Searched a bit on the forum but couldn’t find something that matched this.
This weekend I tried draining my frames but got a very weak flow. When I took the lid off the hive I discovered the top of my frames had cracked. Is this common or just general wear and tear of the flow frames? Have I done something incorrectly? I’ve had my frames since the initial Indiegogo
Thanks for any help!
Oh no, that’s a bad surprise! Wire tension and/or very cold temps would be my guess, but I’m tagging @Freebee2 and @Bianca from the Flow team so you can get their input.
Hello and welcome to the Flow forum!
Did you by any chance leave the frames out in the sun? Direct UV exposure degrades the Flow frame plastic, making it brittle. If not, I am sure that @Freebee2 or @Bianca will have some ideas for you
Like they always say, 1 beek + 1 beek = 3 opinions 
No, they have been in box since I got them. I live in Los Angeles, have a problem with heat more than cold
That is odd, because the wires look like they have propolis on them. For me, it takes a whole season to look like that. Here are some frames that have been on my hives for 3 seasons (but I take them off the hive and store them from July to March), for comparison:
I am in San Diego, so potentially I have even more heat and UV than you. If you have your original order number, you could send it with the photos to info@honeyflow.com. Otherwise, I am sure that our Flow employee moderators will step in and help out.
Sorry Im not being clear! What I get for multitasking and trying to work at the same time. They have been in use since I got them, they haven’t been outside the deep box. They haven’t been exposed directly to the elements
For 5-6 years those frames look spotless. Have you cleaned them in a dishwasher?
I had this happen to a few of my first flow hive frames after only using once.
Not to your extent. That’s crazy mad.
After 5-6 years I’d put it down to wear and tear. They are plastic after all.
Propolis is a bugger. I use 2 keys now as opening them with one key seemed to be increasing the risk of rupture.
Ha, no I haven’t put them in the dishwasher, is that an option 
?
I had two seasons where the bees absconded which might explain why they look somewhat cleanish after 5-6 years.
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Please let me reassure you that this is certainly not normal and definitely should not happen. It’s actually quite shocking to see.
Any cracking like this is usually caused by excessive exposure to UV radiation or irradiation treatment that is used for hive disease management (AFB).
We’d like to quickly rectify this issue for you and enforce our product warranty terms. Can you please email our support team at info@honeyflow.com as the first step?
Thank you! Bianca, Flow Team.
Thank you Bianca! I’ll send a mail shortly
