Flow Hive Instruction Manual
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Flow Hive Instruction Manual

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FLOW®
INSTRUCTION
MANUAL

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  • Page 1 FLOW® INSTRUCTION MANUAL...
  • Page 2 The Terms and Conditions of Sale on the Flow website of purchase, apply to the receipt and use of all Flow Products. You should read these carefully to understand your obligations and the warranty that applies to your Flow product.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    FLOW HIVE CONFIGURATIONS HOW FLOW WORKS EXTRACTING HONEY FROM A FLOW FRAME CARING FOR YOUR FLOW FRAMES ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED WHERE TO LOCATE YOUR FLOW HIVE SOURCE SOME BEES PROCESSING AND STORING YOUR HONEY MONITORING YOUR HIVE HEALTH ADDITIONAL SKILLS FOR...

  • Page 4: General Precautions

    Get Educated: If you are new to beekeeping there are a number of skills that you need to acquire in order to safely and successfully keep bees. We strongly recommend taking a beekeeping course before you put bees in your hive. We also encourage you to keep learning: take advanced courses, join your local beekeepers’...

  • Page 5: Safety Precautions

    Additional Resources: www.honeyflow.com has regularly updated educational information and is a a great place to start looking. • Search our extensive FAQs at www.honeyflow.com/faqs • Join the conversation or ask a question of fellow Flow beekeepers on forum.honeyflow.com • Follow our blog www.honeyflow.com/blog •...

  • Page 6: Components Of A Flow® Hive

    FLOW KEY ACCESS SLOT FLOW KEY ACCESS CAP AND CAP FLOW KEY FLOW KEY ACCESS COVER QUEEN EXCLUDER HONEY TUBE BROOD BOX HONEY TROUGH CAP BROOD FRAMES SHELF BRAKET OPTIONAL *Please note, if you have a Flow Hive Classic, some components may vary.
  • Page 8 This means it is not necessary to harvest every last drop from your Flow Frame. Front of hive – the side of the hive that has the bee entrance. This is a solid wall. Rear of hive – the side on most hives that is opposite to the bee entrance. This is usually where the Flow Frame’s clear end is accessible with the operation...

  • Page 9: Adjust Flow Frames To Fit Into The Flow Super

    2. Frames sit into the Flow Super as illustrated on right. Tighten or loosen the adjustment screw so that the back (window) end of the Flow Frame pushes firmly against the back wall of the hive, in this way all the frames line up to form the clear rear window.
  • Page 10 3mm ( ”). Ensure any gaps are less than 3mm WARNING: Before adding the Flow Super to your hive make sure there are no gaps >3mm.

  • Page 11: Flow Hive Configurations

    For suggestions on encouraging the bees to get working on the Flow Frames sooner, see: www.honeyflow.com/troubleshooting-bees...

  • Page 12: How Flow Works

    HOW FLOW WORKS THE FLOW FRAME CONSISTS OF PARTLY FORMED HONEYCOMB CELLS The bees complete the Then fill the cells Finally capping comb with their wax with honey the cells When the frame is full it’s ready to harvest...
  • Page 13 HONEY TUBE INSIDE THE HONEYCOMB THE CELLS HAVE NOW SPLIT AND TURNED INTO CHANNELS FOR THE HONEY TO FLOW DOWN. The bees remain undisturbed on the surface of the comb. If there does happen to be a bee down an empty cell it wont get injured as there is enough space between the comb walls.

  • Page 14: Extracting Honey From A Flow Frame

    The timing of your honey harvest will depend on local conditions and the nectar flow in your area. Your bees need honey to get them through times when there is no nectar available. Honey should only be extracted in warmer months when there is sufficient nectar flow for the bees to replenish their supplies.
  • Page 15 Flow Frames before your first few harvests. 6. Remove the covers and caps Sometimes the caps on Flow Frames can be tight fitting. You can use the end of the Flow Key to lever them off. 7. Be sure your tubes are inserted correctly The little tab on the end of the tube goes into the Flow Frame and blocks the honey leak-back gap.
  • Page 16 • Honey is hygroscopic (it attracts moisture). Do not leave your honey container open for extended periods. • Do not allow bees to eat honey outside the hive. This encourages robber activity and may spread disease. Cover your honey vessel during harvest...

  • Page 17: Caring For Your Flow Frames

    If the honey leak-back gap remains clear this works well; however, if the bees block it up some honey may remain in the honey trough after harvest.
  • Page 18 • Do not use excessive force. If something is stuck, try repeated gentle movements until it loosens. If it’s still stuck, contact us • Do not bend the Flow Frame. This may cause the frame to fall apart. In the event that your frame falls apart it can be reassembled.

  • Page 19: Additional Equipment Required

    Accredited First Aid Beekeeping Safety pamphlet. Additional Langstroth frames for Flow Hybrid packages If you have purchased the Flow Hybrid package you will need to add the four additional standard frames to completely fill your super.

  • Page 20: Where To Locate Your Flow Hive

    Situate your hive to avoid this. It’s a good idea to place your hive so that the flight path is over an area of your yard or roof which has little use.

  • Page 21: Source Some Bees

    • If you have purchased a Flow Super or Flow Frames, you can create the optimal slope for harvesting by: 1. Chocking up the hive when its time to harvest. Bees can be agitated by tilting so wear a beekeeping suit, have a smoker on hand and do this several hours before you harvest.

  • Page 22: Processing And Storing Your Honey

    MONITORING YOUR HIVE HEALTH It is important that you monitor the health of your hive on a regular basis. Flow Frames make honey harvesting easier, but all the other aspects of caring for the hive are still necessary.

  • Page 23: Additional Skills For Successful Beekeeping

    If you are new to beekeeping there are a number of skills that you need to acquire in order to safely and successfully keep bees. We strongly recommend taking a beekeeping course before you put bees in your hive. Here is a list of practical skills that will help you on your beekeeping journey.

  • Page 24: Troubleshooting

    Frame. You can use chunks of burr comb, wax foundation or wax cappings. • Heat up some beeswax and paint it onto the Flow Frame surface. Be careful not to get too much wax in the base of the cells or in the upper movement mechanism, as this may jam the mechanism when it comes time to harvest.
  • Page 25 Flow Key is really The cells of the Flow Frame are sealed with beeswax hard to turn when by the bees. Sometimes this wax is particularly tough opening the frame and the key is really hard to turn. To make it easier, you can open part of a frame at a time.
  • Page 26 • Throw some cinnamon powder behind the window covers to deter the ants. If your hive is on a stand you can place the legs in water to prevent ants climbing onto the hive.
  • Page 28 Stay up to date on facebook facebook.com/flowhive Fall in love with bees on instagram @flowhive Check out our videos at YouTube.com/flowhive Tweet stuff at us on Twitter @flowhive All content copyright © 2020 Flow. Printed on 100% recycled paper using environmentally friendly inks.

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