Wot Fun!

[Tremyfro]

It seems that draining the honey from the Flow Hive is easy....and fun!
For those of you who lurk on the Flow Forums...check out the video from Victoria in Australia. A first attempt at harvesting for this lady.
I am sure that someone on here knows how to upload the video for all to see.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Another Flow Hive customer, this time from New Zealand, has posted a video of a successful harvest from the Flow frames - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1621214464763117/permalink/1707531329464763/

CVB

 

[Tremyfro]

Thank you CVB...I really must learn how to do a link.
There are more and more Flow Hivers posting their successful harvests.
In a few more months we will be able to see for ourselves whether we can harvest our honey in this way too.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Thank you CVB...I really must learn how to do a link.
There are more and more Flow Hivers posting their successful harvests.
In a few more months we will be able to see for ourselves whether we can harvest our honey in this way too.

I don't have a Flow Hive but have followed its progress with interest.

I had concerns about how the frame mechanism would cope with crystallising honeys like Oil Seed Rape but I have come round to the idea that, provided the super is warm enough, the honey should flow out - it will be interesting to see what happens with heather honey!

To copy a link, I just highlight the full address at the top of the target page (starting, generally, www.) then copy it (Control c or Command c) the paste it into my draft post (Control v or Command v). It works for me and I'm no techie.

CVB

 

[madasafish]

I cannot imagine doing the honey flow takeoff as shown in the video.
Firstly: it's rarely warm enough.
And secondly, if it's warm and I had open honey being poured into an open jar from the hive - as the video purports to show, I would be surrounded by thousands of robbing bees.

But I may be unfair.. I await UK experience with interest.

 

[bpmurray]

]I would be surrounded by thousands of robbing bees.

Yes, that's the part I don't understand. If I eat a slice of bread & honey, I have to keep the doors & windows closed, but the videos show perhaps a single curious bee investigating the theft of loads of fresh honey from her hive.

 

[Tremyfro]

Thank you for the info on how to make a link CVB...I shall have to write that down...so I can try it next time.
I think what needs to be remembered is that the honey will be at hive temperature...so certainly warm enough to run. Well unless you decide to harvest the honey so late in the season that the bees are clustering in the brood box! Some of the regions in OZ are similar to the UK weather wise....and they are using the Flow...so hopefully some video from those beekeepers too eventually.
I hope that by harvesting the OSR in a timely fashion....none will crystallise in the frames....but the Flow people have said that the bees just clean it out once the wax cappings are broken...so perhaps not the problem we first thought. I do think the Heather would be a no no.....they do have experience with some of the thixotropic honeys ....some suggested working the open/close mechanism helps to make the honey flow.....we wait to see on that one. However, normal honeys seem to flow without a problem.
I don't know about how the bees react when the honey is harvested.
Usually, when we open a hive...take out frames or remove supers...it is very disturbing for the bees. When harvesting using the Flow....there is not that kind of disturbance....so perhaps they don't come out in hoards. I wait to see with that one! Some beekeepers have said that to begin with they suited up as normal but after draining the flow frames and finding the bees don't bother...now they just go ahead without protection. Some beekeepers have said they needed some cling film to cover the jar...but that is all so far.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I see that somebody has posted that on draining the middle frames the bees moved all the uncapped honey from the outside frames into the middle.
Somebody else said that their hive was covered in bees after extraction and they were jolly lucky to be wearing a suit.......

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Somebody else said that their hive was covered in bees after extraction and they were jolly lucky to be wearing a suit.......

I suppose that said post will quickly disappear into room 101 together with all the posts bemoaning the far from perfect 'extractions' we have heard about

 

[pargyle]

I see that somebody has posted that on draining the middle frames the bees moved all the uncapped honey from the outside frames into the middle.
Somebody else said that their hive was covered in bees after extraction and they were jolly lucky to be wearing a suit.......

Even my laid back bees get excited when even a drop of honey is spilt - they are all over it in a flash. I made the mistake of leaving the kitchen window open a little when I started extracting last year and within minutes I had a dozen bees in the kitchen - and they weren't following a trail of honey ... the frames had been in sealed plastic boxes waiting to be extracted from the previous day - bees have an incredible sense of smell ... I just can't see how they would not notice an open jar of honey next to the hive - and try to reclaim it.

It's just not the real world of beekeeping IMO.

 

[Erichalfbee]

bees have an incredible sense of smell ... I just can't see how they would not notice an open jar of honey next to the hive - and try to reclaim it.

Yet they seem not to in some videos.
My bees and every body else's within range would be straight onto spilt honey.

 

[Tom Bick]

I would like to see what was going on under the hive before deciding if that extraction was a success or not.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yet they seem not to in some videos.

I saw a video Tuesday of a dragon emerging from the moat of Caerphilly castle and I was certain that nowadays dragons were only to be found in the remotest part of mid Wales and the Brecon Beacons

 

[pargyle]

I saw a video Tuesday of a dragon emerging from the moat of Caerphilly castle and I was certain that nowadays dragons were only to be found in the remotest part of mid Wales and the Brecon Beacons

Ahhh ... perhaps now we are getting a truer picture !! I've been looking at estate agents photographs just lately ... surprising what you can hide with just the right lens and camera angle !!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

I was certain that nowadays dragons were only to be found in the remotest part of mid Wales

Ahhhhhh
I wondered what was eating the frogspawn in the apiary pond

 

[Tremyfro]

I see that somebody has posted that on draining the middle frames the bees moved all the uncapped honey from the outside frames into the middle.
Somebody else said that their hive was covered in bees after extraction and they were jolly lucky to be wearing a suit.......

I saw those posts.....they have made further comments now. The beekeeper saw that honey was being moved from some of the open cells. Since then he has shown pictures of the outer frames almost fully capped. He said that although it appeared the honey was being moved...the bees continued to fill and cap off the honey. So the conclusion was that there is no need to rotate outer frames to the middle after harvesting the central ones.
Still waiting for further information in regard to the beekeeper whose bees came out of the hive during the draining of the frames. There must have been a reason.....my bees don't do that even when taking the hive apart during inspections. Hopefully he will come back with more information about what happened.
I haven't noticed any posts being deleted.
Most of the posts and photos/videos have shown how beekeepers have found the extraction process. A few have expressed some concerns...re honey escaping into the hive and some honey coming out of the closing tabs. Some of this has been operator error and some has been loose fitting of the tabs.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Different bees do different things I guess.
I have bees that cover the whole front of the hive if I take one frame out. Others don't bother with me and carry on foraging and waggle dancing through a thorough inspection. BTW I didn't say any posts had been deleted

 

[Tremyfro]

Different bees do different things I guess.
I have bees that cover the whole front of the hive if I take one frame out. Others don't bother with me and carry on foraging and waggle dancing through a thorough inspection. BTW I didn't say any posts had been deleted

I know you didnt say any posts were deleted but JBM did...so I was answering him...ha ha.
I have just seen a post on FB showing baby dragons...they are reintroducing them to Wales.....so anyone with a cave on their land better be careful!

 

[Beecarer]

This fella gives a good review of the flow hive

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp5H5g2fKXk

 

[Hivemaker.]

This fella gives a good...

... insight into the behavior of a moron.