The quality of the design and material are above average.
The product was packaged nicely.
The device has lots of little design nuances that show a lot of research and development went into it (i.e. downward sloped cells, non-planer cell surface, etc.).
Bad
The tension on the piano wire of 3 of the 6 of the frames is too loose. Those frames are very loosely holding themselves together and I can tell if I am not careful with them, they will fall apart.
2 of the 6 plugs do not fit snugly into the flow frames and they had fallen out during shipping.
The literature that comes with the frames indicates I should have received “Free Gift Bee Veil Hat”. I did not receive the hat. (see photo below)
The process of turning the crank to open and close the frames seems to put a lot of stress on the two exterior clear plastic portions of the frames. My guess is that as the plastic becomes brittle over time, the plastic is going to crack while turning the crank.
Hrm… I don’t remember receiving one with the hive kit. I need to clean my shop, maybe there is one in there and it got misplaced in the mess. Did the veil have a Flow emblem on it?
At one point the hats were going in the frame packages, and then it switched to the woodenware package. I wonder if yours was missed during the transition. I’d check with info@honeyflow.com!
It definitely was not in the box I received today. I meticulously opened everything and flattened the boxes.
That is probably what happened considering the shipping problems and time between receiving the hive kit versus the frames (4 months). I’ll triple check my shop and if I don’t find it, I’ll email info@honeyflow.com.
With regard to the piano wire tensioning issues. I already fixed mine, that was pretty easy (2 minutes per frame). My guess is that the flow team is having problems with the piano wire stretching during transit to the customer, like new guitar strings stretch quite a bit at first. Maybe they can pre-stretch the wire or use wire that doesn’t stretch. I am sure a good materials engineer could find a product that would fix the problem, have a similar cost, and perform properly. If its a manufacturing process issue, this sort of thing should be caught during quality control.
@lhengst I had to tighten my frames up, each one of them. I found that 5 twist are about perfect. Its actually pretty easy and I would highly recommend getting it done. Just don’t do what i did and accidentally have the flow frame come apart when showing my wife how lose it was
My Bee Vail Hat was missing as well. I also double checked but definitely did not receive one. Not that big of a deal. I am happy all the other parts where of perfect quality! But to have a flow bee vail hat would be nice nevertheless.
I think wire adjustment is going to be part of managing the Flows. In the event of slimeout or whatever and the need to clean and disinfect the frames, being able to dissemble them will be an advantage.
If you get a thixotropic batch of honey on the frames and don’t catch it in time and it sets then disassembly may be the best way to get it out.
For folks adapting Flows to hive designs other than the standard Lang, that wire will have to go on and off and even be replaced with a smaller loop to change the size of the frames.
All sorts of reasons to learn how to do the wire removal and install.
One of the things I fully expect to see a bit down the road is the ability to order replacement parts. I know I am going to loose the plugs and caps. And having tightened up the wire on one of my frames I am pretty sure I will at some point need new wires. Prying them in and out puts a lot of torque on them, I just know I will tighten them too much and pop the swage.
I am painting mine with bright red nail polish as I read your message! Also, the key cap and flow tube plug have a sort of loop built in. I think I might tie them together with some dental floss, then hang them from the hive when harvesting.
Agreed. Even still, wire that doesn’t loosen over time would be better. Having a less elastic wire would not impede anyone from disassembling/reassembling/shortening their frame.
OK, here is my first attempt at making tubes more visible. I only have 5, because one emigrated en route to me. Probably has political asylum somewhere. Anyhow, here are the ones I have modified so far:
).
Also, the key cap and flow tube plug have a sort of loop built in. I think I might tie them together with some dental floss, then hang them from the hive when harvesting.