Thanks flow team and everyone concerned, I can’t explain the excitement when my order went from ordered to queued, I was checking my account every day desperately willing it to change to shipped it seemed to be taking for ever then one day there was a courier knocking at the door so I signed for my “unexpected” delivery and went out, you’ve guessed it, when I got home and opened it I couldn’t believe it it had arrived I was overcome with excitement. I received my Flowhive at the beginning of March very close to the estimated delivery date of February (ordered 15th July 2015) very well packaged and arrived with no damage. I have since built her and must say I’m very happy and wow the tung oil has transformed it from an already good looking bee hive to a palace fit for a queen (see what I did there lol).
So thank you again Cedar and your whole team I am glad I stumbled across your crowd funding campaign and was able to help in such a small way, may your business go from strength to strength as the only thing that came come from this is a fantastic increase in bees and bee keepers.
P.S. have you any idea how long after the Flowhive arrives I can expect my flow frames? I’m in the UK.
Very nice post, and great photos. So now you have a Flow hive (Langstroth 8-frame), a WBC hive and is the third one a Warre? Are you going to put the Flow hive on a stand of some sort? The Langstroth frames are pretty heavy when full, and bending down low to inspect them is hard on the lower back. I am in the middle of painting some breeze (concrete/cinder) blocks to raise my hive up by 16 inches.
As Adam says, my frames were about 3 weeks behind the wood parts. @MartinB just posted a very helpful message explaining that a large European shipment of Flow frames is going out in the next week or two, so hopefully you will get them this month.
Thanks Dawn, I am very much a beginner the only hive in use is the WBC but I’ve had a very stressful winter being left in the lurch and not knowing how to winterize my colony but I think we have pulled through. I thought the other was an NBC my wife got it from a colleague from work who’s husband received it as a leaving present but never took up bee keeping.
Yes my apiary is going to be raised above ground about 12 inches or higher (work in progress)
Late Flow-frames shouldn’t be an issue ! Most of the Northern Hemisphere (especially US) use double deep broods so there’s plenty of wiggle room I would guess.
Times may have changed since we left the UK, but when I was keeping my WBC hives, we only used one brood box. What do you do now, @Dee and @Horsehillhoney? I am asking, because @Dave_Fendley is in the UK, so probably follows local methods.
I’m on 14x12 poly as I hate more than one brood box.
That size suits the sort of bees I keep and enables them to store all they need for winter in one box.
I have B S national polys…but they always end up on double brood…which is too heavy and a pain to keep splitting the brood on inspections. I have one poly 14x12 hive which I like. I am in the process of changing over to Beehaus…which are 14x12 frames and they are long hives…working at waist height. They take 20 frames…so I can expand the brood nest sideways with no lifting required. I can put half size supers on top which hold 5 frames or i can let the bees store the honey next to the brood nest. There are lots of hives to choose from…I went to see other peoples setups before I decided. Although the Beehaus takes 14x12 frames…you can use the BS national standard brood frame…the bees just build some drone brood at the bottom of the frames…or you could fit a false floor to raise it to the right distance from the frames.
Yip! Guessing each region has different ideas about amount of brood box needs. Our local region used doubles when i was a teen years ago (55 years). My mentor n others still seem to do that here in Puget Sound (Eastside where I live). Go with the locals use n try to get a mentor even if it is only part time. Gerald
Dont let waiting for the flow frames stop you, @Dave_Fendley! you probably wont need the super right away. Let the nuc or package or whatever you are doing to get the bees installed filling up the brood box first.
Thanks to the advice you’ve all given me, I have now ordered a 3lb bee package with a Buckfast queen from BS Honey bees available late April so the waiting begins again and guess what? My frames turned up today yay!
Oh yeah what happens about feeding when package arrives? Do I feed? My feeder does not fit under the roof but I could move the crown board down to the brood box put the feeder on that then put the empty super on top over the feeder, would that work?
Bee Package will come with syrup feeder - the bees will need to build comb so unless you have a brilliant Spring flow you will need to feed 1:1 Sugar syrup so they have the energy to make wax
A good way to feed is to put a rapid feeder in an empty super as you suggest. The flow frames won’t be going in until you have a good strong hive. I presume you are collecting from Cheltenham so BS is fairly local to you? Ring Dan and ask him about feeding. They are really helpful and will probably give you much more pertinent instructions than us on here. Good luck. I love my Buckies
Thanks dee as I said in an earlier post I am very much a beginner who’s been left in the lurch somewhat I kind of figured out about the feeder above the super but thought I’d better ask the experts, I have a rapid feeder just got to modify my crown board.I’ve joined my local bee association but so far I’ve been meet with mostly negative responses like “you want to steer well clear of those” and “we get to much rape for those” ?? and “oh why did you use BS honey bees?” err because nobody offered me any advise, but I’m sure I’ll win them around once they see it for themselves.
BS honeybees aren’t that local to me (5hr round trip but hay ho) it was Dan I place my order with after reading a recommendation on here about them and he was very helpful and was more positive about my Flowhive
