there is no right or wrong- you can do both- and we have. We just decided in our conditions we prefer not to for the reasons I mentioned. Our frames become quite blackened and the bees don’t store any new honey over winter. We do leave an ideal of standard frames on instead as the winter feed.
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That makes sense Jack. It is quite dry and airy here, so maybe that’s why mine didn’t get mouldy.
I think the key is, as you mentioned, that if taking off the super over winter, it is good to have an extra box on top with reserves.
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Do you guys that take off the Flow supers in winter do some sort of maintenance on them? Take apart and rebuild them, or thoroughly clean them?
Sorry for going off topic @JaneBee hopefully this is still relevant for you too.
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hey Skeggley… I hope these two statements of yours are not related hey 
Are you sure you are harvesting when the honey is really capped?
Read this:
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No. But if my refractometer says <18% all capped or not, it’s all good.
I know and have seen what Rusty is writing about and understand your concern however there’s more to it.
The crystal seeds being heavier sink so it’s expected to start at the bottom of the container which is why, when creaming honey, it needs to be stirred.
This is a Dec17 jar, sealed. Poured at 17%wc. Although the liquid at the top may have a higher %wc, the whole jar still only contains 17%wc and is therefore unlikely to ferment. Unsealed, different story as it would draw in moisture from the surrounding air.
This jar was solid last winter but has liquified with the warm summer temps.
I always like to harvest the Fframes on a warm/hot day for this reason. Erm, which gives me a consistent harvest…
I have, however, had honey ferment on me before though thanks to JAOM.
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we drain the frames- if they are largely uncapped we do that off the hive and put a tray under them to catch any drips. Last season I froze the unripe nectar and then fed it back to bees this spring. We don’t do too much in the way of cleaning- just soak the frames in warm/hot water and then let them air dry before storing them away. A few times with frames with mold we have soaked them in water and napisan and then blasted them with a high pressure hose. This half cleans them- and then the bees tend to clean them up afterwards.
If I get a chance- I may decide to leave one super on one hive over winter- but only if I can make a quilt box to go on top. I want to see if that will reduce the issue with moisture and mold.
one point about the mold: it is much worse on frames with uncapped or empty cells. If the frame is capped that tends to protect it from mold. Also if bees are left in an empty flow super for a long period they tend to start putting propolis into the cells and around the frame.
I am guessing anywhere where the bees use the frames a lot- places with good all year round flows- in those places leaving it on permanently makes mre sense.
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Thanks for the good points Jack, nice to get reminders about stuff like Napisan.
Here on the Sunshine Coast I leave the supers on over Winter, both Flow and conventional, as there is often a worthwhile flow.
Mold isn’t that big an issue here but the reason might be that I go overboard in good ventilation of the hives. Climate wise I would think it would be a bigger issue here than in Adelaide. Severe drought here for the first 1/2 of Summer and heaps of rain in the last 1/2 including a record breaking over 215mm in one day, it all actually fell in a six hour period. It was so dark that street lights turned on mid morning.
Cheers
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Thanks Jack for your detailed reply.
I have a home made top feeder box (modified crown board, with sides), it has vent holes similar to a migratory lid, and I place burlap sacks inside. I guess that makes it a quilt box. I don’t have any issues with mould or condensation - but then it is low humidity around here to begin with.
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Interesting skeggley. I was going to buy a refractometer but then I said to my self, if I extract and honey has to much water, I can’t put back can I, so I just rely on capping.
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I helped a commercial beekeeper in Sydney harvest honey last month- and she harvested many frames that were only partially capped. Oftentimes you can simply look at a frame and see that the uncapped honey is in fact ripe- or unripe. If you shake the frame you get an even better idea- none falls out and very likely it is under %18. I also harvest regular frames when they are not completely capped- and the other day my brother harvested some incomplete flow frames and saw no leaking from the uncapped cells and the honey was very thick and ripe.
you can get caught out waiting for bees to cap frames- and then they never do. I say if it is ripe: harvest it!.
again- ripeness and capping vary from climate to climate. Doug from Canada on this forum said that he harvest frames that are only 1/4 capped I believe. Also some times the bees leave sections of perfectly ripe honey uncapped as I believe they are going to them and eating the honey. I’ve also heard of capped frames where the honey is actually unripe!
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Very interesting Jack. I always thought that harvesting uncapped honey was a big no-no…
I’m just a backyard operator in no rush, so will keep on waiting until all is capped. It always served me well. If I miss a harvest, I have less to offload, so it’s not the end of the world for me. Maybe I’ll be less stressed next time if a few cells are uncapped 
Many thanks for the info.
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