I was born and raised in Western New York state near Lake Erie.My grandfather original had 70 acres fruit farm.When he soldout and moved he kept 6 hives the old old white boxes.He was very familiar with taking honey and when his grand kids reached ten years he showed us how to take the honey from the hives and use a centrifuge to separate the honey.Slow and patient was his motto. We rarely got stung following his instructions. We used the smoker method to calm the hive.We divided the harvest thruout the neighborhood. One neighbor raised goats and we got goats milk in trade with honey,,,, Way better and richer than cow's milk. Another raised rabbits and we got baby rabbits in exchange,raised to adults and exhibited at the Old Erie County Fair at Hamburg NY.As an adult my habit of a tablespoon of RAW honey each morning continues.Never heard of these new type hives till I saw this channel.Very interesting.Curious about the cost
My name is Nancy Lee from Pemberton NJ and I have been watching you and Flow Hive from Australia for several years prior to my son surprise me with the best Flow Hive for my birthday. We used Eco Wood to treat the cedar wood from watching your video. We picked up the bees May 1st 2022 for my Flow Hive. I am very excited to have my family of bees. Well that excitement lasted only a few days. We had May showers on & off for a few days. Everyday I would go to look at the hive and bees and I noticed the brood box has a horizontal crack from one end to the other hand. The 2 triangle roof pieces of cedar is damaged from being outside only for a couple of days. I was literally in shock having my son spend soo my to getting his mom the best. Contacted the company about the damage, sent them several detailed photos and they told my son this happened because we used Eco Wood and refused to stand behind their product. The love of their product and the bees became such a heartbreak and disappointment. I have spent several months dealing with this and all I'm getting runaround and they have no intention of replacing their overpriced product. Fredrick Dunn is a podcaster from North PA who has 124K Subscribers to almost 1000 videos. This is the 1st comment that I have posted and I will do it with every single one online since you don't stand behind your overpriced garbage.
I have Flow hive gear all over my apiary, I use the Cedar boxes from them and have eco-treated 50% of my flow-hives. I have not had a single hive crack as you've described. But then, I'm not at all part of their warranty or service system. Their Cedar hives can go without any treatment at all, I have those with and without Eco-Wood. Have you tried contacting the Eco-Wood Company and talking to them about the issue with Flow-Hive saying that their Eco-Wood Treatment voids any Flow-Hive Warranty? They would definitely be interested in that statement as it impacts Eco-Wood marketability. The Flow-Hive remains one of my favorite hive designs, and I don't see a problem at all with Eco wood being used on Flow-Hives.
@@FrederickDunn Hi Fred, Thank you for your reply, I am not at all blaming you or the Eco Wood. Infact, we treat everything outside with Eco Wood. I feel that I enjoy & learned a lot watching your videos throughout the past several years. I started to watch Flow Hive and decided that I loved their system before I started your program. So, I am NOT blaming you. I understand that thing do happen from time to time. What I am NOT happy with is that the Flow company treated me like a jerk and they blamed everything on Eco Wood and how dare I use EW rather than a natural oil to Cedar. And NOT stand behind their overpriced broken product. When I walk toward my bee hive the first thing I see is an overpriced ugly waterproof caulking brood box and no honey Flow hive. Fred, I still watch your videos and enjoy them.
@@FrederickDunn Hi Fred, Thank you for your reply, I am not at all blaming you or the Eco Wood. Infact, we treat everything outside with Eco Wood. I feel that I enjoy & learned a lot watching your videos throughout the past several years. I started to watch Flow Hive and decided that I loved their system before I started your program. So, I am NOT blaming you. I understand that thing do happen from time to time. What I am NOT happy with is that the Flow company treated me like a jerk and they blamed everything on Eco Wood and how dare I use EW rather than a natural oil to Cedar. And NOT stand behind their overpriced broken product. When I walk toward my bee hive the first thing I see is an overpriced ugly waterproof caulking brood box and no honey Flow hive. Fred, I still watch your videos and enjoy them.
Just from a videographer standpoint, you do an excellent job setting up your shots, video quality, flow, narration, sound are all superb. So nice to see a professional tutorial done as well as this.
This is by far the best Chanel I've seen. I'm just now starting to get ready to get started next spring and this Chanel takes away a lot of my insecurities
Fred, I personally do not use any glue on the wood. The bee has such a sensitive nose that this might affect them liking the hive or not. This is a preference call on my part. You said the wood was laser cut and from Australia right ??? Since the wood is burn cut it give wood a lot more water proofing finish on the board ends. Nice work fella too.
I use the glue on all of my hives, it helps keep the water out of the joints where a lot of deterioration can occur. I also prefer glue to screws and often don't use screws. That's valuable later on if the wood is to be cut up or burned at the end of its useful life. Each wood frame inside the hive is also glued and I don't use tacks on those. The bees work the area that has been glued equally. I don't think dried wood glue (Titebond) puts off a discernable or objectionable odor that the bees respond to.
