One of my trough caps broke so I need to get it out plus purchase a new one. Cannot find on internet. Anyone else have similar problem?
Thank you
The caps are available from the Flow Hive Shop, last time I drained a hive the caps I thought were placed on the flat roof, as in a migratory lid, and when I had finished I couldnât find them. So I ordered six of them as soon as I got home. They eventually turned up in my washing machine. 
As for removing the broken cap you could Super Glue or quick setting epoxy a nut in place held with tape for the couple of minutes till it sets and twist the nut till it breaks free.
A tip, I spray painted my end caps bright yellow to make them easier to see if one happened to fall onto the grass.
While you are waiting for a new cap to arrive in the post you can just tape over the end of the trough and the bees can still lap up any left overs at the slot.
A big welcome to the forum, lots of reading and folks happy to give advice here.
Cheers
2 Likes
Great idea Pete, too many times Iâve been chicken picking the ground looking for the one that got awayâŚ
2 Likes
Thank you, for some reason I could not pull them up putting in honey trough cap.
Any good way to get out the one that broke. Thinking I may need to glue something on and then pull?
Cynthia Lebowitz
AKTestKits@aol.com
970 201-7406
Peter,
Thank you so much. There is a learning curve but not as big as it could be.
One problem I had after a wet winter was an infestation of ants around the trough caps. I cleaned the area, applied some natural chrysanthemum ant kill and it took 2 tries but I think it is OK except I know I have bees under the roof with lots of honeycomb and there could be ants there. Not sure what to do about that.
A friend helped me take off the roof and take the comb that was stuck to the top but the other part is too close to al the bees. May have to call in a pro 
Cynthia Lebowitz
AKTestKits@aol.com
970 201-7406
A light twisting and pull the cap out away from the trough, there is no âpulling them up involvedâ, You are asking about the round disc at the bottom of the frame, but if you are asking about the cap which you remove to put the key in it simply pulls out away from the hive with no twisting.
I have explained about gluing a nut on so you can grip it with pliers to remove the cap.
If you are having comb being built in the roof maybe you needed to extract the honey sooner so that the flow frames can be cleaned up by the bees and the Flow Frames be used sooner.
The other possible is that the colony is so strong and so much nectar coming in that the colony just got into their heads that they wanted more comb for honey storage.
I look for comb being built in the roof as one of the signs for swarming so it might be worth looking for capped queen cells and if you find them, usually several, then you might still have time to do a split and taking the queen and leaving the queen cells in the hive. If you donât want an extra hive it would be very saleable.
If you take your time you could do it yourself, just do it slow and smooth and if the bees get a bit hot give them a few puffs of smoke.
Bee keeping is a learning curve for life, the more you know the more there is to learn about. 
Cheers
Peter,
Thank you for all this good information. Living in HI I probably need to extract honey more often as I could have a very strong colony. The original owner left a 2nd unbuilt hive and I will look into putting that together soon.
Thank you. Lots of food for thought.
Cynthia
If the glue doesnât work, or if you want to try something different, you could try screwing a 1 inch sharp screw into the plastic cap. You can then grab the screw with a pair of pliers and pull the cap out.
Here is the link for buying a new cap:
1 Like
Be careful with that stuff. It contains pyrethrins which are toxic to bees too. 
Your climate is great for bees foraging year round, much like mine. The drawback in bee keeping in our climates is that even with a ventilated bee suit on it can get really hot so remember dehydration can be an issue for you.
Maybe Dawn doesnât know that you can buy the cap on itâs own so you are not paying extra for pieces you donât need, they will sell you a single one if that is what you want as well.
Cheers
A spray of cooking oil over the trough caps will stop the ants interest in that area. It wonât kill the ants so maybe keep an eye for a new location they will try.
I have had good success for years in tracking the ants and applying ant dust to the entrance to the nest to kill it out. They are a problem if they arenât controlled in some way, seems the little ones are the worst.
Cheers
Great idea. Like you I âlostâ 3 caps and within days of receiving the new ones, the lost ones were found sitting in a hard to see place.
1 Like
Good on you Wilfred, Funny as we get older the more we find things have grown legs and move themselves.
The Wattle is in heavy bloom over here after the mildest Winter on record, just hope we get some rain this Spring and Summer and not a long hot one like last year that was Australia wide.
Cheers mate
1 Like
Thank you everyone. Looking forward to spray painting my caps and using super glue to get them out when broke
When I remove caps I now either put them on the back of the hive that I have removed OR in a small bucket of soapy water i have to clean up spills.
Cynthia
Cynthia Lebowitz
AKTestKits@aol.com
970 201-7406
I have 1" plastic tubing from the extraction tube down to holes in the lid of a bucket so that the bees canât get into the honey and do 3 frames at a time, I leave it all hooked up and draining over night so that the chamber is really well drained and no risk of bees drowning in the bucket.
Good luck with the super glue and nut. at least you will have a flat surface to get a good grip on it. Just twist it a bit first then pull it away.
Amazing how easy it is to see a painted cap if it fall onto the grass, when they arenât painted they just disappear like magic. Just a light dusting of fast drying paint and then there is one less hassle with a Flow Hive.
Cheers
Dawn, Thank you for the advice on chrysanthemum. Will keep it to a bare minimum.
Cynthia Lebowitz
AKTestKits@aol.com
970 201-7406
Thanks for the idea of how to get the honey into the jar without getting bees and ants into the honey as well.
Cynthia Lebowitz
AKTestKits@aol.com
970 201-7406
Explaining further, I drain three frames into a 5 gallon bucket with a clip lid that has the holes for the tubes. It is left draining overnight, then in the morning I close the frame cells so the bees can re-seal them and begin storing more honey. While the flow frames are draining I can do other work on my Langstroth hives, Iâm a bit over watching honey drain into a glass jar.
I guess you have read else where about opening each frame in sections to prevent the risk of having a major spill of honey into the hive.
A spray of cooking oil and ants wonât walk on it, if you can find the nest then hit it with ant dust, my bees have not shown interest in ant dust, just donât put it near the entrance so they donât carry it into the hive.
Cheers
spare parts on the flow hive site sells them.
1 Like