Clogged flowhive

was putting QE on my hives as ladies getting busy
noticed the flow chamber had what i assume is crystallised honey.
question… will bee sort if out, will warm weather allow a flow or should i remove the whole flowhive box and clean them all out

The bees don’t have access to the channel, so they can’t clean it up. You could leave the caps off so they could access it, but that could trigger robbing. I’d suggest taking them to the sink and clean with warm water. Take the time to check wire tension and that the mechanism works properly ready for smooth harvesting this season.

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You could see if the warmer weather liquefies the honey in there and clean it in situ or do as @aussiemike suggested and clean them in the sink before placing them in service.

A turkey baster (with some flexible tubing at the end to allow you to direct the water) and a soft bristled pipe/bottle brush of the appropriate diameter make cleaning on the hive quite easy, if that’s the route you choose. A little bit if water or honey that gets into the hive will be quickly cleaned up.

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It won’t liquify unless it is sustained at about 42°C or above for 24-48 hours. In other words, not likely. The problem with crystallized honey in frames (traditional frames too) is that it acts as a “crystallization nucleus” for fresh honey deposited in the frame. That means that the next harvest may crystallize even faster… :astonished:

I think @aussiemike’s suggestion is great and your turkey baster variation is feasible too, if you don’t want to take the super off the hive. :wink:

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I agree with Dawn_SD, we had crystalised honey in our flows 2 seasons ago and thought bees would cleanup, they didn’t, following season very poor results because frames full of crystalised honey, no flow, So we have removed frames this year but am having difficulty removing old wax, any suggestions?

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