow, what an introduction to this site. Welcome to the forum, unless you're one of the muppets who have bought a Flow hive...in which case just stand there so we can laugh at you.

One of the often quoted features of beekeeping is that everyone has a different opinion because of their varied experiences. But surely 40 pages of cynical nonsense from experienced beekeepers who have no experience whatsoever with Flow hives must be a first and simply undermines faith in any advice offered on any other subject here?

Still, what do I know? I'm just a mug with a flow hive - I must be an idiot, right? Well, I guess we will find out, but in the meantime I will endeavour to keep an open mind...

Welcome flowhive man
So do you actually have your flowhive yet? Take no notice of the negative comments on here about flow hives. Anyone who strays from the perceived norm of bees kept like grandad used to keep them or who hasn't got 20+ years of experience is belittled. You are quite right. No one here has seen one in action, they look like a cool idea to me. My only concern is that complete novices may buy one and think they need not learn the art of beekeeping. I'm only a 2nd year beekeeper and it's been a baptism of fire. Definitely needed the help of experts to steer me in the right direction.
Good luck with your flowhive

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So do you actually have your flowhive yet?

 

[Obee1]

Like I said lots of negativity. Why is it funny to ask if he has the flow-hive yet? Are you thinking they are a rip off and don't even exist? Or is it just hilarious that anyone bought one?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I wish I had $786 to purchase one, now that they have the complete Flow Hive on offer, Western Cedar version, available direct from the website, shipping in Feb 2016.

$670 Complete Full Flow Hive
$116 Shipping to the UK

Order before the end of August 25th.

http://www.honeyflow.com/shop/flow-hive/complete-full-flow-hive/p/133

So Flow Hive or New 9 frame extractor ?

How do you balance the equation with OSR among the variables Andy?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Like I said lots of negativity. Why is it funny to ask if he has the flow-hive yet? Are you thinking they are a rip off and don't even exist? Or is it just hilarious that anyone bought one?

yes

 

[Tremyfro]

Welcome Flow Hive Man....it's a tough row to hoe.....if you try something different. Personally, I can't see why they won't work. It is just an extraction method after all. I can't see why OSR would be a problem either. A good beekeeper would get the OSR honey off the hive before it crystallises in the comb, in any case. My OSR this year extracted without a problem. I guess if you had loads of hives and just wanted to do one major extraction then there may be some which crystallises. Fortunately, I don't have so many hives that I can't keep an eye on them. And of course, the Flow Frames would be removed from the hive before the ivy is brought in...just like any supers...
I believe the tests they ran showed that it was possible to extract the runny honey even when there was some crystallisation, anyway. If by mistake a frame was crystallised....it could be washed out...so no real problem with OSR.
Some of the first Flow Hives have been sent out and received and are already in use. Some people have also harvested their first honey from them.
I don't think there is any doubt that it is genuine.
I hope you enjoy your Flow Frames when you are able to put them to use next year. Many people will be wanting to come and watch...I am sure!
There are people on the forum who delight in poking fun and being negative...especially if it costs money...beekeepers tend to be a parsimonious lot! There are also a lot of people who are very helpful, generous in their time and very knowledgable about beekeeping. Flow Hives are not about Beekeeping...they are about extraction of the honey.

 

[pargyle]

hope your on the flow forum,

Well ... it's an entertaining place but it's full of newbies and I'm afraid some of the advice being offered by people who clearly have never kept bees is rubbish.

85 people in the UK have confessed to having flow frames on order ..Fortunately some of them are joining local associations but a large percentage appear to be closet flow framers and seem reluctant to tell people they are intending using them.

I can understand this reluctance as some beekeepers in the UK can be a bit Luddite but as an 'off the wall beekeeper' myself I've found that you will be accepted and encouraged if you make the effort to understand BEEKEEPING.. ... asking Local Associations if you can have a swarm to put in a 'newt' will probably solicit some interesting answers !

The biggest issue I see on the flow hive forum is the large number of new beekeepers who have bought into the idea without actually understanding that you also have to be a beekeeper as well as a flow hive owner ...

Time will tell ... could be a lot of slightly used kit for sale at the end of next season if the one year in drop out rate reflects what we see in our association.

 

[Obee1]

Time will tell ... could be a lot of slightly used kit for sale at the end of next season if the one year in drop out rate reflects what we see in our association.

Then einsteinagogo will be able to afford his coveted kit. And the more open minded members here can have a forum trip to Yorkshire, jars in our sticky mitts, to see a flow hive in action.
JBM is not invited

 

[pargyle]

Take no notice of the negative comments on here about flow hives. Anyone who strays from the perceived norm of bees kept like grandad used to keep them or who hasn't got 20+ years of experience is belittled.

That's a pretty tarnished view of the best beekeeping forum in the UK and possibly the world ... I think, generally, the vast majority of people on here are very much open minded and receptive to good ideas.

The vast majority of beekeepers (at least those who have kept bees for at least a couple of years) recognise that the flow hive is never going to work as well as portrayed in the videos ... nymphs in flowery dresses and sun hats pouring honey straight from the hive onto their cornflakes ? Come on ... can you imagine even attempting that with your mean green queen hive ???

The marketing was vastly over-egged and has encouraged far too many people to think that beekeeping is as easy as shoving a free swarm in a hive with a flow frame or two on top and a tube straight into a jar ... let's get real - even you, with your experience, understands how many things can and do go wrong. As you know quite well from your previous posts, even with the help and advice that has been given to you on here, it can get very messy when you are knee deep in bees that are trying to kill you and you wonder what the hell to do next ... or perhaps we will just be returning to times past when the swarm in May yielded a crop in September and then got turned out or burned out - to die or find a new home sharpish for the winter ?

