Flow Hive - more info

[Hivemaker.]

Interesting video about the invention of the flow frames from the beginning and the people who invented them.

An Australian story.

http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2015/s4335344.htm

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Interesting video about the invention of the flow frames from the beginning and the people who invented them.

An Australian story.

http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2015/s4335344.htm

The promoters of the flow hive have had a thoroughly hard time on this forum but this video puts it into some sort of perspective. Cedar comes across as one of the good guys who by dint of hard work and invention has become rich beyond his wildest dreams.

I can't wait for Steve down in Thurrock (Dexters Shed) to get his flow hive up and running next year to see how the mechanism copes in UK conditions.

CVB

 

[user 6228]

The construction of the flow hive poses more problems to overcome in insulating the hive to a low conductance/ high mcr.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Did you see how quickly that honey flowed?
(And I don't mean the speeded up version)

The construction of the flow hive poses more problems to overcome in insulating the hive to a low conductance/ high mcr.

I don't suppose that matters much in Australia.
............or does it?

 

[Thymallus]

Depends if you keep bees near their ski resorts such as Mount Buller in Victoria, or in their deserts such as the Badlands.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

The construction of the flow hive poses more problems to overcome in insulating the hive to a low conductance/ high mcr.

In the UK, you'd remove the mechanical flow frames and the super box for the winter and just leave the Langstroth brood box for the bees to overwinter in. A cosy made of PIR would sort that out. You could use the same cosy over the summer months to keep the Flow Hive super warm but that'd leave the BB exposed to the elements unless you then made a PIR sleeve to cover the BB. You could end up with a PIR version of a WBC with PIR lifts on the outside and langstroth BB and Flow Hive super inside. The top bit would have to be dismantled to "milk" the Flow Hive of honey.

CVB

 

[For want of a better word]

Finman will be fitting his with heaters... all year around.....
I can see these hives being used adjacent to all the solar farms still blighting our countryside... just to provide enough heat to make them work!

Food for thought... P V solar cells atop the hive roofs???

Nos da

 

[Thymallus]

Food for thought... P V solar cells atop the hive roofs???

Already available...LINK
And others have been patented...LINK

 

[Finman]

Finman will be fitting his with heaters... all year around.....


Nos da

Nectar flow is here only 1 month. When 150 kg/hive runs through plastic tube, it may take two years.

Wales and London have best situation. Year's average 9 kg/hive runs in pipes couple of weeks.
.
Cathedral flow from 40 m high tower will not take long, I think. Two hours is my bet.
.

 

[For want of a better word]

Back of a fag packet calculations .. a flow hive in the UK would need getting on for 3KW/h to keep a Langstroth at a temperature high enough to keep the honey flowing for an average colony of bees.

The PV on my boat hardly produces enough power to keep the GPS and radio going... let alone the depth sounder and auto pilot!... then it is a small Hurley 22.. with limited deck area... and that somewhat bigger than a beehive roof.
Hence suggestion of locating hives next to a solar farm...
Food for thought.. if we want to get the Flows hive going in the UK.????

Yeghes da

 

[For want of a better word]

Nectar flow is here only 1 month. When 150 kg/hive runs through plastic tube, it may take two years.

Wales and London have best situation. Year's average 9 kg/hive runs in pipes couple of weeks.
.
Cathedral flow from 40 m high tower will not take long, I think. Two hours is my bet.
.

Got to give you that one Finnie me ol' M8......

CLASSIC !

Nos da

 

[Hivemaker.]

The top bit would have to be dismantled to "milk" the Flow Hive of honey.

Or extended levers and pipes in place through holes in the reticel cosy , plus several layers of that poly pipe lagging around them, with pipes going into sealed jars with a cosy around each jar to help prevent cold air going back up the pipe, each jar could also have a small electric heat pad placed under it, then at least any air entering the pipes would be warmed.

 

[user 6228]

Back of a fag packet calculations .. a flow hive in the UK would need getting on for 3KW/h to keep a Langstroth at a temperature high enough to keep the honey flowing for an average colony of bees.

The PV on my boat hardly produces enough power to keep the GPS and radio going... let alone the depth sounder and auto pilot!... then it is a small Hurley 22.. with limited deck area... and that somewhat bigger than a beehive roof.
Hence suggestion of locating hives next to a solar farm...
Food for thought.. if we want to get the Flows hive going in the UK.????

Yeghes da

strange units

 

[Hivemaker.]

In the sales videos things go really smoothly when using the flow frames, but in the video below it looks like a real performance, cannot see these plastic frames lasting long if they need all this twisting and levering, and as for not stirring the bees up when operating them while on the hive.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfVs0TVmYDI

 

[For want of a better word]

strange units

I have dysphragia... never could get those decimal points in the corect place!

k W h.. kilo Watt hour... one kilo ( 1000... small k) Watt ( after James Watt so capitol W) hour... that is 1 hour... so 3600 seconds.
That is the Units British Gas sell electricity to me in.

British Thermal Units....... these were still in use when I took my A level in Physics ( and passed!)

Yeghes da

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or extended levers and pipes in place through holes in the reticel cosy , plus several layers of that poly pipe lagging around them, with pipes going into sealed jars with a cosy around each jar to help prevent cold air going back up the pipe, each jar could also have a small electric heat pad placed under it, then at least any air entering the pipes would be warmed.

Has anyone ever thought that the greatest heat loss would be through the (open) entrance - maybe someone should design revolving doors for hives - or at least some kind of airlock ?

 

[user 6228]

I have dysphragia... never could get those decimal points in the corect place!

k W h.. kilo Watt hour... one kilo ( 1000... small k) Watt ( after James Watt so capitol W) hour... that is 1 hour... so 3600 seconds.
That is the Units British Gas sell electricity to me in.

British Thermal Units....... these were still in use when I took my A level in Physics ( and passed!)

Yeghes da

Do you mean power or energy? kW is power I.e. 1000joules per second. kWh is energy I.e. 3.6 mega joules. I m still in units checking mode after writing that paper. I won't bore you with the number of corrections to units before it went to review.

 

[Erichalfbee]

In the sales videos things go really smoothly when using the flow frames, but in the video below it looks like a real performance, cannot see these plastic frames lasting long if they need all this twisting and levering, and as for not stirring the bees up when operating them while on the hive.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfVs0TVmYDI

Might they be the Chinese copies he's working on?

 

[madasafish]

Has anyone ever thought that the greatest heat loss would be through the (open) entrance - maybe someone should design revolving doors for hives - or at least some kind of airlock ?

A below the floors entrance would reduce heat loss...

 

[Hivemaker.]

A below the floors entrance would reduce heat loss...

Yes...block up the normal entrance and remove the mesh in the floor.