I have had great success using flow frames and love using them. However, I just did a harvest and checked the frames afterward, as one flowed very slowly, and most of the frames still had a good amount of honey that had not drained. It is quite hot here today, so temperature is not an issue. How do I remove that honey from the flow frame at the end of the summer (in the NE of the US, so it’s a very short season)?
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The only explanation I can think of is that the remainder of the honey has crystallized. This happened to me last year with a former client’s Flow frames.
Other Flow users have commented that the frames work well for a few years, before gumming up with wax & propolis, so therefore they don’t work as well. One Forum member talked about retiring his frames every 5 years, which I imagine would be a costly exercise.
Getting back to my experience last year: The Flow frames continued draining honey for 24 hours, while outside of the hive. I’m thinking that you could let the frames drain for a similar time, while making sure the drain back gaps are clear, so that the bees can lap it up.
Thanks for the response, Jeff.
I scraped a couple of cells, and the honey is not crystallized.
I may do another harvest at the end of the summer and will take them then and try draining them outside the hive.
Can I put them in the dishwasher to clear out the wax, or is that too harsh?
May I ask how long you left the Flow frames open? When I have had very viscous honey, it can take 4 hours or more to drain each frame fully.
To remove the remaining honey at the end of the season, you can leave the drained super on the hive for about 3 days and then take it off. The bees should clean it up. If they don’t, just lift it up, leave the queen excluder in place, and then put the inner cover on top of the queen excluder. Put the Flow super on tope of that to give the bees the idea that the super is now outside the hive. They should move any remaining honey down into the brood nest. Take it off after a week.
Do not put the flow frames in your dishwasher. The melted wax will ruin the dishwasher, as one forum member’s wife discovered. She was NOT amused! 
Either soak in tap hot water, or jet wash from about 2 feet away, so that you don’t damage the plastic.
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Dear Dawn,
Thank you for the response.
I let them drain for about 30-45 min, but it was very hot out, so the honey was really flowing. Four of the frames emptied quite quickly, but the other two were very slow and, when I checked, had not emptied.
Thanks for the heads up about not putting the frames in the dishwasher- I would have been very unhappy.
Pat
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Heat doesn’t increase the flow of viscous honey enough to empty a frame in 45 mins. You would need at least 2 hours, maybe more. I am in SoCal, so have watched what heat does. Yes, it helps, but when you have really low water content honey (a very good thing!) you just have to wait for it to ooze its way out 
Glad I helped you save your dishwasher. Beeswax is very hard to remove from household surfaces. I suppose that is why it is used in furniture polish! 
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I’ve had frames that have taken longer than 4 hours to drain.
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