@@FrederickDunn When I tested to see if the bees object to titebond it was fifty fifty and when I used gorilla glue it proved that the bees also do not like this product. That is just what the experiments I done prove that fact. I fasten with stainless steel wood screws. Peace will keep in touch Rich. Good day. VF
I just want to let you know, you're doing an excellent job. I don't know much about bees and honey, but after watching 4 of your videos you make me want to build a hive.
OOOohhhh... you're into it now! I hope that you have great success with your bees and do enjoy managing them! Because of MY videos? Thanks for sharing that, I hope the information I've shared provided you with reasonable expectations.
i just enjoy your videos so much. they're so well-explained, well-lit, well-framed; each one is an absolute treat. i love coming along on your journey, even though i won't be getting a hive of my own any time soon (no garden yet). living vicariously!! 🤗 can't wait to see what your experiences are with this new flow setup, down the line. I'm really impressed by all the improvements they made, you can tell they took customer feedback to heart and implemented as much as they could
They are certainly very interesting to work with and observe. I wish you well, if you do decide to purchase a flow super of complete hive, I can get you $50.00 off if you provide your e-mail.. just message me if that sounds good. Have a great week Mizvy!
I've spent the best part of this evening watching your wonderful videos on the Flow Hive. Even though I can't consider taking up beekeeping any time soon (I travel too often for work) I'm keen to join a local group of amateur bee keepers where I live in the UK so I can help them support and increase the local bee population. I've learnt so much from all the information you share and the brilliant video footage you produce. So glad I chanced upon your channel. Now I want to learn more about all the other activities on your farm! Please do keep up your fantastic work. RUclips needs more content creators like you.
Thank you so much, what a wonderful comment! I like that you are planning to support your local beekeeper group even though you are on the move too much to have them yourself. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing more about behavior inside the hive with close up video segments supporting my commentary. So glad you are enjoying what I do and thanks for taking the time to comment.
@@FrederickDunn lmao. Like we all didnt know that. But someone had to be THAT GUY bahahaha. I dont even like honey but after watching about 100 videos this week of these hives. I'm gonna have to get one. Just to do it and provide more bees for the world. Maybe someone will enjoy the honey I donate.
@@24Redneck48 Make sure you grow PLENTY of flowering plants that are good for honey near the area where you want to keep your hives, and I would also go through and remove any unwanted plants you don't want to taint your honey. I would say do a good 1-mile radius scour from your hive location being the central point, and be extremely thorough - and take your time on this part - don't try to "get it all done in 1 day". This is especially important if you have any poisonous flowering plants in your area - be sure to rip those completely out by the root. If you are able to grow tons of great plants for your bees which are honey safe near your hives - that will make your honey taste that much better, and it will make it SO much easier for your bees to forage and make plenty of honey! :) Also be very mindful about temperature. If you live in an area where the winters drop below 45F - you will need someplace to store them which is climate controlled (where you can keep your bees between 60-65 During the winter - make sure they are fed, and you are able to warm them up every now and then so they can be feed for a day or so - then allow it to go back to the 60-65 cycle. If you're just starting out - read tons of books on the subject before you start - you don't want to have a great super docile hive of bees die off on your first winter - it is very discouraging - and you don't want to have them deal with varroa issues and all kinds of things you need to look out for. The Flow hive does make extracting the honey easier - but 95% of beekeeping is done before that stage - and requires work and dedication. Cheers and good luck!
Thank you so much and yes, the laser cut joints are truly flawless. Everything I've received from Flow this year has been perfect! Thanks for taking time to comment.
Hi Denny, I always say, learn about the bees first, equipment second... beekeeping practices remain the same no matter if the keeper chooses top-bar, Langstroth, or FlowHives. Thanks for taking time to watch and comment.
Wow, awesome. Newest version of flow hive has all the previous flaws corrected. Saw ur previous videos where u pointed out the flaws. Ur comments on how u like this new & improved version says a lot. Flow hive manufacturers have to been watching ur videos, & corrected flaws & made improvements. I'm glad u like this version. How much does this newer version costs? The version u showed in this video.
Excellent video very informative very easy to understand and excellent video quality thank you very much for putting this together. I am extremely interested in the flow hive I'm being able to make my own honey, I am in Florida so we have extremely long spring and summer seasons here. I'm hoping that this system will do well.
Thank you Dunn. For sharing information in a lucid manner about hive. My question about this is, why can't we use metallic frames instead of wooden things. I will wait for your reply. Thank you
Thanks for watching and for such a nice compliment. Wood is an insulator and lighter in weight, even aluminum is heavy. Bees like to chew on wood to some degree and they can't alter metal in that way. Last, metal transmits heat and cold through conduction which may result in additional condensation which may oxidize the surface of metals, even aluminum oxidizes to a white powder. For now, wood seems to be the best, or food grade plastics which can be coated in bees wax.
How many brewed boxes can you have on a hive and how much is a boxes for first time starters. This looks like a better setup for bee's an to protect them from injuries on collecting the honey
I generally have one deep brood box then at least one medium honey super before adding the Flow-Super... cost points are on their website if you follow the link I provided in the description.
