Hi Peter, Interesting about ventilation, I was putting the final touches to the roof today and one of the things that I did notice was the lack of ventilation in the roof space. I will also look at the entrance. Thanks for your advice very much appreciated.
Steve
Your mother, or maybe your grandmother has vents in her kitchen cupboards but they are no longer in fashion but are still sold in hardware shops. find the oldest guy in the store and he will know what your asking for. Buy a spur bit for your power drill, I think it is 35mm in size and fit one vent to each end and it works great.
Flow Hives is like anything else mass produces, it is made for the average conditions. That isnāt knocking them, it is just reality. Iām a bit of a fiddler and not shy about trying something to improve my bee keeping and the health of my hives.
Adding roof vents was one of my better thoughts. 
but I have had some doozies too.
Cheers mate
Back to @reebee about the original query, @chau06 pointed out you DO seem to have a double deep setup, rather than a single deep and Flow super. I think so too, but please let us know if weāre wrong. Going with my assumption, your nicely packed hive is doing great and has a good chance of winter survival, good for you! A little cleanup, cover the roof hole with mesh, and study your next steps for fall & winter prep 
I remember them as a kid, the local hardware has them for just over $3.00. My job for tomorrow. They will certainly fix the ventilation problem.
Hi reebee,
Not overcrowded just a hole you need to plug in your croen board.
FlowHive2 should come with the wooden plug for the crown board to avoid what your experiencing.
Enjoy the honey comb though 
Thanks for your help. I do have a QX, I will include a more current picture so you can see the whole set-up. Will d definitely place the screen over the inner cover hole. Do you ever use the insert that came with the Flow Hive that fits in the inner cover?
By āinsertā do you mean the wooden plug that fits in the hole of the inner cover? If that is it then I fitted metal fly screen over the hole held down with duct tape to increase ventilation through the hive and added a vent in each end of the roof above the Flow logo. Heat is a big issue in my climate. Cheers
Yes, Peter, thatās what I was talking about. I think we will use it this winter
It is best to visually check both sides of the Flow Frames before extracting so that you know the frame is at least 80% capped so your honey wonāt ferment and be ruined. Sure there will be bees in the super but it is the only way to be sure about what you will be draining. I donāt regard what I see in the window as reliable enough, it is good for entertainment to see the bees working.
Cheers
You might have an increase of moisture in the hive with the plug in but in your climate I would fit the plug also. A very different climate to what I have, mid Winter here I wear jeans instead of shorts for six weeks when it can get down to 60F.
Thanks Stevo Good information, close to home also! 
Reebee donāt worry, you can pull just one out and a helper can push the others to the side and look down in to see each side. You might even be able to see enough by just partly lifting each one up.
Welcome to the forum. Plenty of Perth people here. Thereās a thread too:
https://forum.honeyflow.com/t/perth-wa-au-flowhives-and-honey-flow/
For what itās worth, my local bee ware supplier sells hives with full vented tops:
https://www.beeequipmentaustralia.com.au/product/10-frame-base-boards-10-frame-roofs-bee-hive-beekeepers/
Perth had relatively mild winters and we can get away with this. I run a similar setup but with solid bottom board. My colony has dealt with this setup without any issues - through winter and summer.
The bees will build and propolise structures as they see fit. As a bee keeper we are just OCD and try to dictate this - hence managing ābee spaceā is important.
Iām a little south of Perth but I have made some covers with screen it that I use on my hives (Vertical and Long Langs). I find that most of my hives will propolis up the mesh and not have it open at any time of year. I can remove or replace around the feeders I use or replace with a solid piece of wood.
Iām not a fan of crazy comb in roof spaces - I find it difficult to manage, messy and disruptive.
This year is the first time my local bee gear shop has stocked vented roof. A good step forward in my hot climate. I have modified my hive for a few years now and and the bees have not closed them up in my Winters and it has virtually stopped Summer breading which was a real concern. It works in my climate so might be an option in Perth but not sure about South of you. Cheers Fred
@Honeyeater posted a great picture here of bees propolising up vented lidā¦ if the bees donāt like it, they will modify itā¦ theyāve been chewing through my hive reducer at times too!
As an aside, has anyone experimented with glass or clear perspective for inner covers to aid observation without disrupting the hive atmosphere? I placed an old magnifying glass over the hole which allows me to see a little of the activity over the flow frames, any reason to enlarge it? 20210129_112435|375x500
My suggestion is to keep the hole open, which allows room for bees during a population explosion, like a relief valve. I suggest to lift the roof at least once a fortnight in order to monitor the population. That way youāll see if bees start building in the roof. Alternatively they could be just sitting up there doing nothing, waiting to swarm. If you find that, itās time to think about swarm prevention measures.
I like that idea. Although I am not sure how much it would tell you. I bought one to use in my hive also as Iāve found taking pix with the mobile phone bit laboriousā¦ especially whole wearing gloves.
