BEEKEEPING WITH FLOW

The Inventors

• Stuart and Cedar Anderson are the father and son duo behind the Flow invention. They love “tinkering” – inventing and innovating together
• Before Flow, Stu worked in the community sector, and Cedar was a paraglider/paramotor pilot and trainer
• Both Stu and Cedar have kept bees as a hobby most of their lives. Cedar currently has around 100 hives, and Stu still keeps a small apiary
• The development of the Flow Frames began in the early 2000’s
• The invention launched on Indiegogo crowdfunding platform in February 2015, resulting in over 20,000 orders from 130 countries
• There are now more than 100,000 Flow Hives in use around the world in various climates, with a range of Apis mellifera varieties and different hive types including Langstroth, Warre, UK National, Dadant and Japanese pile box hives.

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Thank you

A heartfelt thank you to all who have supported�(and critiqued) the Flow Frames and Hives

honeyflow.com / honeyflow.com.au / eu.honeyflow.com / uk.honeyflow.com / ca.honeyflow.com

How Flow works

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• Flow Frames are compatible with a standard Langstroth super (8 or 10 frame). We also have a Flow UK National Super, available exclusively for our UK & European customers, and a custom half-size frame designed for Japanese pile box hives.

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• The Flow Frame consists of partly formed honeycomb cells. The bees complete the comb with their wax then fill the cells with honey, before finally capping the cells

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• honeyflow.com/pages/how-flow-works

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How Flow works – continued

• When the frame is full and at least 90% capped it is ready to harvest

�1. Remove the key access operational slot cap and honey trough cap �2. Insert honey collection tube into trough hole �3. Insert Flow Key into bottom slot �4. Rotate Flow Key 90 degrees downwards

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• 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 a bee does happen to be a down an empty cell, it won’t get injured as there is enough space between the comb walls!

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Components of the Flow Hive

Configurations

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• Starting Your Colony

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• It’s important to get the brood box humming before the Flow Super is added

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• Set up the base, brood box with timber frames, inner cover and roof while the bees are growing in numbers and building comb�
• Use the inner cover plug (only available in Flow Hive 2) to control bee access to the roof while the colony is establishing

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Configurations – continued

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Established Colony

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• Super with Flow Frames added once the colony is strong and established

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• Place the queen excluder between the brood box and Flow Super

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• Inner cover is placed on top of the super

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• Add additional brood boxes or supers once the colony is established and expanding. Speak to your local beekeeping club for region specific advice

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Assembly

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See support.honeyflow.com/tag/assembly for videos and guides on:

• Assembling your Flow Hive
• Modifying a Langstroth box for Flow Frames
• Flow Manual and Safety Instructions
• Bent, Misaligned & Full Assembly Flow Frames Videos
• How to tighten the wires on your Flow Frames

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The Brood Box

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• Flow Hives come with timber frames and comb guides for the brood box. This allow for natural comb formation using foundationless frames

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• There are holes for eyelets in the timber frames, if you choose to use wire and foundation

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• Check your brood box with an experienced beekeeper regularly for colony health, pests and diseases

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What you need for harvest

• Smoker
• Veil/suit
• Flow Key
• Tube, jar/s and covers
• Honey harvesting shelf
• Wear a protective bee suit when approaching �your hive
• All beekeepers get stung at some point. While bee suits �minimise stings, it’s not uncommon for beekeepers �to get stung through their suit. ���Some people are highly allergic to bees, so it’s important for all beekeepers to be well-versed in appropriate first aid. Check out this Flow-sponsored safety pamphlet covering common beekeeping safety risks and first aid responses.

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Prepare for harvest – Flow Hive 2

• Slope
• Safety

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Check the hive has a slope towards your honey outlets:

The Flow Hive 2 base has inbuilt side and rear spirit

levels which will both be aligned when the hive has

the optimal honey harvesting angle of 3° toward the

honey outlets.

Prepare for harvest – Flow Hive Classic

• Corflute slider in top slot
• Slope
• Safety

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Check the hive has a slope towards your honey outlets�The hive should have a 2.5 to 5-degree slope toward your honey outlets. The Flow Hive Classic has a slope built in to the bottom board, so as long as it’s placed on a level surface, so as long as your hive is placed on a level surface you won’t need to worry about this.

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Make sure the baseboard corflute slider is in the top slot �The top slot pushes the corflute up against the mesh so that any dribbles of honey that may occur stays 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.

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End and Side Window Views

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Check each Flow Frame you are harvesting is ready and capped �

• Look in the end-frame view. If the cells are mostly full with honey and capped with wax, it’s a good indication that it’s ready for harvest�
• For your first time, we suggest opening the hive and inspecting the Flow Frames to become familiar with them and recognise what the end window is indicating. This is a great time to check for at least 90% capping

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How to Harvest video: honeyflow.com/pages/how-flow-works

Look for 90% of cells capped

The best way to get to know what the end-view means is to open the hive (with smoker and protective gear) and inspect the Flow Frames.

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Harvesting

Be sure your tubes are inserted firmly �The little tongue on the end of the tube goes into the Flow Frame and blocks the honey leak-back point.

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Have some pliers handy �Sometimes the end caps on Flow Frames can be tight fitting – a pair of pliers will allow you to remove them easily.

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Harvesting continued

• Have enough containers ready to fill
• Each Flow Frame holds up to 2.4L or 3.2kg of honey when full

Have covers for jars. Just in case bees come for the honey, some netting, cloth or a small container can be used to cover the honey jars while harvesting. Take care not to overharvest and leave sufficient honey reserves for bees. Consult your local beekeeping club for advice.

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Tip: The Flow Key may be hard to turn. To make it easier you can insert the Flow Key part way, turn, then insert further and turn again.

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When finished, don’t forget to reset the frame. Insert the Flow Key into the top slot and turn it 90 degrees downward. The bees can then chew off the wax and re-fill the comb.

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Beekeeping Videos

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For videos on:

• Beginner Beekeeping Series
• Flow Hive Honey Harvesting
• Assembly

�And more:

honeyflow.com/pages/how-flow-works honeyflow.com/pages/getting-started-beekeeping �honeyflow.com/pages/meet-the-beekeeper

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Pests & Diseases

honeyflow.com/blogs/pests-and-diseases

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Flow Forum & Frequently Asked Questions

Forum: forum.honeyflow.com

FAQs: support.honeyflow.com

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Youtube: /flowhive

Facebook: /flowhive

Twitter: @flowhive

Instagram: @flowhive

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• If any links are broken, go to honeyflow.com and use the search bar to find what you are looking for.

Support for Beekeeping Clubs

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• Contact our Club Support to find out about how we can support Beekeeping Clubs, Associations and Societies to access donated and discounted Flow Hives for the Club and Club Members.

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• Email: clubsupport@honeyflow.com

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• Happy Beekeeping from the Flow Team