There is a cover and inner cover. The bees travel in and out via the landing board entry only. BUT, TONIGHT :) I had a video going live that explains the top entry alterations that I'm adding in order to speed forager access to the upper frames. :)
The original Flow Hives were produced by Bee Thinking in Portland and their quality control was erratic at best. Subsequently, they have recently gone out of business, which is bad for me and others that had recently ordered products from them that we will never receive. I'm glad Flow has improved their boxes. I just wish they were less expensive. 😊
Wow, I had no idea that the Portland company went out of business, that's terrible news. My first Flow product was actually from Lancaster, PA and it had some problems. The FlowHive definitely thins the wallet.
Yes, you could shim it even with a thin strip of wood if you like. The adjustment is consistent across the entire box, so yes that would definitely work.
That answers a few questions the mail one was how the honey 🍯is drained.. now I know. Again what was your reason for not buying a 1 gen flow hive? Then what is a decent 1 bee hive to get. I have 5 stacked $200 or brooded box $100 . I have to get a used set up . Ty mr. Dunn
🐝i was shown one these free flow hives &given a jar of Honey Along the river 2017 where this guy kept a few Hives Taste & runs so good Oz Straya🦘invention 25yr old lad Qld oz👍 Walking along the River we seen about 50 Hives in tree hollows 🐝🐝🌳🐝🐝🐝Found Freds Videos & find his Videos a good watch - FredsPaperwasp Test 🐝Well you Learn something everyday Paper wasp are good to have around they hate yellowJackets 👍chem free
Thank you for the video. In the Milw. WI area where I have heard radio ads for the Flow Hive. I have never dealt with bees and will be moving to New Mexico soon. I am interested in educating myself regarding bee keeping there.
There are radio ads for the FlowHive? Wow, that's new. New Mexico has some great areas for bees while others are just too dry most of the year. Thanks for watching and comenting!
Keep making more videos about flow hive and beekeeping. I really enjoy them. They are done with lots of details. It's a shame I don't have the space to take care of bees.
I just watched your video and found it very informative. How do you manage to keep all the brood in a single deep without the bee’s swarming. A typical hive has two deeps for brood.
You say, "Sometimes people have problems with the pins splitting this thin wood." The solution to this is an old carpenter's trick. Flatten the tip of the nail a little bit with a hammer. The wood fibers are broken when driving the nail instead of splitting the wood.
They did improve that system quite a bit in their manufacturing aspect. That video you started with and this system the construction was very poor and the missing materials were terrible, but it seems they went from beta to finished product and really managed to improve what seems to be an efficient beehive.
Would you add another box in between the brood box and the flow frame? I'm thinking that the middle box would be honey for the hive, and the flow hive would be what you harvest.
being plastic, and moveable, do you need to do anything differently for winters? do you take another super to set on for a period of time so the bees have time to actually set up stores for winter? also, what are the bees doing with the pollen while the flow frames are on? What do you do regarding pollen? where can they store pollen for later eating or for feeding brood. . thanks so much for the instructions and demonstrations
Hi High Standards, please watch my other RUclips vids on The FlowHives. I use double deeps most often and there is where the bees store their pollen and honey for winter. I use FlowSupers in the upper boxes only.
Hi... Thanks for this video... Maybe someone has asked this question before ??? I'm in Canada, and we generally have a second super, above the brood super, with a Queen excluder on top, so that the bees have enough honey stored for themselves for the Winter... I'm assuming that I can add the 7 frame flow super on top of these two... Do I need to order a second medium/deep box c/w frames from FlowHive just so the complete hive "matches" ??? Thanks...
I was just messaging Flowhive about that very thing - Since in the colder climates, my method is to put the brood box on first, then at least a medium super which they fill prior to adding the Flow-Super which is removed in winter. Flow doesn't currently offer medium supers, only deeps. This results in a very tall system with a small footprint when talking about their 6 frame units. And the deep honey supers are extremely heavy. I'd like to see them offer a "cold weather kit", but for now, they only offer deeps.
Ok so the traditional frames in the lower section is the normal food supply for the colony and then the extra they fill in the upper flow hive section for us to collect honey from leaving their natural food supply for the winter? The Queen excluder is set between? Still trying to get a full understanding of this. If you have a video on beehives 101 that would be great ! :-)
Yes, but I have to add another medium super above the brood box and then the flow-super. I find that two boxes are better when and if a long winter hits. I don't personally use queen excluders unless the flow-super is going on early, before the bees have established a solid layer of honey above the brood.
Most worker honey bees can get through the queen excluder, only queens and drones cannot. This prevents the flowframes from being used for brood rearing.
So will you only use flow hives from now on? If I am starting from scratch with my beekeeping do you reccomend relying on flow hives if you don't mind the initial outlay?
HI Kanger80, I will continue to use the standard Langstroth 10 frame equipment with and without Flow components. I have no plan to completely convert to FlowHives. I still enjoy both methods. I generally recommend that beginners start with a traditional Langstroth setup until they are solidly committed to keeping bees and won't have spent lots of $$ for a temporary experience. You can add a FlowSuper to a traditional Langstroth box if and when the bees are productive enough to work it. You don't really "need" to buy a full Flow"Hive".
