Moisture content vs Flow frames

[boywonder]

Earlier this year, I sold a colony of bees to a local couple (new beekeepers). We have maintained contact, and I have been helping mentor them a little. Off their own backs, they elected to buy a Flow super for the summer flow, rather than use the National super I sold them.

I don't want this thread to turn into a slagging fest (novice beekeepers & Flow hives etc). I actually find myself to be pretty open-minded about the Flow. If I were to try the system myself, my only reservation would be the use of plastic. I don't think we should be afraid of innovation; I rather think the problem it invites (as has been oft stated before) is the risk that it entices swathes of starry-eyed novices into "beekeeping" in the belief/expectation of minimal "fuss" ... at the expense of proper husbandry - though that is another matter entirely to the system itself.

In the hands of a beekeeper with an understanding of proper beekeeping practices, why not? Anyhow, that's not what I want to discuss.

In 7 years of beekeeping, I have harvested all kinds of honey myself. I routinely check moisture content, and generally land at about 18%. At 17%, I am doing cartwheels - and I have never got below this level.

This summer (for me) has yielded a weird and somewhat dire harvest. This seems to have gone hand in hand with much higher moisture content than that to which I have become accustomed. I am currently extracting from supers with capped frames where the moisture is between 19% and 21%. Even a sample I took for CEH back in early July has come back as >19%. This seems to be consistent with what some others seem to be experiencing (e.g. Madasafish (I think I recall) and Woodland bees (just now) ...)

So... back to my Flow friends. Their bees have yielded some exceptional honey. These are bees from my own stock, kept in the same locality (so same climate) etc.... but the honey they have taken from Flow frames which were c.a. 70% capped/30% uncapped has come in at what I consider to be a staggering 15.5%.

This (and my own honey) has been cross-checked on two, correctly calibrated refractometers.

So, I am minded to consider that the Flow frame itself may have contributed to this. Maybe the fact that wax is a vector for moisture, or maybe the Flow's cell depth helps ??

Could it actually be plausible that Flow frames are more conducive to yielding a quality honey ?

(running for cover as we speak !)

 

[Erichalfbee]

So... back to my Flow friends. Their bees have yielded some exceptional honey. These are bees from my own stock, kept in the same locality (so same climate) etc.... but the honey they have taken from Flow frames which were c.a. 70% capped/30% uncapped has come in at what I consider to be a staggering 15.5%.

This (and my own honey) has been cross-checked on two, correctly calibrated refractometers.

So, I am minded to consider that the Flow frame itself may have contributed to this. Maybe the fact that wax is a vector for moisture, or maybe the Flow's cell depth helps ??

Could it actually be plausible that Flow frames are more conducive to yielding a quality honey

Last spring I had honey at 15%. Not this year because the Hawthorn was poor.
I'm sure @Swarm reported thick honey around the same water content this year.
I have taken honey from adjacent colonies in the past and the supers had completely different honeys and the bees from each had obviously collected nectar from different forage despite being in the same apiary.
I don't think you can draw any conclusions about the superiority of plastic frames.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I'd hate to speculate on the Flow hive but like you have generally had higher MC'S this year, I normally get between 16.5-18% but this year I've been lucky to get <18% even when fully capped. One exception was an apiary I extracted on Wednesday, <15%! I haven't a clue why it was so low but some frames also had heather honey at the lower edges.

 

[boywonder]

the bees from each had obviously collected nectar from different forage despite being in the same apiary.
I don't think you can draw any conclusions.....

I agree Dani. The forage is deifinitely implicated. I'm certainly not drawing conclusions - but I am wondering out loud whether the frames/system had a role to play also.

I just find it surprising that, in the same locality, in 7 years, harvesting all types of honey in all types of spring/summer circumstances from fully capped frames, I have never got close to that level. Beginners luck maybe, but - especially from partly capped frames, I found that result anomalous. If it didn't cost over £300 for a national super, I might be inclined to have a little dabble with one, atop one the couple of hives I keep in my garden to see if the crops are appreciably different (in terms of quantity and quality).

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

That, Boywonder, is really interesting. I guess time will tell, but it’s a curious “one off” if it is.
Perhaps David Beckham could shed some light on this....

 

[Antipodes]

That, Boywonder, is really interesting. I guess time will tell, but it’s a curious “one off” if it is.
Perhaps David Beckham could shed some light on this....

Or even Chris Hemsworth.....