Using Flow Super with Apimaye Brood Box

There was a separate post about this, but not much action. Hoping someone can vouch for using a Flow Super on an Apimaye Brood Box… Any issues with the top cover?

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There was some info on the thermosolar hives on this thread:

I think it’s the same product?

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Thanks Faroe for the link. Not quite the same - I’m looking at the Apimaye primarily due to their plastic insulated hives (and they’re established. Seems like the indiegogo supporters are having trouble getting their Thermosolar hives :grimacing:

Here’s the link to the Apimaye hives: https://apimaye-usa.com/shop/

As nobody seems to have much experience with this system, could I suggest addressing it from the other way around? You could ask Apimaye directly if their boxes are compatible with 8 or 10-frame Langstroth boxes. That should be very simple for them to answer. The 6 frame Flow super is the same size as a standard 8-frame Langstroth deep, while the 7-frame super is a 10-frame Lang size.

I would not use the Apimaye roof on a flow super, it would get in the way of the Flow mechanism and knobs on the Flow key cover. However, you could put a standard inner cover on top of the flow super, and then a 2"-deep “mountain feeder”, if the Apimaye lid is also Langstroth compatible.

I think Apimaye would be happy to answer your questions. I would, if I ran that company, and it looks like a nice product, so i am sure they care about their (potential) customers.

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The apimaye hive boxes and lid are langstroth compatible. I have these hives and love them. I do not know if the lid would be an issue, though. I know of someone else who’s looking for info about this. I will update if she is able to find anything out.

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I don’t have bees yet, but I can confirm that the flow super fits on top of the apimaye boxes just fine. However, from what I recall, I did make one minor modification so that the apimaye top cover and feeder would sit well – I removed the top half inch or so of some thin strip of wood near the top inside of the flow super, simply by prying at it with a screwdriver. I don’t quite remember why that was necessary, but it was easy. Another minor thing is that the front top piece of wood on the flow super, that you remove in order to insert the key, cannot be removed when the apimaye top cover is on because it hangs down a bit. But that’s no big deal because the top feeder will keep the bees contained even when the top cover is removed.

Fwiw, both products seem high quality, but I don’t have any “real” experience with them yet, so take this with a grain of salt. Hope it helps.

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I was looking for posts on the Apimaye here, and found this one, so I thought I would dive in, even though it’s an old conversation.

It is impossible to modify the Apimaye supers to accommodate Flow Frame, without ruining them at least. With that said, you can easily place a standard 10 (7 Flows) frame super onto the Apimaye hive.

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Hi Tripp,

If they have the same dimensions you could put the Flow Super on top of an Apimaye hive.
I think it may be hard to modify their boxes with a saw to fit the Flow Frames.
You could ask them if you can saw through them?
Here are our free modification instructions:
https://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/all/modifying-a-langstroth-box-for-flow-frames/p/143#a1

The other option is putting the Flow Frames inside of their Super, but you would need to remove the Flow Frames for the honey extraction.
It is possible but could make the harvesting more difficult outside of the hive, as when they are inside the Super all together, it prevents the Flow Frames from bending too much side to side.

You can also just get a Flow Hive, and apply insulation around the hive, if that is what you are concerned about? Insulating the hive?

Let me know if you decide to experiment with them or need more information :slight_smile:
:honeybee:

Thanks. I’m good though. You went into more detail than I did, but what I was suggesting is what you said. Take a standard 10 frame box, and modify it to accommodate Flow frames.

Insofar as putting 7 Flow frames inside the Apimaye super and pulling them out to extract, I haven’t tried it, but I suspect they may not quite fit. The Apimaye boxes seem to be made SLIGHTLY under length for standard Langstroth frames. This is quite annoying actually. I mean, the bees will propolize frames in a standard box, and make them fit slightly wrong, but with the Apimaye box already being slightly too short (forwards and backwards, not in actual height), the plastic Flow frames are probably not something I would want to shave a millimeter off of to make them fit correctly.

I have both Flow frames, and an Apimaye 10 frame hive, I will try and see if the frames fit into the box, just so I can give a definitive answer to the question.

Insofar as insulating either a Flow Hive, or standard hives, up to Apimaye standards, I don’t mean to sound like an Apimaye salesman, because I’m not, but I’ll say that the Apimaye is just an incredible system. The only failing I see in it is the lack of an 8 frame version. 10 Frame supers are just heavy! I am wanting to get one (or more) of their 7 frame nucs, which can be split to have 2 3 frame sides. The trays, ventilation, pollen catching, entrances, and feeding mechanisms on these hives are just amazing! And at ~$200 for a full hive, which includes the feeders, excluders, and everything, I don’t think they are expensive at all. If they come out with an 8 framer, then I daresay I’ll go all-in and switch over completely, except for my Flow supers! Well, and my top bars, and long hives, so maybe not “all-in.”

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Hello, can I ask if anyone has put a flow hive on top of Apimaye 7 frame super? if so what model and size flow fits best?
Thank you
Dean Terry

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Come spring I will be putting a Flow Super onto a 10-Frame Apimaye Brood Box.

I did a late summer split of one of my standard flow hives for a test project as I was intrigued by the claims being made about these hives.

I have been looking at my Apimaye 10-frame Super and it should be possible to make a new back out of timber to fit the Flow Frames to the Apimaye Super. The Apimaye brood boxes appear to clip together and as such, it is just a simple matter of unclipping the back panel and installing a hand-carved timber panel that fits the Flow Frames and allows them to be harvested without removal.

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I did an inspection on my Apimaye 10-frame today and took some pictures to show how the Flow Hive Super and Apimaye fit together. There is no need to modify the Flow Super to fit an Apimaye Brood Box.

The location of the hive.

Lid off the brood box

Flow Super in Place

A good fit

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I wonder how well the roof would fit on top. Will you be using an Apimaye inner cover or a Flow? You may just need to prop up the lid a bit to get the Flow key in :slight_smile:

The Apimaye hive lid fits over the Flow Super very well with the mating faces making good contact.

There is a fair bit of overlap between the timber and the plastic lid, which is to be expected due to the different thicknesses of the boxes. This gap could cause problems in windy areas, although the lid is relatively heavy and locking clips are not overly expensive to buy and install onto the Flow Super.

The key slot is partly covered however the rear inspection latch is free to rotate due to the overlap.

If people want to use the Apimaye lid which is best if using the Apimaye internal feeders I would recommend that a crown board (inner cover) be installed between the Flow Frames and the Apimaye lid to lift everything up.

I haven’t done the measurements but if one crown board isn’t enough, use two to ensure the bee space rules are not compromised and to prevent extra comb from being built in the gap between the Flow Frames and the lid.

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Hello, how is the Apimaye and Flow Hive working together?
This is the set up I have, but wasp are able to crawl in the hive.

Please let me know if you have made modifications to anything.
I have apimaye brood box, apimaye super and my flow frames in super. Apimaye lid on. Seems the flow frames taller in super.
I will pull my flow frames to harvest.
Thank you

The Apimaye brood and Flow hive super work well together. The Flow frames do not fit properly in an Apimaye super as the flow frames are larger at the rear to allow the key to be inserted. This difference in size would potentially result in a gap at the back allowing infiltration of the super.

Please send me photos of how you have the flow frames fitted.

I know at least one of the Australian Apimaye retailers has been pushing for a Flow Frame compatible Apimaye super, hopefully it will be sooner rather than later. I personally would very much like to have Apimaye Flow Super’s in my apiary.

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