Hi Frederick, do you think a flow hive are better than a classic hives, I live upstate NY and I want just to start this june, will I have some honey this season on not, thank you
Hi Kari, I'm not saying they are "better" but I certainly do much prefer them when it comes time to take off some honey. As for if you'll get honey from one in the first season, there are just too many variables for me to give a good answer to that. 50% of the hives I put flow supers on my first year didn't fill them, but 50% did, so it's sort of pot-luck as to how your bees will or won't work the frames. I wish I could give a firm answer, but can't.
Frederick Dunn yes you help me very good, and it's good to change ideas, I think flow hives are easy and time saver, I will order some of them right now from alibaba, thank you very much
They are pretty equal, some equipment is for 10 frame Langstroth hives, so that would match a 7 frame Flow. The 6 frame flow is matched up with the 8 Frame Langstroth. There is some hive equipment that may only match the larger version. BUT, if you're going to use strictly Flow-Hive gear, it's just a matter of what you want to work with and are willing to pay the price for. I find the 6 or 7 flow supers both work pretty much the same.
@@FrederickDunn awesome! thanks ;) Was think of doing a set up like this as I prefer to disturb them as little as possible. But I'm new and have yet to get a hive together. Lots of learning left to do.
Hi Frederick Thanks for the video it is very important and interesting. How I can get the modern fram in my country Ethiopian Gambella there's a meany been and using traditional methods so I am interested to start so can you help me .
random question that I thought of when you said not to paint the interior: do you know if, back in the lead paint days, the bees consume the lead paint (I've heard it has a sweet taste) and taint the honey?
That's a very interesting question and I'm not sure that lead paint on hive interiors has ever been addressed? Not painting hive interiors goes way back to the originator of our current box-hive design which was well established in the 1880's by Reverend Langstroth. He stressed in his writings, that only the exterior should be finished against the elements. The next part is that I have observed honey bees chewing the interior surfaces as they round off corners and even make new openings at times and then use their own propolis as an interior finish which would protect them from lead and other hazards. It's an interesting question that I think we won't ever really have answers to as no one is still using lead-based paints. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Not the way this kit comes, you have to add your own medium super for the bees. I've written to the company and suggested that they add at least one medium super for northern climates which would allow for the bees in winter. A Langstrogh 8 frame medium super can be put on this system, but one doesn't come with it and the company doesn't currently offer one.
You have to wonder, rather than tilt the whole hive back, or require someone to tilt it before harvest, why not just angle the bottom part where the honey flows out of it? Just make the bottom of the honey harvest frame 1 inch longer on the side where the tap goes in.
Hi, I am new to bee keeping and I would like to know where can I buy one of this systems. I have seen the old version on eBay but not this new one. Thanks for this wonderful video, I would appreciate any info. Thanks
HI Lester, thanks for watching and taking a moment to comment, I have the link to these hives in the video description, you can get a $50 deduction by following that link. Wishing you all the best!
Hi Everyone! There is a NEW Flow-Hive out, it's called the FlowHive2 Click here to see a teaser! ruclips.net/video/wo8Lyn5xoog/видео.html How to get Flow-Hives through Cold Winters: ruclips.net/video/CZsGV1F8xbQ/видео.html
Hello Mr. Frederick Dunn how r u i saw ur hive house film, Sir I want to know where it is available n what is price for this complete house, can u tell us Thanks a lot n waiting for reply
How often do you have to requeen with one of these systems? Also what is the purpose of requeening in general, I've always assumed that wouldn't be necessary since bees are typically able to make new queens on their own.
Isn't lasercut joints also good because it burns the wood which makes the bee not touch it due the ash texture? Meaning, it might be easier to pull off once needed. Of course, I guess it goes away after one year.
Hi Helveteshit, none of the laser burned surfaces face the interior, so the bees really have no contact with those surfaces. It goes away after a year? I didn't know that and it will be interesting to see. I'm using a clear finish on the exterior, so we'll be able to see what happens. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I just figured that Bees dislike smoke, smoke is something that is essentially burnt material/Charcoal. So I guess they wouldn't want to get close to such surfaces and by lasercutting the wood like that, it would lead to burnt surfaces. I figured it might be easier to separate the boxes because of that little fact. It is just me spouting theories since I do not have an Apiary to test said theories with. But I figured bees might avoid building wax or that sealant on top of an ashed/burnt surface. But hey, I can be wrong. As for the laser cut surface vanishing after a year? I figured normal weather and time would deteriorate the surface unless one adds extra protective coating on it.
Mr. Dunn; from what I've seen (that you've posted), I'd love to get my grubby paws on one of these (the second one, or only in addition to my usuals.) Do you know if there's a distributor here in NA?
To find out where they are sourcing them in your area, you'd have to ask the people at Flow www.HoneyFlow.com I think they are advancing their availability.
Great video! I was reading in the comments and I saw that you recommend for beginners to use a traditional longstroth setup, I was wondering if there was a set available online that you would recommend as I am wanting to get into all this action!
Hi Edgy, for a startup kit, I recommend two sources and in my opinion, they are basically equal. www.BetterBee.com and www.Dadant.com they both offer really nice complete starter kits. Thanks for watching and I hope you do venture into beekeeping.