It is quite evident from the posts over on the FH forum that there are large numbers of people (fortunately not too many in the UK it seems) that are going to be tragically disappointed when they finally realise that beekeeping is a pretty full on hobby and a lot of hard work and attention goes into getting any sort of a honey crop in a good year - let alone a patchy one like this season.

I don't believe that too many people on here are negative about a good idea ... negative at what they perceive may NOT be a good idea - well perhaps !

 

[Obee1]

My point is none of us know if the flow hive will work. But to admit on this forum to ordering one, a person would have to be very thick skinned indeed. I've not read the flow forum - or indeed most of this thread - but I think we could all do better at welcoming newbies into the fold - even newbies that ordered flow hives regardless of our personal opinions. I'm sure there are quite a few members here who would never dare admit to being a flow hiver. Surely newbies with flowhives are going to be in for a real shock and we should help educate them in the art of beekeeping - for they will surely need it. Instead they are ridiculed and belittled. That doesn't help anyone. The flowhives are ordered now - I assume no more are available atm. Therefore it's pointless trying to deter people from buying - that ship has sailed. feeling welcome to post questions on this forum - which as you say is the best - is one big step on the road to becoming a competent beek. How anyone extracts their honey- old school or via a tap gently caressed by woodland nymphs as honey flows onto your cornflakes should be immaterial.
And it's not just flowhivers - the same derision is heaped upon beehaus owners, warre hivers and top bar hivers, to name but a few. Anything that is not done the way the bullies do their beekeeping is ridiculed. I've had many messages from forum members thanking me for posting my tales of woe - and stating that they are too scared to post things themselves for fear of the forum bullies ridiculing them. We may well be the best beek forum out there - but theres always room for improvement.

 

[dexter's shed]

My point is none of us know if the flow hive will work. But to admit on this forum to ordering one, a person would have to be very thick skinned indeed.

that'll be me then,
you're correct, no one in the uk has received theirs yet, but other countries have, yes there's quite a few customers that went in to this with their eyes closed, but thankfully the flow forum is there to show them it's not that easy, although it does seem that in OZ, they only open and check their hives twice a year, compared to our every 7 days inspections

my reason for ordering was simple, I use many types of hives, I produce cut comb and extract honey with a spinner, but this looked a good invention, the "will it work" in me made me want to give it a try, and being the chairman of our local bee association, I thought if anything it would give our members something to chat about,

I also found a new club member there, someone join the forum enquiring about the flow hive, he was fairly local to me so invited him around to see first hand what beekeeping was like, did a few hive inspections, pointed him in the right direction, he bought a national hive and I supplied a collected swarm, he's now a fairly confident new beekeeper, whether he goes onto order a flow hive or frames only time will tell

 

[Anduril]

Then einsteinagogo will be able to afford his coveted kit. And the more open minded members here can have a forum trip to Yorkshire, jars in our sticky mitts, to see a flow hive in action.
JBM is not invited

After reading the Flow Forum you will not need to travel to Yorkshire, there is someone much closer to home.

 

[Obee1]

Are you coming out of the flow closet anduril? ( I won't tell anyone )

 

[Tremyfro]

I think Pargyle is right in much that he says....the forum is a wealth of information. It is generously offered too. Sadly, there are too many people who think their opinions are the only opinion which should be taken on board.
What must also be remembered is that there are beekeepers who do have experience...who have ordered Flow Hives too.
The campaign may have been a little romanticised but why not..it is fun and interesting and novel. No one has done this before. For the doubters...there is no doubt that it works. You can see personnel reports of the success of the Flow Hive.
The main thing is that our forum is NOT welcoming to new beekeepers...although we like to think it is ...they are ridiculed and put down for the questions asked and the mistakes made. I know of quite a few beekeepers who will not post on this forum...they watch and listen and read...but they don't post. Many have left the forum. Posts about the Flow Hive is typical of what happens when the pack decide to descend.
Yet I know there are many great beekeepers on this forum and they don't enter the fray that often is seen.
I think it is fine to question the integrity and function of a new invention but I don't this it is fine to ridicule people or call them names.

 

[einsteinagogo]

How do you balance the equation with OSR among the variables Andy?

That's an interesting one with OSR.....I would think not even using it with an OSR flow, in fear of granulation in the supers, lots of supers here granulated super fast, had to warm in a warming cabinet, and then extract!

Could that be done with flow frames....

Or could you just drain off daily/weekly ensuring water content is correct ?

Still not sure how you would know when to turn the tap on to get ripe/unripe honey, without checking they are capped, which means looking in the hive!

You could just sample a bit....and test...

 

[Tremyfro]

That's an interesting one with OSR.....I would think not even using it with an OSR flow, in fear of granulation in the supers, lots of supers here granulated super fast, had to warm in a warming cabinet, and then extract!

Could that be done with flow frames....

Or could you just drain off daily/weekly ensuring water content is correct ?

Still not sure how you would know when to turn the tap on to get ripe/unripe honey, without checking they are capped, which means looking in the hive!

You could just sample a bit....and test...

Would you not check the ripeness of your OSR honey? I did...nearly all of it was ready before it was capped. So I extracted it. I don't understand why you cant do the same with the Flow Frames. They lift out the same as a normal frame...so testing isn't a problem. I don't think that the Flow people have said that the bees don't need looking after or that the hive shouldn't be opened. Clearly, normal beekeeping practises would continue.
Interestingly, a number of people who use poly hives found that the OSR honey stayed liquid for longer....perhaps because of the insulation.
In Aussie....they don't check their hives as often as in the UK because they don't have varroa and the seasons and flows are very different. Hence the confusion in regard to the beekeeping inspections.
There are no rules to say that you can't check the Flow Fames as usual frames. It is just the extraction method which is different.