I was showing off a HF frame to a friend when I noticed some of the cells were not aligning properly. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that one of the segments was installed backwards. Checked the rest and this was the only one I found so hopefully a rare occurrence but I recommend everyone check. Easiest way to spot it is to put the frame in the open cell position and look at the bottom to make sure all the “church pews” are facing the same direction (see arrow in the pic below pointing to the wrong-facing segment). Easy fix - just disassemble as shown in the band tightening video and flip it over.
Thanks for this! I have one too! But I wasn’t as clever as you and didn’t figure out what was up!
I wonder what would happen if you didn’t fix it, bees being bees, they’d probably still fill it up.
Could this be what caused some flow hives leaking honey into the hive when they harvest?
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Ahhh, that’s a good question. That could be a possibility. Others might be better qualified to answer that question. There’s 2 frames like that on this thread, I wonder how many more there are that aren’t getting spotted. Even with my new glasses, I wouldn’t have spotted that.
I couldn’t tell if the cells were flush to the out side or I they were offset. Did the two opposing cells look the same as the other cells?
I also noticed that my frames don’t have the church pew as yours does. Maybe I have a different version of the frames.?
Okay, I checked the frame in the open position(I had it in the closed position). Yes, I do have the pews. However, I am still a little concerned with the offset and the extra work the bees will bee doing up until they get to the capping off. I would expect that there would be a little more tear-up of the comb and the cap causing some alarm to the bees.
Any thoughts?
Great pickup Larry, there is every chance that the bees will just leave this cell and not fill it with honey. Though I don’t think this has been tested.
My understanding is that the offset is deliberate. It helps the cappings sheet stay intact, trapping the honey behind it when you turn the key. That way the honey flows down into your collection tube, and not through the cappings back into the hive. Stroke of genius really! 
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I am not an expert by any measure, but filling the offset is still less work than making the whole thing from scratch. I expect the quality control bees ensure all gaps are filled before putting anything in it.
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They all look offset to me. Like they are in the “draining” position. None of them look aligned. Bees will fill all the gaps, yes.
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I thought he was talking about the comb surface - the way it is wavy. Apologies if he actually meant that the cells look open - they are open. If the mechanism is set to the closed position, this may be another one of those upside factory mistake mechanisms.
I don’t know, but if he is talking about the surface, of course, that is intentional.
Larry, I was looking at your picture and noticed some of the comb looked incomplete. Can you take a look and see if the circled part is strange or if it’s just the camera angle?
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Oh my, good eye! I think that needs to go to @Cedar, via @Faroe or info@honeyflow.com if necessary. Looks like a possible moulding defect. Looks like there is another one the same at the far bottom right of the photo too.
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Thank you. I saw those also, but if the bees are going to fill in that area, I thought there wouldn’t bee an issue. That is not a structural part of the comb as far as I can tell.
I have noted it and I will send an email to Flow to let them know that if I have a problem when I look to get my first batch of honey I will ask for some replacement pieces. It is what we in the molding business call a ‘short shot’.
Thanks again to everyone for their input.
We deal with silicon products and get a bad pour occasionally. I suspect that in this case the bees will be filling in the other blanks and just fill in these little blanks also. The bees won’t know the difference ; -)
Looking it over I don’t think it will cause any leaking issues or harvest problems, The one out of order piece I had I flipped and don’t expect it to cause any problems.
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I’m pretty sure it’s just an illusion from the light. Look closer and you’ll see the part that looks missing is there.
Yes I see the part is there but the symmetry looks wrong. There are 3 bits which appear out of step. The ones before and the ones after seem to be in tune. Mind you the light and camera angles can play tricks.
Five of my six frames have some of those edges missing. When I have a chance, I am going to do a concentration diagram of the location of them all to see if there is a definitive pattern. It does look like they are all concentrated down along that bottom area. A few thing, if there is not enough pressure to push the plastic to the far end of the mold, this short shot could happen. Second, if the mold is not hot enough in that location, the plastic could be solidifying before full pack out due to the mold being cool in that area. Usually there are small heaters inserted into certain areas where they know they need extra heat. Third, there could be some garbage left in the mold that is preventing the new material from forming in these areas. Usually, a spray lubricant is applied as a slip coat to help with the removal of the part prior to each molding sequence. They maybe a little short in spraying that area which would mean some tips may break off and be left behind.
Anyway, I am on the road for a few days and I will do the diagram when I get back.
The molding supplier should post my picture at the molding station for the operators. They can then check at some regular interval for this issue.
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