I was born and raised in Western New York state near Lake Erie.My grandfather original had 70 acres fruit farm.When he soldout and moved he kept 6 hives the old old white boxes.He was very familiar with taking honey and when his grand kids reached ten years he showed us how to take the honey from the hives and use a centrifuge to separate the honey.Slow and patient was his motto.
We rarely got stung following his instructions. We used the smoker method to calm the hive.We divided the harvest thruout the neighborhood. One neighbor raised goats and we got goats milk in trade with honey,,,, Way better and richer than cow's milk. Another raised rabbits and we got baby rabbits in exchange,raised to adults and exhibited at the Old Erie County Fair at Hamburg NY.As an adult my habit of a tablespoon of RAW honey each morning continues.Never heard of these new type hives till I saw this channel.Very interesting.Curious about the cost
Sounds like you have lots of fantastic memories, and I'm a huge fan of the barter system you describe. :)
My name is Nancy Lee from Pemberton NJ and I have been watching you and Flow Hive from Australia for several years prior to my son surprise me with the best Flow Hive for my birthday. We used Eco Wood to treat the cedar wood from watching your video.
We picked up the bees May 1st 2022 for my Flow Hive. I am very excited to have my family of bees. Well that excitement lasted only a few days. We had May showers on & off for a few days. Everyday I would go to look at the hive and bees and I noticed the brood box has a horizontal crack from one end to the other hand. The 2 triangle roof pieces of cedar is damaged from being outside only for a couple of days. I was literally in shock having my son spend soo my to getting his mom the best. Contacted the company about the damage, sent them several detailed photos and they told my son this happened because we used Eco Wood and refused to stand behind their product. The love of their product and the bees became such a heartbreak and disappointment.
I have spent several months dealing with this and all I'm getting runaround and they have no intention of replacing their
overpriced product.
Fredrick Dunn is a podcaster from North PA who has 124K Subscribers to almost 1000 videos. This is the 1st comment that I have posted and I will do it with every single one online since you don't stand behind your overpriced garbage.
I have Flow hive gear all over my apiary, I use the Cedar boxes from them and have eco-treated 50% of my flow-hives. I have not had a single hive crack as you've described. But then, I'm not at all part of their warranty or service system. Their Cedar hives can go without any treatment at all, I have those with and without Eco-Wood. Have you tried contacting the Eco-Wood Company and talking to them about the issue with Flow-Hive saying that their Eco-Wood Treatment voids any Flow-Hive Warranty? They would definitely be interested in that statement as it impacts Eco-Wood marketability. The Flow-Hive remains one of my favorite hive designs, and I don't see a problem at all with Eco wood being used on Flow-Hives.
@@FrederickDunn Hi Fred,
Thank you for your reply, I am not at all blaming you or the Eco Wood. Infact, we treat everything outside with Eco Wood. I feel that I enjoy & learned a lot watching your videos throughout the past several years. I started to watch Flow Hive and decided that I loved their system before I started your program. So, I am NOT blaming you.
I understand that thing do happen from time to time.
What I am NOT happy with is that the Flow company treated me like a jerk and they blamed everything on Eco Wood and how dare I use EW rather than a natural oil to Cedar. And NOT stand behind their overpriced broken product.
When I walk toward my bee hive the first thing I see is an overpriced ugly waterproof caulking brood box and no honey Flow hive.
Fred, I still watch your videos and enjoy them.
@@FrederickDunn Hi Fred,
Thank you for your reply, I am not at all blaming you or the Eco Wood. Infact, we treat everything outside with Eco Wood. I feel that I enjoy & learned a lot watching your videos throughout the past several years. I started to watch Flow Hive and decided that I loved their system before I started your program. So, I am NOT blaming you.
I understand that thing do happen from time to time.
What I am NOT happy with is that the Flow company treated me like a jerk and they blamed everything on Eco Wood and how dare I use EW rather than a natural oil to Cedar. And NOT stand behind their overpriced broken product.
When I walk toward my bee hive the first thing I see is an overpriced ugly waterproof caulking brood box and no honey Flow hive.
Fred, I still watch your videos and enjoy them.
Just from a videographer standpoint, you do an excellent job setting up your shots, video quality, flow, narration, sound are all superb. So nice to see a professional tutorial done as well as this.
Wow, thank you so much for that! I do my best :)
@@FrederickDunn
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This is by far the best Chanel I've seen. I'm just now starting to get ready to get started next spring and this Chanel takes away a lot of my insecurities
Thank you, Richard.
I'm looking into Beekeeping. This is great information to help me decide where to begin.
Glad it was helpful!
This is like the beekeeping version of watching Bob Ross.
Thank you, that's a very flattering comparison :)
Fred, I personally do not use any glue on the wood. The bee has such a sensitive nose that this might affect them liking the hive or not. This is a preference call on my part. You said the wood was laser cut and from Australia right ??? Since the wood is burn cut it give wood a lot more water proofing finish on the board ends. Nice work fella too.
