Hi,
I’m a newbie just starting out, just ordered my starter flow hive bundle, any tips would be great, and would like to know if there are any beekeepers near me.
Welcome Redhot 
to the forum and to beekeeping!
Here’s what I found when I searched ‘NSW’ - maybe someone lives near you:
https://forum.honeyflow.com/search?q=NSW
As for tips, do all the reading you can about bees & how they live, and find a buddy or mentor to help you when your bees arrive.
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……….and don’t forget to register your hive with your Department of Primary Industry. Get a hive registration number. In WA a three year license is about $79.00.
This is also important as they will send you notices if there is ever any outbreak or concerns to bee keepers.
Good luck on your journey and look after, enjoy and respect your bees.
Thank you, I have registered with NSW DPI,
I think of waiting till Spring to start my hive, but in the mean time I will paint or coat my flow hive, what do most people use for that?
What kind of flow hive do you have and what kind of wood ?
Is it Red Cedar?
If so, I coated mine on the outside (only) with Linseed and Turps. I painted my roof.
The turps allows the coating to be absorbed, otherwise it can be sticky.
I bought the starter flow hive set…
Not sure what the timber is in that particular hive but it might not be a bad idea to send an email or have a live chat with Flow personnel and I sure they’ll be able to make a recommendation.
yeah so I decided to go with the flow hive 2 plus, which is red cedar
That’s the one I’ve got. It’s great.
So still use the Linseed and turps as it soaks in nicely, is not sticky and gives a great finish. Only on the outside though.
I painted my roof a nice bright yellow, best not to use black as it’ll attract the heat in the summer and bees don’t like black anyway.
thanks for the info, i think i will do that cheers