Hi Flowhive,
Just a thought, i think you should greatly consider pre waxing all your hives when purchased, for the price you pay for your hives which is extreme then you have to go out and purchase expensive sealers and paints on top i think is a bit much.
Just my thoughts
Kind regards
wax dipping is great… sure- but in reality it is actually much harder than painting. You need to completely submerse the wood in wax boiling at around 140c for at least 10 minutes. For most people this is practically impossible. Simply rubbing or painting melted wax on the outside will not protect the hive very well at all.
Yes I know that’s why flow hive should sell them prewaxed and or sealed with options
I met a bloke who bought a fake flow hive. No matter what he did, he couldn’t get paint to stick to the wood. I since found out that some of the fake flow hives are wax dipped. That would explain why paint wouldn’t stick to it. His must have been wax dipped prior to purchase. It makes sense to sell the hives in natural timber so that owners can make up their own mind as to what finish they want.
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Wax dipped wood is just as good as weather sealing your hive so you dont have to paint it.
@amazany oh- I see I didn’t understand your original post. If flow did that- they would have to increasr the cost of their hives as wax dipping can’t be done for nothing. You need hundreds of kilos of wax. It is also a dangerous operation and must be doen with great caution. Also as jeff noted people couldn’t paint their hives. But it would be a good option for them to consider adding as an extra service perhaps. However I severely doubt it will ever happen.
i agree BTW- wax dipping is great- I built my own dipper and do it myself. I use genuine bees wax and gum rosin. A single hive can absorb as much as 1kg of wax.
that’s interesting- none of the fakes i have seen had the wax treatment. I have come across at least 5 people int he last few months with fake flow hives. It’s such a stupid gamble- the build up a colony and then super it with dodgy frames of unknown origin. I have explained to them all that I think they should consider getting rid of them- whatever saving they made at purchase time may prove to be false at harvest time… I looked at several of the frames- in all cases the gaps between the rows of cells was much larger than in genuine flow frames- and uneven- you can see light shining right through- and I have a feeling they will leak badly when harvested.
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A single hive can absorb as much as 1kg of wax.
are you joking?
thats an amazing amount of wax, holey dooley.
with the gum rosin do u harvest it urself or buy it?
It’s interesting I found information that in NZ you can take your hives to places and they do it for you and they only charge $4 that’s right a hive.
So I dont think once the initial outlay to set it up would cost consumers that much.
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I am frankly amazed anyone would do it for that price- as it takes at least 15 minutes per box- and requires a lot of wax. I use bees wax and gum rosin but all commercial people use parrafin and microcrystaline wax. Even that is not exactly dirt cheap- and each hive absorbs a fair amount. It’s also hot, dangerous and unpleasant work.
I just buy the gum rosin- it’s made from pine and is the same stuff used by rock climbers, weightlifters and in furniture making, etc. You need to add it or microcrystalline wax so that the wax is properly absored into the timber. I think the rosin also has antimicrobial qualities and makes the wood have a harder more durable finish.
I tried here in South Australia to find any commercial beekeeper who might do wax dipping - but I couldn’t. That’s why I did it myself. It is worth building a dipper if you make a lot of hives- it’s not really practical for just a hive or two.
Yes that would be great even if they charge some extra bucks.
Regards,
J. Singh