I use the glue on all of my hives, it helps keep the water out of the joints where a lot of deterioration can occur. I also prefer glue to screws and often don't use screws. That's valuable later on if the wood is to be cut up or burned at the end of its useful life. Each wood frame inside the hive is also glued and I don't use tacks on those. The bees work the area that has been glued equally. I don't think dried wood glue (Titebond) puts off a discernable or objectionable odor that the bees respond to.
@@FrederickDunn When I tested to see if the bees object to titebond it was fifty fifty and when I used gorilla glue it proved that the bees also do not like this product. That is just what the experiments I done prove that fact. I fasten with stainless steel wood screws. Peace will keep in touch Rich. Good day. VF
I just want to let you know, you're doing an excellent job. I don't know much about bees and honey, but after watching 4 of your videos you make me want to build a hive.
Thank you MarieBear993, I'm glad to have been a part of your inspiration :)
Hi Frederick, con la ayuda del vídeo pude armar mis cajas, ahora que color de pintura me aconsejas para utilizar en mis cajas Flow Hive
Oh, and because of your videos I decided to try beekeeping. I just got my first bees a couple weeks ago.
OOOohhhh... you're into it now! I hope that you have great success with your bees and do enjoy managing them! Because of MY videos? Thanks for sharing that, I hope the information I've shared provided you with reasonable expectations.
i just enjoy your videos so much. they're so well-explained, well-lit, well-framed; each one is an absolute treat. i love coming along on your journey, even though i won't be getting a hive of my own any time soon (no garden yet). living vicariously!! 🤗
can't wait to see what your experiences are with this new flow setup, down the line. I'm really impressed by all the improvements they made, you can tell they took customer feedback to heart and implemented as much as they could
Thank you so much BUbblegum :)
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I love that you haven't lost a bee in those flow frames. I just may make these my new bee hives. :)
They are certainly very interesting to work with and observe. I wish you well, if you do decide to purchase a flow super of complete hive, I can get you $50.00 off if you provide your e-mail.. just message me if that sounds good. Have a great week Mizvy!
Frederick Dunn - are you an affiliate?
I've spent the best part of this evening watching your wonderful videos on the Flow Hive. Even though I can't consider taking up beekeeping any time soon (I travel too often for work) I'm keen to join a local group of amateur bee keepers where I live in the UK so I can help them support and increase the local bee population. I've learnt so much from all the information you share and the brilliant video footage you produce. So glad I chanced upon your channel. Now I want to learn more about all the other activities on your farm! Please do keep up your fantastic work. RUclips needs more content creators like you.
Thank you so much, what a wonderful comment! I like that you are planning to support your local beekeeper group even though you are on the move too much to have them yourself. In the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing more about behavior inside the hive with close up video segments supporting my commentary. So glad you are enjoying what I do and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Frederick Dunn I'll keep an eye out for those videos. Thanks for letting me know!
I don't have bees, and most likely will never. but i love listen to your videos because your voice is relaxing
Ohhh thank you so much!
Love your videos. Way to be fair and impartial.
Hi Shane, thank you so much!
Fred, I always learn so much from your quality videos. Thank you for another fantastic learning opportunity.
Hi Denise, thank you so much for watching and for your nice comment!
thank you. and you're correct, by watching your other vids, you *did* answer my other questions before I had even thought of them!!
That's great news! Thank you.
FYI: the '90 degree triangle' is actually called a 'speed square'.
OOOhhhhh thank you so much! :)
@@FrederickDunn lmao. Like we all didnt know that. But someone had to be THAT GUY bahahaha. I dont even like honey but after watching about 100 videos this week of these hives. I'm gonna have to get one. Just to do it and provide more bees for the world. Maybe someone will enjoy the honey I donate.
@@24Redneck48 Make sure you grow PLENTY of flowering plants that are good for honey near the area where you want to keep your hives, and I would also go through and remove any unwanted plants you don't want to taint your honey. I would say do a good 1-mile radius scour from your hive location being the central point, and be extremely thorough - and take your time on this part - don't try to "get it all done in 1 day". This is especially important if you have any poisonous flowering plants in your area - be sure to rip those completely out by the root. If you are able to grow tons of great plants for your bees which are honey safe near your hives - that will make your honey taste that much better, and it will make it SO much easier for your bees to forage and make plenty of honey! :) Also be very mindful about temperature. If you live in an area where the winters drop below 45F - you will need someplace to store them which is climate controlled (where you can keep your bees between 60-65 During the winter - make sure they are fed, and you are able to warm them up every now and then so they can be feed for a day or so - then allow it to go back to the 60-65 cycle. If you're just starting out - read tons of books on the subject before you start - you don't want to have a great super docile hive of bees die off on your first winter - it is very discouraging - and you don't want to have them deal with varroa issues and all kinds of things you need to look out for. The Flow hive does make extracting the honey easier - but 95% of beekeeping is done before that stage - and requires work and dedication. Cheers and good luck!
This is a very cool device, i’d buy it if i had a big back yard
Thanks for watching Adam, yes, flowhives are excellent and I'm sorry you can't have bees. Maybe some day?
This one looks so much better than the first one you received.
Indeed!
I fell in love with this system.
Another absolutely wonderful video, thank you for posting. I really love the appearance of the Hoop Pine with laser cut edges.
