I just assembled my first Flow hive. I am in North east Pennsylvania and I will be running two deep brood boxes, then the flow super.
My question is where to drill the 1/4 inch hole for the pro-vap tool (my mentor owns). I’m thinking centered lower third of the bottom brood box, between the frames. This is also my first time keeping bees. Thanks
I drilled mine pretty low in the middle of the back of the box. The problem turned out to be that I needed to block the hole so the bees wouldn’t propolized it. So I ended up using a threaded bushing and screwing it into the hole I drilled and then occluding the hole in the bushing with a screw (just slipped in, not screwed into the bushing).
That was all a lot of work. Probably just easier to mostly block the entrance and then vap through the entrance before sealing it off completely for 10 minutes. (Paper) towels work fine for that.
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I was going to use a golf tee to seal the hole.
Thanks.
Also consider that the hot provap tube will change the hole over time… the bees will fill the gap between the golf tee and the hole with propolis too… anyway, whatever works for you! Good luck.
Good that you have a mite plan in the works.
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Thanks. I hope I don’t need it, but better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Hi Joe, congrats on the Flow hive from a fellow Keystone stater 
! You will definitely need that mite plan, if that’s what you were hoping not to. Varroa (& other pests) are a given, unfortunately, but not impossible to manage. Good luck getting your hive populated & keep us posted!
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Thanks, yup PA weather is great. 8 inches of 45 MPH blowing snow and still coming down. After drilling the 1/4 inch hole I found the golf tee was small, so I made this plug with a 1/4 wooden dowel.
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Hopefully you will be able to pull that out after the inside has been propolized. Might consider a 1/4” screw so if it get stuck you can turn it out.
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