Feedback for our Manual

Just like to second Rodderick re ordering of parts, hive & Flow frame (eg. screened bottom board)

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In the instructions for modifying a normal box for the flow frames, you should mention that the wood needs to be taken off where the metal strip comes in. My father just put a strip underneath, resulting in a gap between brood box and super.
(Sorry if I just missed that part, but I don’t remember reading it)

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Having watched many people on youtube struggling to crank the entire frame at once, I would encourage the users to expect to do it in stages. Insert the crank a little ways and turn. Insert a little more and turn. etc. Don’t even try to do it all at once…

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Page 11 - Cleaning and Frame Maintenance

  1. How to clean propolis off frames for winter storage.
    After miscalculating when to put the flow frames on and then growing concern when only seeing propolis going in, decided to remove and clean for storage and try again next spring. Couldn’t find information on how to remove propolis. Didn’t know if it would cause problems later if left on frames in storage. Ended up soaking and scrubbing with a toothbrush in less than 70ºC/158ºF hot water. (found temp on website under FAQ sterilization). The warmer the water, the easier it came off. Never heated the water with frames in pot. Later joined this forum and freezing was mentioned and wondering if propolis would then brush off. I spent days cleaning my frames and not looking forward to repeating the labor intensive task. If there is an easier way to remove propolis, I would greatly appreciate it being mentioned.

  2. Adding directions where to find the “Flow™ Frame Complete Re-Assembly” video (website > RESOURCES, FORUM & COMMUNITY > Assembly & Modifications) would be very helpful.

  3. How tight does the wire need to be twisted? My frames originally had 6 twists, but I could only get 4 or 5 twists when reassembling. Do the twists need to be equal on both ends?


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Hiya @Faroe, I recently purchased flow lights in cedar and the instructions seemed to be out dated. Some of the modifications for when modifying an existing box were included in the instructions which could be confusing. No big deal for me however you have asked for feedback. Ask and Ye shall receive. :wink:
I was more disappointed that the box(es) were 6mm shorter than the founding F/H and my other standard boxes.
Great to see you guys are still trying to improve. Your’re doing us Aussies proud, keep up the good work.

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Don’t. Leave it alone. It is the instincts of the bees to reinforce the corners and to polish the insides of cells with propolis. You can’t stop them and removing it just makes more work for them.

“Propolis rarely creates problems for a beekeeper. Certainly any effort to keep a hive free of it by systematic and frequent scraping, is time wasted.” --The How-To-Do-It book of Beekeeping, Richard Taylor

“Some beekeepers dismantle every hive and scrape every frame, which is pointless as the bees soon glue everything back the way it was.” --The How-To-Do-It book of Beekeeping, Richard Taylor

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I agree, I’d like to be able to order that angled bottom of the hive separately so that I can convert my non-flow hives to flow hives.

And your frames, your brood boxes, and bottom boards as separate items that we can buy individually. Including those pieces of wood that go into the groove of the frames that the bees start building comb on.

And, also please re-include instructions for building the frames in the new brood box. When I received my additional brood box, I completely forgot where all the nails go to make the frames.

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This is a very good point

It has been demonstrated that rolling beeswax and/or spraying sugar water on the Flow frames would assist in attracting the bees to use it. We have observed the same problem with bees not filling up the flow hive.

Therefore, it would be useful to have this suggestion (waxing or sugaring) included in the assembly instructions, so this could be done at the outset.

Too late for my hive.

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  • Carefully check all flow frames before installation. Ensure the wires at the top are tight, and look over the rows of cells to ensure they are all in the closed position. If some wires are loose see our faq about adjusting your flow frame wires.You may encounter some rows of cells that are not fully closed. Use the key on all sides of the slot to close the frames- working the key several times if necessary.

  • when harvesting honey: you can crack open the frames in increments to make turning the key easier. Also if you wait 5 minutes between increments you can reduce the likelihood of any honey leaking out of the bottom of the frames into your brood box. This reduces the volume and pressure of the honey coming out of the frames stopping it from ‘backing up’ and decreasing the possibility of a leak. This is especially important if any part of the frame is not fully capped, or if the honey is particularly thin.

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Given the result seen here, I would suggest a recommendation to drain no more than 2 or 3 frames per day:
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/post-flow-hive-harvest/8061?u=dawn_sd

I also strongly agree with the idea from @Michael_Bush and @Semaphore that each frame should be opened in ~20% increments, so that the back pressure of honey doesn’t flood the hive.

I would also like to see more emphasis on considering a double or triple brood box, if that is usual in your area. A lot of new beekeepers seem to think that the Flow hive can magically manage with just one box, and I am very fearful that in the northern US, Canada and Europe, that will result in massive colony losses this coming winter. People don’t read enough, but at least if it is in the manual that bees need sufficient winter stores, you have tried to educate them that the hive is a new method for harvesting, but not a new method for beekeeping.

Thanks for your efforts, and thank you for listening to user feedback.

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Denatured alchohol worked for me. Propolis is alchohol soluble. it has the extra advantage of leaving the frames smelling of propolis after it dries, so the bees are less likely to reject it.

In my personal opinion, if you are going to apply a treatment to the external surfaces of the hive (which everyone should) then make sure it is applied into the dovetail joints prior to assembly. This ensures that moisture cannot penetrate the end grain through capillary effect.

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I also would agree with the 20% at a time, for back pressure reasons. Additionally, could suggest packaging the 20% differently as well if someone so desired for reasons I mentioned in my video and post, moisture content being possibly different if it’s not fully capped. Also as Cedar has indicated with each frame difference I’m sure the 20% will also hold true with a different taste of seasons or flowers.

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My main reason for cracking it a little at a time is simple logistics of the action. It takes too much force to do them all at once. But you may be right about back-pressure as well.

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I’m pretty much certain about the pressure issue- had leaks and have seen leaks and the resultant bearding in many flow videos. Its especially important with loose wires, uncapped cells, improperly closed cell rows

If you are not rushed for time it’s no big deal.

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This really should be in the manual too. Seems to be happening pretty often… :flushed:

http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/resetting-the-flow-frame-position/8104?u=dawn_sd

Fantastic improvement, I just Assembled my new flow frame classic this morning, it arrived yesterday evening. It took six days only:-) from time I ordered it to the time I received. Everything came together two separate boxes but it only arrived on the same day.

Packaging has been greatly improved as well each set the screws are separated broodbox screws, Flow frame screws, Roof screws.

And this time since I understood a bit more I was able too easily reverse/switch the side of the View window. I have a carving knife so I carved out where the metal strip goes in on the opposite side and everything went together smoothly I’ve plan on doing a little video just showing the set up now. I also predrilled two additional holes where they would have been on the other side. And now that I’ve got the second box/Hi it’s a very good thing that I didn’t switch the view window on the other box. The setup will be much nicer with the two a few windows at opposite sides from each other this will make more sense when I post a video or photos.

Don’t know if the instructions have been revised, regardless this time since it’s my second box a lot of the instructions made more sense and it flowed together much easier.

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I also got another hat/veil and I was not expecting this. I now have my spare key :slight_smile: since I have a second full flow classic

Waiting on my 3rd box to come in from beekeeping that I’ll have all the new stuff dipped in wax. The original hive is still holding up quite well. Not sure how long painting last or hold up, but right now I’m not seeing any wear and tear, a little dirty I want to get out there with a scrub brush and clean it all and I’m sure the bees would not bee’s would not too happy with that :slight_smile:

Thanks for all your feedback :slight_smile: I have passed it on to the manual update team. If you think of anything else for the assembly or instruction manual - feel free to post below.

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