Thank you so much and yes, the laser cut joints are truly flawless. Everything I've received from Flow this year has been perfect! Thanks for taking time to comment.
As usual, brilliant advice and analysis from an artisan filmmaker. Thank you
Thank you so much Ian!
My jury is still out on the flow hive. It seems like a wonderful idea but I think for new beekeepers the standard Langstroth is the best way to go.
Hi Denny, I always say, learn about the bees first, equipment second... beekeeping practices remain the same no matter if the keeper chooses top-bar, Langstroth, or FlowHives. Thanks for taking time to watch and comment.
That hive is a thing of beauty. ☺️
almost too good to put out in the apiary :)
Nice video, I would like to know the thickness of the wood used to make the boxes plz
3/4" tm
Wow, awesome. Newest version of flow hive has all the previous flaws corrected. Saw ur previous videos where u pointed out the flaws. Ur comments on how u like this new & improved version says a lot. Flow hive manufacturers have to been watching ur videos, & corrected flaws & made improvements. I'm glad u like this version. How much does this newer version costs? The version u showed in this video.
The link is in the video description, thanks again Peter!
Excellent video very informative very easy to understand and excellent video quality thank you very much for putting this together. I am extremely interested in the flow hive I'm being able to make my own honey, I am in Florida so we have extremely long spring and summer seasons here. I'm hoping that this system will do well.
Thank you Dunn. For sharing information in a lucid manner about hive. My question about this is, why can't we use metallic frames instead of wooden things. I will wait for your reply. Thank you
Thanks for watching and for such a nice compliment. Wood is an insulator and lighter in weight, even aluminum is heavy. Bees like to chew on wood to some degree and they can't alter metal in that way. Last, metal transmits heat and cold through conduction which may result in additional condensation which may oxidize the surface of metals, even aluminum oxidizes to a white powder. For now, wood seems to be the best, or food grade plastics which can be coated in bees wax.
Your voice and the way you speak/narrate reminds me of the narrator from How it's Made , it's very soothing.
You da man, Fred! My wife was watching this with me, and she said your voice reminds her of the painter, Bob Ross (Ina good way).
Thank you again, I really enjoy being compared with Bob! I do enjoy oil painting by the way :)
How many brewed boxes can you have on a hive and how much is a boxes for first time starters. This looks like a better setup for bee's an to protect them from injuries on collecting the honey
I generally have one deep brood box then at least one medium honey super before adding the Flow-Super... cost points are on their website if you follow the link I provided in the description.
Thank you for your very professional videos. I am very impressed with all your presentations. I will use them to set up my flow hive.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate comments like yours, very encouraging that I'm on the right track :)
Thank you. As always, very informative. I enjoy your videos as I am learning about honey bee keeping.
You are very welcome and thank you for taking the time to comment :)
I have learned so much from your videos. Thank you so much!
Thank you for watching and commenting Stephanie, I'm so glad you are learning from my videos :)
Frederick , is there a screen on top before roof goes on? How do the bee's go in and out of the top box?
There is a cover and inner cover. The bees travel in and out via the landing board entry only. BUT, TONIGHT :) I had a video going live that explains the top entry alterations that I'm adding in order to speed forager access to the upper frames. :)
The original Flow Hives were produced by Bee Thinking in Portland and their quality control was erratic at best. Subsequently, they have recently gone out of business, which is bad for me and others that had recently ordered products from them that we will never receive. I'm glad Flow has improved their boxes. I just wish they were less expensive. 😊
Wow, I had no idea that the Portland company went out of business, that's terrible news. My first Flow product was actually from Lancaster, PA and it had some problems. The FlowHive definitely thins the wallet.
The quality is so much better than the shoddy first model you had. Great video once again.
Well done 👌🙌 very informative
Thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
How does the bee go up to flow frame from brooding box? bottom of flow frame is I believe honey flow area?
It's the same as with any frames, they simply go up through the frames on the face of the comb and begin their work :)
Thank you Fred clear and organised it really helped me...
Thank you for the video and caring so much for the BEES not to many care.
Thank you Art, so nice of you to stop and leave such a nice comment.
I am starting my apiary next season. I will be using this product.
In the flow hive, Can you put a thin metal strip along the back top so you dont have to turn the backout screw as much?
Yes, you could shim it even with a thin strip of wood if you like. The adjustment is consistent across the entire box, so yes that would definitely work.
That answers a few questions the mail one was how the honey 🍯is drained.. now I know. Again what was your reason for not buying a 1 gen flow hive? Then what is a decent 1 bee hive to get. I have 5 stacked $200 or brooded box $100 . I have to get a used set up . Ty mr. Dunn
Awesome video.
VERY NICELY presented! Outstanding job. Thank you so much!
Thank you for taking the time to comment!
Wow very good review about how working in side ♥
Have you ever seen a queen bee get through a queen excluder? Or some other kind of path inside the Flow Super?
I have not seen that happen, but it's possible, particularly with new un-mated queens.
Gracias muy claro
so now that they have done what YOU want you are NOW HAPPY!!!
