Switching all the bees into a new hive. Can it be done?

Beekeeping - Basics
1

Hi all,
I’m still new to bee keeping and need advice on a situation.
I purchased the Classic Flow Hive two years ago, gave it a lick of paint before populating it with a health brood of bees.
Unfortunately, I was a bit naïve with how much paint I needed to protect it from the harsh tropical sun, and monsoonal conditions in the Top end of Australia!
I’m so in love with Bee keeping that I’m about to order a new Western Cedar Flow Hive 2 so I can keep two hives.
So my questions are:

  1. Can I move my entire colony into the new hive when it arrives? Then I can re-seal and paint my Flow Hive Classic before attempting my first split? (and hopefully get many more years out of it)
  2. What is the best protection I can use for my brand new Western Cedar Flow Hive to ensure that I don’t make the same mistake again? Ideally I would like to keep the natural timber finish.
    I don’t think that my Classic Flow Hive is beyond repair, its not warped or damaged, however it probably wont survive another wet season.
2

Hello and welcome!

Yes, just transfer the frames (in the same order) and place the new hive in the old hive’s location and the bees will figure out the rest.

There are a few threads on this topic but my preference is for hot wax dipping/frying.
@aussiemike is very far from you but I’m sure there are folks who are experience but also local to you who can help.

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Thank you - I’ will check out the threads as suggested, hot wax dipping sounds intriguing, I’ll look into that.

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