hi all
sorry to be asking yet another question. i have the flow hive hybrid in pine. the hive is painted as per instructions.
ive had the hive out for about a week now and have noticed that the corners of the brood box have started to warp and its looking like the joints are going to come apart.
we have had a lot of rain in the uk so i can only assume water has got in somewhere.
can i ask if i buy a normal langstroth brood box will it be the same dimensions as the flow hive one?
ill be honest ive had a few issues with the flow hive build quality so ideally would not be looking to order another flow one
kev
Close enough to work fine. It may be about 1/4" (6mm) different, but as long as you centre the boxes over each other, the bees don’t care at all.
cheers for the quick reply.
im probably being a bit over critical as im sure the bees dont notice the slight warping. ill see how it fares over next few months but will probably get a spare brood box…just seems handy to have one
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Make sure to vent the roof so they can control the humidity. There is a thread in here about it.Inner cover & Roof ventilation
I have a 1 inch hole on front and 2 in the back. Screened off. Then pull the plug on the lid and screen it off too. I just used aluminum window screen.
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Hi Kev, I have first hand experience with pine not liking water. Early last year I inspected a pine flow hive that had been painted. The crown board got wet via the leaky roof I guess, it was already showing signs of dry rot after only one year of use. I try to encourage anyone that will listen to treat pine bee boxes with copper naphthenate before painting.
The only people who have taken notice in recent years are 2 of my adult children 
The roof won’t fit kev. You saw mine. I have a UK brood box. They are thicker.
With your super ontop for feeding just now you won’t have an issue its winter time.
Did you glue and screw the boxes bud?
Pic shows uk brood box on bottom. Roof fits cause its over the flow boxes.
Buy an 8 frame langstroth roof and use during winter.
I have the same issue with the flow hive at work you have. I’m swapping out the brood box on Friday to fix it.
Hi @kev1744 - if you believe your problem is a fault of Flow’s, e.g. it arrived damaged, please contact the customer support team to check if you’re covered by warranty at info@honeyflow.com. We would also love to see photos and the team would love to be able to help you.
But also keep in mind that timber when kept in its natural state (not treated with chemicals) is subject to warping so it helps for the beekeeper to manage the timber in their specific weather conditions. I recommend asking what other local beekeepers do to protect their hives, pine (araucaria) is a typical timber for hive boxes.
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hi bianca,
to be honest whilst im not completely satisfied with the general build quality of the pine flowhives ( ive had a few issues with it) on this occasion i cant say the brood box is a fault of flow .
the box was glued and screwed, then painted with multiple coats of exterior paint. but unfortunately water still managed to get in the joints
its not a big deal as i count it as a lesson learnt and in the future ill just buy standard boxes here in the uk and use flow just for the frames.
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hi dean
yeah as i mentioned to you before. the build quality of flow timberware just seems a bit hit and miss.think i will gradually change over to uk bought boxes and roofs as seem cheaper so when something goes wrong i can just swap out.
Try not to use this forum for quality issues bud. Contact flows customer service direct.
This forum is for beekeeping related topics.
Flows team are brilliant at helping with quality issues.
Not true Jeff, some of your forum children have taken notice also.
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