Leveling Flow Super in Rainy Conditions

Flow Hive
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Hi, I live in Washington State where we are noted for rain, especially in the winter months! I am adding my 7 frame Super Flow to my existing deep brood 10 frame boxes. Living in the NW I have my all my hives leveled towards the front of the hive to keep the rain from entering the hive. However to use the the Super Flow I will have to re-level my hive towards the rear. It’s looking like my only option is to re-level my hive during the summer and then re-level in the fall which is somewhat inconvenient. Have others had this problem?

Also I noticed the bottom board sold from HoneyFlow is built for the hive to be leveled towards the rear. Since I ordered the Super Flow I don’t have this bottom board. But I’m wondering with those who do have this bottom board and live in an area where rain is common, if there is any concern of the rain entering the hive?

Thanks for any responses! Mike

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Won’t any rain that runs in will just run out the screened bottom?

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Not too inconvenient, surely? Just a couple of wooden wedges at the back when the flow frames come off

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@Harlyluv You’ll only need to change the tilt toward the rear when you harvest. The rest of the time you may maintain the status quo.

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Some of my bottoms are solid, not the screen type. I’ve been experimenting with the bottoms. This year my one hive with the solid bottom is doing soooo much better than the two screened ones I have. But that might be because of the queen for that hive…she’s seems like a queen on steroids! But in the winter I switched all three to solid bottoms to help with the cold. And I would think even with the screened bottoms you wouldn’t want water in there for moisture is a big issue in the winter. Thanks!

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Yeah it’s not enough inconvenience to stop me from checking it out! I just thought it different to see hives setup like that. Do you have one of the bottoms from honeyflow or do you have a standard bottom? Thanks!

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A bottom from honeyflow. I had to make sure my hivestand was level so that the built-in slope stayed true.

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Hi Mike,
I have a customized Flow super for a 10 frame Langstroth hive, I recently switched the hive bottom from a solid board to a screen bottom board for this very reason, also did it in an attempt to reduce small hive beetles. Saying that, I lean the hive backwards to harvest with a piece of timber under the front of the hive, its a minor inconvenience when harvesting.

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Thanks Roderick
I’m going to build a small “bee shed”. One where the walls can can open up for summer time and close them in the winter time to help protect them from the winds and freezing temps. It’s going to have a roof over it so now I won’t have to worry about the rain getting into the hive by keeping the hives tilted backwards. I recently saw a friend who had a bee shed and it works great. I protects them from the hot summer days and the wintry weather. Hopefully moisture won’t be a concern for me next winter!!

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Love the sound of a Bee House especially if you are in a cold climate area. Make sure you post some photos, as I would really like to see this in action.

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Here’s my variation of a bee house, its very sterile, with concrete floor steel frame and surrounded by shed wall and fence, but I’m sure the bees aren’t concerned about aesthetics so much as where the nectar is!

Winter isn’t an issue here, we’d be lucky to get a week of temps below 20 deg C, but my concern was heavy tropical downpours and cyclonic winds.

The cover is actually shade cloth, so the wind and rain still goes through but only as a mist so the bees aren’t getting hammered and I can drop the sides if necessary. The cloth doesn’t go any lower than the entrance. :slight_smile: