Hello there! My wife and I are starting our first hive and have quite a conundrum. I assembled the brood frames according to the instructions on the flow hive video on the website, but I installed the comb guide with wood glue not realizing that it would prevent us from installing the wax coated foundation that we want to use so that we can help minimize the risks of cross comb. Is there a way to safely and effectively still use the foundation or are we stuck using the empty frames? I see that there are several benefits to foundation less frames but I don’t want to risk breakage or cross comb. Money is short as is time since our bees will arrive in 3 days. I am kicking myself for not checking into the comb guide details more and just blindly following the video as it looks so easy to install the foundation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
When helping Flow owners, I just break them off using a pair of pliers, that’s if they don’t come out in one piece. Then I’ll cut the rest off with a sharp knife, so that the top bar is flush. I don’t worry about wax foundation fitting into the slot when it’s blocked with wood.
I don’t use plastic foundation, so therefore I haven’t adopted a strategy for when the slot is full. Maybe you can trim the plastic foundation back so that it fits, then use thin nails down from the top, one on each side in 3 or 4 places, so as to position the foundation until the bees wax it to the wood.
Having foundationless frames doesn’t mean you are going to get wonky comb. I wouldn’t sweat it and if you do, just scrape it back to what you want. Same for breakage, you’ll alway handle frames with care, it’s unlikely once they are fully formed. Plastic foundation isn’t great as bees don’t really like them I’ve found. Just go with what you’ve got and enjoy the bees.
Don’t put the flow hive on till the brood box is packed solid with bees.
I’m just a beginner myself, but I do think for wax foundation people use wired frames most of the time anyway? The wire is then heated with a small power source so the foundation melts onto them.
How would you mount the wax foundation into the slot anyway?
I don’t think you can say what most people do most of the time in bee keeping. There are plenty of people who do every possible thing, including frame configurations.
Wax foundation can be very gently eased into place if there is a groove at the top and bottom. It’s far easier to put it in while building it. I personally have moved from just a top bar and no foundation to wired only. I have a supply of wax foundation frames if I want to help the bees along. I still have 50% of my frames without wire foundation and they’re doing just fine.
I’d suggest go with what you’ve got and experiment as you move ahead.