Lifting a full flow-frame box

Hi there, this is my first post to the forum. I have an almost full flow-frame box and it is too heavy for me to lift to inspect my brood box and super below it. Has anyone come up with ingenious solutions for this problem?
Robin

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Not ingenious, but it works… :blush: I always keep spare empty beekeeping equipment, so this is very easy for me to do:

  1. Put a flat hive roof upside down next to the hive I am inspecting.
  2. Put a crown board/inner cover inside the flat roof (helps to maintain bee space for what comes next)
  3. Put an empty brood box on top of the crown board.
  4. Lift 3 or 4 frames out of the hive, and put them into the empty brood box.
  5. Lift the now half-empty box off the hive, rest it on top of the box of frames you removed and inspect the brood.
  6. Reverse the steps to reassemble the hive.

Sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. It is a great excuse for having extra equipment around (if you need an excuse! :smile:) The full brood boxes are too heavy for me to lift too, and I use double brood boxes, so I have to use this method all the time.

Hope that helps.

Oh, and welcome to the forum! :wink:

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I would be pithy and short but I’m required to use 20 characters…

Harvest…

5 Likes

Hi @Robin_Banks,
I understand.
When harvesting isn’t an option and you want to lift the box.
I would go to the local motor parts shop and buy an engine lifter. They can be hydraulic or pulley style but if you securely(and I do mean securely) attach a strap or ropes to your hives and lift and rotate or wheel the box to where you want it. Worth a look and may spark more ideas for you to perhaps have permanent lifting points.
I have been known to use a stap to the FEL of the tractor but that is an over kill.
Just don’t break the back they come in handy as you grow older.

Hi Robin, the answer to your question maybe in this video we made a few months ago.


You can see how I remove some of the honey filled frames & stand them on their end, resting on the back of the hive stand until I’m ready to reassemble the hive. The beauty of doing this was that we were able to inspect the frames in order to determine if the honey was ready to harvest or not.

Take 2 @Robin_Banks.
You could convert to the Long Hive. I don’t have any experience with them but there is plenty about them on this forum. Just search Long Hive.
Bushy actually mentions long hives on his web site as a way to overcome heavy frames and boxs.

Edit:
In here Long Hive Long Hive? you will find this:
https://forum.honeyflow.com/uploads/short-url/7KJia00apxTcrzWngF6BZGGAfWm.JPG

Good One Michael ! You beat me to it :smile::ok_hand: