Honey Leaking around coreflute

To explain further the the honey seemed to have excaped internally not at
the flow tube insert

This manifold can be easily pulled apart to allow me to harvest of as many frames as I wish at the same time, it just pushes together in any combination. With the adaption of one fitting it can also be assembled to feed directly down into a bucket instead of as seen in the picture with two outlets facing out. The frames still have to be opened gradually to prevent any overflow but that makes no difference to as it is now.

Cheers
Bruce

1 Like

Stu I thank everyone but I am a bit anxious. First I thank this forum :slight_smile: you information is great much needed and appreciated. I do have to say researching issues is not really what I have time to do always. I do love reading threads but not the best at following the story. Anyway to get a concise step by step approach to AVOID this honey leak as that really defeats the purpose of this system. I did not bargain for the very equipment I purchased to have so much fine tuning. None of which I saw in my manual so this forum is essential… Can Flow compile directions to contain what the members have said. Pictures are helpful. All I know is proper positioning of hive then flow frames tight in the box. Flow Hive what is the manufacturer way to operate the opening of the hive step by step. Considering the issue the product has had any way to address concisely? How tight the wires and now I am glad I have not added my super yet. I see opening one at a time. I see the lip on the plastic tube. I am not understanding " opening a little at a time" as I have not opened yet and have no idea really how it works it has not been added yet to my hive. It just seems several have had a leaking problem and I am not sure if I would have the same when time comes. Design issue or as I say user error :slight_smile: .

Is anyone else seeing an issue with the ordering in this thread? It appears to have older messages below newer ones at the bottom. Is this two discussion threads merged?

We have a simple step-by-step procedure which we have provided in our FAQs section - https://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/p/22?tag=23 - Harvesting honey -
https://www.honeyflow.com/media/docs/Flow_Hive_Harvest_Checklist_12052016.pdf

https://www.honeyflow.com/resources/harvesting-checklist/p/197
Please have a look at this, and the video that is at the bottom of that link.
Leaking is not normaly an issue for most Flow Frame users.

This is from the link:

When you are ready to harvest honey from your Flow™ Hive, have a look at the harvesting checklist below:

Wear a suitable protective bee suit to minimise stings.
Bees sting, some people have allergic reactions. Bees can sting through a bee suit so bee prepared and know your first aid.

Ensure that the hive has a slope towards your honey outlets.
The whole hive should have a 2.5 to 5 degree slope toward your honey outlets. You can check this with a spirit level app on your phone, or simply make sure it is visually obvious that it has a good slope towards where your jars will be placed.

Slide the baseboard corflute slider into the closed (top slot) position.
The corflute slider is the plastic slider in the baseboard. It has two positions. For harvesting make sure it is in the top position. This will keep any dribbles of honey that may occur within the hive for the bees to re-use. If you have a solid bottom board, ignore this step.

Ensure that each frame you are harvesting is ready and that the bees have capped the cells.
Look in the end frame view, if the cells are mostly full and capped with wax then it’s a good indication the honey is ready for harvest.

Are the collection tubes pointing the right way?
The little tongue on the end of the tube goes into the frame and blocks the honey leak back point. If the tube is the wrong way around honey may flow into the hive.

Do you have enough jars?
Each Flow™ Frame can hold up to 2.3 L /3.2 kg, (2.4qt) of honey. If you are harvesting for the first time, it may be a good idea to start with one or two frames first to make sure everything is setup right.

Have covers for your jars ready
Place a cover over your jar to keep out bees or other contaminants. Some netting, kitchen cling wrap, cloth etc. can be used to cover the open honey jars while harvesting.

TIP: The Flow™ key may be hard to turn

To make it easier you can insert the tool part way and turn, then insert further and turn again.

2 Likes

yes they are merged. We do this, when there are threads talking about the same issue. It’s to stop clutter in the forum.

1 Like

I don’t understand purchasing something & then not taking the time to fully understand how it works. There has been so much information provided throughout the forum & by Flow themselves, pictures, written , video. You have to do some work on this yourself too…

4 Likes

Well I surely appreciate. I started to see several having problems and I am pleased that these are not common problems. I was thinking they were. I did read about the tool insertion in relation to it being difficult to turn. I did not remember anything about leaking. Thank again for you time and the video.

Well I am actually doing that. Studying and reading and learning about issues. I did not remember reading anywhere that hives may leak or pour honey out the bottom. Some only have bees I have multiple projects and I feel that query within a group of knowledgeable people is actually not only working on it but networking and sharing. If my questions are out of line then no reason to be on this forum.

It’s not a problem. There’s lots to learn, and there’s lots of information everywhere.
I guess it’s sometimes a bit hard just trying to find all the answers and where to find them.
That’s what the forum is here for, to ask questions, and get directed in the right direction :slight_smile:

The easiest way to see if someone else has asked/posted about the same topic is to do a search up in the top right hand corner of the forum.

2 Likes

I see many areas that are issues some have had most important it is good to know they were not typical. For example many had issues with mis cut pieces. I did not so I read thread but was not a concern but it was an issue with many. When I saw the leaking in hives of knowledgeable people I thought I was missing something. Thanks for the feedback. I did not want honey and dogs and bees and an ant mess if I was missing something in the directions I read. I am a nurse I guess it is called preventative query. Plus you all were asking for input for the brochure what more that questions coming form a new bee. Really thanks.

Again not a problem. Good reminder for me to go through those manual suggestions and put them in some order for updating the manual.

2 Likes

Not suggesting that you were ‘out of line’. And yes the forums great place for learning. Most people on here I would suggest have more than Beekeeping that they are involved with day to day.

I was very taken back by your statement and that others agree with you. Would like to just enjoy the sharing of information by the awesome group on this forum. Do not need attitude, it aggravates the bees. Peace Out

1 Like

I am having the same problem. On two previous occasions I have had Honey leaking from the bottom of the brood box when harvesting. Today I removed two flow frames from my flow hive to find out where the honey leakage was coming from. The leakage I observed (from both frames) is same as And_rew has captured in the pictures in this thread. It would seem that the honey is bursting from the caps of the cells. In my case it was began quite high up on the frame. It is high summer here in northern NSW so the honey flows well and the wax is possibly soft. but the real issue is how to manage this problem?

I would like to know what the flow team suggest because all I can come up with is to remove each frame and harvest over a tub in the shed?

1 Like

I had leaks in my first season and not in my second. I think others have commented on getting leaks during the first harvest and then not in future harvests. I suspect this must be related to wax hardening over time helping to increase the strength of the wax capping connection to the frames.

The other difference I’ve made is that I lift the front of the hive about 40mm (piece of wood under the front) when I harvest, and I can now harvest in half frame increments without any leaks (haven’t tried a whole frame yet but intend to at next harvest).

3 Likes

I harvested one flow frame and got no leaks at all.
I open each section of cell slowly. I put the open/close tool in about 50mm (2") and waited about 3 or 4 minutes, opened another section of about 50mm and waited 3 or 4 minutes. Perhaps 8 separate sections were opened. I looked at the honey flowing from the channel to the tube and didn’t open any more sections until there was a small air gap there. That ensured the pipe was not full enough to back up honey in the channel.

The other thing I noticed was there was no abnormal activity in front of the hive. I fact there were perhaps 2 dozen at most bees washboarding.
Compared with Yesterday when the whole front of the hive was covered in multi layers of bees bearding most of the day.

There was a small amount of honey in the channel a couple of hours after I had finished the harvest but it was gone by midday next day.
As an aside the bees are now refilling the frame I drained with honey.
Go Girls.

Edit: The hive slope was set exactly by the base boards built in slope. I did not increase the slope at all.

1 Like

Are the wires that hold frame together tight?

1 Like