I haven’t ordered a flow hive. I will just watch and wait to see if it works and keep an open mind.
A common criticism is that this “gizmo” is being taken up by folk who think that is all there is to getting honey without realising that you have to bee a beekeeper as well. The Flow is just an extraction mechanism.
No. Seriously? I have to keep bees to get honey? Someone should have told me.
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There is a world of difference between keeping bees and being a beekeeper as I’m sure you know. I’m not criticising anybody, just saying how it appears. There was a question yesterday about whether it was necessary to do anything at all to the brood box.
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Whomever asked that question was seeking knowledge, so bye-bye criticism.
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I suspect that’s urban legend, DextersShed, and indicative of how Flow is already shaping the market and bee culture. So someone is going to go to the bother of buying a Flow, and only use it for a year, with rented bees? LOL! Colour me skeptical. Nice try. 
I think what is really more important here is that the product has gotten a lot of people who never dreamed of having a hive to start getting interested in it, and start wanting to do it.
Any time there is a fad/craze there will be some people who jump on with no knowledge and no desire to learn. They will spend the money and get into it just to get out of it soon after. I think back to the 90’s in the US when snowboarding took off and skyrocketed for a few years only to settle out and stabilize after hundreds of snowboards and boots went onto craigslist and ebay…
Still I think what is important here is that thousands of beekeepers will be born from this “gizmo” that likely never would have taken the plunge, I’m one of them. Will some of them die off after a cooling off period, of course that is the way of the world.
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Honestly my family and I have been talking it over for a while, but the extraction process is what we were waiting to get setup before we started to get hives going, so with the Flow Hive it was obvious we now have a simpler extraction method and can start the process of further research and learning.
I figure it will take plenty of my free time, but I think it will be greatly worth it.
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That is why we have this community forum. We hope to help educate everyone about the in’s and out’s of keeping bees, or beeing a bee keeper 
Depending on your terminology 
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Or beehavers… any other terms we want to gooi out there?
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I am learning so much and wish I had even more time to read more! Working on connection with some current/past beekeepers in my area right now. I figure some one-on-one or hands one will be invaluable.
Thank you guys so much for these forums and I really look forward to updates about the Product!
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Have seen some very negative posts from US people on bee groups I have joined. Mostly this relates to the wasted cost of Flow-frames should they become "infected"
There seems to be no contrary support on the labor-saving of using Flow-hive technology.
Surely infections are just a US problem(esp with mites), and if properly cleaned, Flow-frames could be re-used.
Unlike wood frames that would need to get burned, Flow Frames are plastic - the two options we are looking at are irradiation and chemical treatments.
We will have detailed instructions on how to sterilise your frames for American foul brood in the manual that will be provided with the frames.
We have a lot of small hive beetle in our area. We have designed the frames with beetles in mind.
Beetles cannot get into the honey trough or movement mechanism. Unlike other plastic frames we have made sure there isn’t any beetle homes.
We have lost one Flow™ Hive to the hive beetles. The Flow™ Frames weren’t damaged but they did need a clean using a hot water hose, hot enough to melt beeswax.
The best place to check for updates on pests and disease management is in this area - http://forum.honeyflow.com/c/pests-and-diseases
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Just a thought.
An imaginary line has been drawn in the sand by the Flow Hive marketers by making claims like, “it’s better for the bees”, “no expensive equipment to buy”, "it’s better than the old ways. This line has been drawn before from Warre Hive beekeepers, Top Bar beekeepers, etc. by claiming their ways are better for the bees. Who cares about the method in which you harvest your honey or the shape of the box, just do your best to care for the bees.
I’m sure the Flow Hive marketing team could have done it without the line in the sand.
I’m not “pro flow” or “pro conventional”, I just love beekeeping. Don’t draw lines that will separate beekeepers/potential beekeepers.
I see new Flow Hive videos that are trying to smooth the line over but the damage has been done.
I am in th e US and Varroa only lives in drone brood. You probably know that. So there is no logical reason for the mites to show up in a honey super. The Flow frames would not be placed in a brood box unless the beekeeper is new and doesn’t know what they are doing. Hence, all the advice throughout this forum for people to join local bee clubs, get hands on experience, and start with bees NOW before the Flow products arrive.
I intend to place the Flow Light (3 frames) in a super with a queen excluder below it. Queen excluders are wonderful tools IF they are monitored correctly. I know there is some pros and cons in the internet. But if common sense prevails there is no issue with using excluders. I hope these observations help you when the negative criticisms pop up in the other forum groups you are in.
Not so.
Varroa infests both worker and drone brood. The significant point is that more mature mites are produced in a drone cell because it is bigger, more mites can get in, and sealed for longer, more eggs can be laid and taken to maturity, than a worker cell.
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@Red_Hot_Chilipepper There are people who are prepared to take umbrage at anything, some people even specialise in it and will rule a line in the sand where there is none.
Personally I think Top Bar hives are better for bees (maybe even the best for bees) than Langs, as well as being better for me. This is why I chose Top Bar Hives (until now).
And the response to Flow proves that tens of thousands do care about how honey is harvested, while this forum shows that people are wanting to do their best to care for the bees.
I only have 40 colonies right now both top bar and lang. I plan to add some Warre type hives and a few Flow frames for educating my 4-H kids about all types of beekeeping and harvesting practices.
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I think every method has it’s strengths and weaknesses. The flow hive is a brilliant solution to make harvesting honey much easier in most cases. Hopefully this system will just add to the various methods of beekeeping and people can choose what best suits their needs. I quite like the idea of top bar hives, cheap, fairly natural and simple, I’m sure if I was a bee I’d like them. But probably the biggest factor in how happy your bees are, is how good the beekeeper is, rather than the hive type. We never intended to draw a line in the sand, but I suppose some of the videos could be taken that way.
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