I am going to buy a flowhive in the next fortnight and am slightly (maybe more than slightly!) overwhelmed by choice.
I love the look of the hives and would prefer one ASAP now that spring is upon us, but also like the idea of new and latest bee-tech, aka the flowhive 2 (which according to web not available until Oct). This is also more expensive.
So lay it on me straight, if you were in a brand new beekeeping position, would you wait the extra few weeks for delivery or order an older model? Do you think it is worth the price premium?
I am in Canberra Aus if this makes any difference!
I’m new and have just received my two Flow 2 hives a week ago, after (from memory, which isn’t great) a four month wait.
For me, yes, worth the wait and the extra $. They are very beautiful bits of kit, this was important for me as i’m in suburbia and i wanted hives to compliment the backyards.
During the time i was waiting i did an introduction to beekeeping course and watched (and still watching) hundreds of hours of YouTube videos.
You dont need to wait until you get the hive to get your bees, buy or make at least two five frame boxes with a base and lid and order yourself a nuc.
By the time the hive arrives and is put together,oiled etc you should have enough bees to fill the brood chamber and away you go…
I wanted to assess the Flow Hive system of bee keeping in my apiary and was more about looking at the Flow Hive from a practical point of view, the expense of a ‘full’ Flow hive was too expensive so I went for a Flow Hive Super and frames and added that to what I already had, 8 frame hives. There was no modifications to be made so that saved me money.
I put the Flow Supers onto hives, my first extraction went fairly well with no issues, my second extraction 4 weeks later went with out a hick-up.
As you are new to bee keeping I would suggest do as I did, paint the hives white to keep them cool over your Summer and I would go for 2 hives, it takes very little extra time to run 2 hives than 1 and you can use one hive as a booster to a weaker hive if needed.
My bee keeping is all about the bees and not to please neighbors with the look of natural timber etc…
Regards
October is not long away from a beekeeping perspective. Let me ask you this, have you organised your purchase of bees as yet? With the drought and the demand on bees at the moment, they could be a while coming.
basically- it’s entirely up to you. From a purely financial and practical perspective there is not much difference at all between a standard hive body and the flow one. But the Flow hive is a very nice ornamental thing- and has some nice inbuilt features: like the inbuilt levels, the stand, shelf- screened bottom.
Also i think the hive itself is actually not that much more expensive than others when you take the flow frames out of the equation.
So you dn’t need it- but if you want it and can afford it- grab it. I think you’ll be very happy. I am very happy with my first generation Flow Hives. But I also like my standard hives.
