Flow Hive Instruction Manual

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. This manual details the installation and operation of your Flow Hive and Flow Frames. Welcome to this innovative method of honey-harvesting. To discover more about Flow technology and the fascinating world of bees, visit our web ...

1 GENERAL PRECAUTIONS 2 2 SAFETY PRECAUTIONS 3 3 COMPONENTS OF A FLOW® HIVE 4 4 ADJUST FLOW FRAMES TO FIT INTO THE FLOW SUPER 7 5 FLOW HIVE CONFIGURATIONS 9 6 HOW FLOW WORKS 10 7 EXTRACTING HONEY FROM A FLOW FRAME 12 8 CARING FOR YOUR FLOW FRAMES 15 9 ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT REQUIRED 17 10 WHERE TO LOCATE YOUR FLOW HIVE 18 11 SOURCE SOME BEES 19 12 PROCESSING AND STORING YOUR HONEY 20 13 MONITORING YOUR HIVE HEALTH 20 14 ADDIT ...

Beekeeping requires specialist skills, carries inherent dangers and is often subject to regulation. Honey bees are wild insects. Highly organised, endlessly fascinating, and to be treated with care, respect and caution at all times. 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 yo ...

and may not be applicable to your circumstances. For specific assistance, seek advice from your local authority, a professional service or your nearest beekeepers’ association. Take Responsibility: We are a worldwide community of beekeepers. To succeed, each one of us must act responsibly to keep our bees, and the humans and pets around them, safe, happy and healthy. If you ha ...

INNER COVER WITH PLUG FLOW SUPER OBSERVATION WINDOW COVER OBSERVATION WINDOW REAR WINDOW REAR WINDOW COVER FLOW KEY ACCESS SLOT AND CAP FLOW KEY ACCESS COVER QUEEN EXCLUDER BROOD BOX BROOD FRAMES SHELF BRAKET OPTIONAL BASE TRAY VENTED COVER LEG KIT OPTIONAL FLOW FRAME FLOW FRAME FLOW KEY ACCESS CAP FLOW KEY HONEY TUBE HONEY TROUGH CAP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 18 19 20 21 22 14 15 16 17 3 COMPONENTS OF A FLOW® HIVE *Please ...

Brood box – the part of the beehive that holds the comb that bee eggs are laid in. These eggs hatch into bee larvae, which then pupate and turn into bees. Flow Super – a honey super that has been modified to accommodate Flow Frames. This is the box on a bee hive that the bees store most of their honey in. Usually this box is placed on top of the brood box. Flow Frame – the self-contained honeycomb frame that hangs in the Flow Sup ...

TO FIT INTO THE FLOW SUPER Before placing your Flow Super on the hive it is necessary to adjust each Flow Frame individually. This will ensure correct operation of your Flow Frames. Check the tension on the wires They should be tight. If the wires are loose see instructional video at www.honeyflow.com/troubleshooting-frames Reset your Flow Frame ready for your bees We recommend testing the frame mechanism outside the hive prior to ...

fit of your Flow Frames the back faces should now be lined up to create a flat ‘window’ into the hive. The frames should fit snugly with little movement front-to- back or side-to-side and there should be no gaps greater than 3mm (1/8”). Adjust screw for snug fit The back of the frame sits on this ledge Frame should push firmly against inside of box FRONT BACK Adjustment screw Ensure any gaps are less than 3mm *SID ...

The Flow Super should be managed in the same way as a regular honey super. Only add it once your colony is strong and established. Your bees may not take to the Flow frames straight away. The two main things we have found that increase the rate at which bees fill the frames for the first time are lots of bees on the frames and a good nectar flow. For suggestions on encouraging the bees to get working on the Flow Frames sooner, ...

Finally capping the cells Then fill the cells with honey The bees complete the comb with their wax When the frame is full it’s ready to harvest THE FLOW FRAME CONSISTS OF PARTLY FORMED HONEYCOMB CELLS ...

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. INSIDE THE HONEYCOMB THE CELLS HAVE NOW SPLIT AND TURNED INTO CHANNELS FOR THE HONEY TO FLOW DOWN. HONEY TROUGH CAP HONEY TUBE FLOW KEY KEY ACCESS CAP *Frame remains in the hive for harvest, shown separately for illustrative purposes only 1 Remove the key access cap and honey tro ...

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. The number of frames of honey that you leave through winter depends on your climate. It’s a good idea to cons ...

harvesting (Flow Hive 2) Remove pest treatments and hive debris. 3b. Make sure the baseboard corflute is in the top slot (Flow Hive Classic) The top slot pushes the corflute up against the mesh so that any dribbles of honey which may occur stay within reach of the bees. They will lick up the honey and re-use it. If you have a solid bottom board, ignore this step. 4. Attach your harvesting shelf brackets (optional) o ...

have covers for them Each Flow Frame can hold up to 2.3L (2.4qt) or 3.2kg (7lbs) of honey. Just in case bees come for the honey, some netting, plastic kitchen wrap, or cloth can be used to cover the honey jars while harvesting. 8. Harvest some honey Each Flow Frame has two key access slots at the TOP of the frame. When harvesting, insert the Flow Key into the LOWER slot, push the key all the way to the back, a ...

Cleaning and frame maintenance – on the hive Inspect the honey trough at the bottom of the frame prior to harvest. We have designed the honey trough so that any leaked or residual honey can drip back into the hive for the bees to use. 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. Clear the leak-back gap prior to harvest ...

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. See www.honeyflow.com for further instructions • Do not expose the frames to direct sunlight for long periods • Do not expose the frames to extreme heat (once inside an op ...

(additional equipment can be purchased through our website) Protective gear – bee hat and veil or beekeeping suit/jacket, gloves We recommend you wear a protective beekeeping suit whenever you are working with your bees. For more information refer to the 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 a ...

You can read more about using your smoker safely in the Accredited First Aid Beekeeping Safety pamphlet. Hive tool The hive tool is a multi functional tool made of steel. It is used to lever and remove frames, to lever apart boxes, as well as scrape and remove burr comb from the hive. 10 WHERE TO LOCATE YOUR FLOW HIVE It is important to consider the location of your new beehive prior to installing yo ...