Good luck with that business enterprise. There is a few people selling flow honey. I think they’re getting good money for it. It wont take long to get your money back & start showing a profit.
When the flow hive first got launched, a local radio announcer made a comment that honey prices should drop because of all of the beekeepers finding it so easy to extract it. I don’t think that that has happened yet.
ha! profit? well … would be nice, not exactly anticipating that anytime soon, but ya never know
and yeah, doubt the flow frame’s supposed ease of extraction is going to even make a dent in the overall honey market – don’t expect to see the flow hive used commercially other than a novelty. but time will tell I suppose…
May I ask do your places selling Kiawe seeds? I would like to plant some of these.
Regards
Timothy Winarto
I don’t know of anyone selling kiawe seeds. The trees grow wild on our island. They do well in tropical climates.
Ok thanks for your reply. Are possible to get some seed from the wild?
Thank you
What about harvesting uncapped honey which could ferment?
When it’s on supers you can put it in a. Room and dehydrate it. When it’s direct from
Flow frames, you don’t know if you’re taking uncapped honey which could then ferment?
That is why I always inspect the frames before harvesting. I also use a refractometer on every batch to make sure the water content is low enough for shelf stability. Less than 18.6% water is fine.
Question: How can you NOT know if you are extracting uncapped honey? Don’t you bother to check?
Do you actually have a hive of bees or are you thinking about getting a hive and wanting advice?
Cheers
Hello Flanjet. I am also from the Highveld in South Africa. I would appreciate hearing about your experience with the Flowhive in our region - did you scale up to commercial use successfully?
Much appreciated, k
Hi Mainrevolt, I just now found this forum and read with interest your post (24012021) I was wondering about becoming a small commercial beekeeper in Darwin. I am interested to know how your beekeeping is going where you are located. I am 57 and considering a career change to raise bees and produce honey.
Based on the topic post count, I’m thinking this product isn’t for commercial beekeeping.
I do think us sideliners with 50 hives or so could make it work. All I do is set my hives in different permanent yards and collect honey to sell. The drawback is the price of the frames:
@Doug1 might have a very useful opinion about this, given the lengths he has gone to maximize the benefits of Flow frames in his kind of “sideliner” operation. Doug used to be fully commercial. He still has a lot of bees, to my mind. He is still fully professional, and always will be to my mind, even if he only had 2 hives 
I was toying with the idea of having 50 flow hives, but I believe the maintenance issues could be a big problem. The cost could be cut somewhat by buying frames only and modifying standard boxes. But from what I read here flow frames last 3-5 years before they require cleaning. And to clean 350 frames takes a lot of time. Also, there is no data about the long-term longevity of flow frames. Will they last long enough to become profitable?
There is an advantage to using flow frames too. Honey has less contact with the air during the harvesting process and retains taste and flavour better. But again, does it outweighs the initial outlay and maintenance issues even for a sideliner.
My thought is for a hobbyist with few hives, flow is hard to beat. For those who expect some profit, less so. I am waiting eagerly for what @Doug1 is going to say about his setup 15-25 years later 
Doug has already indicated that he is thinking of retiring his flow frames every 5 years.
Last week I sold 2 colonies to a couple starting out with bees.They are both very keen & eager to learn.
He is starting off with a flow hive & has been on the forum.
She is starting off with a traditional hive.
I wont mention any names unless one of them chimes in & volunteers the information.
I think the colony in the flow hive was the strongest, so it may get off to a better start.
It will be interesting to watch the progress, if they decide to share it.
cheers
Well, we can play with some numbers too. If this document is any indication of bulk prices in that part of the World, one needs to produce roughly 220-250 pounds of honey to cover the cost of one set of flow frames (7 pieces) only. Less if one sells honey to retailers.