Indeed I am :)
Great assembly video for the Flow Hive👍
Thank you TallCat :)
🐝i was shown one these free flow hives &given a jar of Honey Along the river 2017 where this guy kept a few Hives Taste & runs so good Oz Straya🦘invention 25yr old lad Qld oz👍
Walking along the River we seen about 50 Hives in tree hollows 🐝🐝🌳🐝🐝🐝Found Freds Videos & find his Videos a good watch - FredsPaperwasp Test 🐝Well you Learn something everyday Paper wasp are good to have around they hate yellowJackets 👍chem free
All type box honeybee can use this prodect?
How this price
Yes, all lines of Apis mellifera are capable of using this hive design. Pricing is available through the link in the video description.
Thank you for the video. In the Milw. WI area where I have heard radio ads for the Flow Hive. I have never dealt with bees and will be moving to New Mexico soon. I am interested in educating myself regarding bee keeping there.
There are radio ads for the FlowHive? Wow, that's new. New Mexico has some great areas for bees while others are just too dry most of the year. Thanks for watching and comenting!
oh impressive high quality materials.
Yes, they've come a long way from their first line of boxes. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Keep making more videos about flow hive and beekeeping. I really enjoy them. They are done with lots of details. It's a shame I don't have the space to take care of bees.
I just watched your video and found it very informative. How do you manage to keep all the brood in a single deep without the bee’s swarming. A typical hive has two deeps for brood.
During peak productions season, I add medium supers. Brood rarely goes beyond a single deep and medium super here. That's my winter configuration.
You say, "Sometimes people have problems with the pins splitting this thin wood." The solution to this is an old carpenter's trick. Flatten the tip of the nail a little bit with a hammer. The wood fibers are broken when driving the nail instead of splitting the wood.
That is indeed a great method, thanks Cliff!
They did improve that system quite a bit in their manufacturing aspect. That video you started with and this system the construction was very poor and the missing materials were terrible, but it seems they went from beta to finished product and really managed to improve what seems to be an efficient beehive.
agreed!
Would you add another box in between the brood box and the flow frame? I'm thinking that the middle box would be honey for the hive, and the flow hive would be what you harvest.
Yes, that's exactly what I recommend. I have two deeps and one medium super below the flowsuper on most of my hives.
I wonder if I can start a traditional hive and add a flow hive on top later?
Yes, that's what I started off doing and it works out just fine :)
can I get the prose and cons of bee keeping in a back yard
You mention the Acorn frames. Would I be right to assume the Acorn foundations are compatible with the Flow wood frames?
Yes, they are indeed :)
being plastic, and moveable, do you need to do anything differently for winters? do you take another super to set on for a period of time so the bees have time to actually set up stores for winter? also, what are the bees doing with the pollen while the flow frames are on? What do you do regarding pollen? where can they store pollen for later eating or for feeding brood. .
thanks so much for the instructions and demonstrations
Hi High Standards, please watch my other RUclips vids on The FlowHives. I use double deeps most often and there is where the bees store their pollen and honey for winter. I use FlowSupers in the upper boxes only.
Thank you. I'd never heard of them until I saw your last video...any chance you might become a distributor her in North America?
Me? A distributor? I can safely say no to that question. I already have more than enough to do :)
Dang! There went THAT idea.😢
Really enjoy your videos sir, I hope to maybe keep bees one day
Thank you Austin!
Hi... Thanks for this video... Maybe someone has asked this question before ???
I'm in Canada, and we generally have a second super, above the brood super, with a Queen excluder on top, so that the bees have enough honey stored for themselves for the Winter...
I'm assuming that I can add the 7 frame flow super on top of these two...
Do I need to order a second medium/deep box c/w frames from FlowHive just so the complete hive "matches" ???
Thanks...
I was just messaging Flowhive about that very thing - Since in the colder climates, my method is to put the brood box on first, then at least a medium super which they fill prior to adding the Flow-Super which is removed in winter. Flow doesn't currently offer medium supers, only deeps. This results in a very tall system with a small footprint when talking about their 6 frame units. And the deep honey supers are extremely heavy. I'd like to see them offer a "cold weather kit", but for now, they only offer deeps.
Ok so the traditional frames in the lower section is the normal food supply for the colony and then the extra they fill in the upper flow hive section for us to collect honey from leaving their natural food supply for the winter? The Queen excluder is set between? Still trying to get a full understanding of this. If you have a video on beehives 101 that would be great ! :-)
Yes, but I have to add another medium super above the brood box and then the flow-super. I find that two boxes are better when and if a long winter hits. I don't personally use queen excluders unless the flow-super is going on early, before the bees have established a solid layer of honey above the brood.
clever design
I agree :)
is there a way to attach the top box to the bottom, instead of it just sitting on top?
You can put the boxes on in any order, but having the honey super on the bottom would certainly fail.
hi sir .if we use the queen excluder,how can the bee through the flow hive to product honey?
Most worker honey bees can get through the queen excluder, only queens and drones cannot. This prevents the flowframes from being used for brood rearing.
Such amazing video man.
Thank you !
Great video . My Question is How much It Cost ? Hope You can Tell me I would like to Start With Bees
Link in the video description.
So will you only use flow hives from now on?
If I am starting from scratch with my beekeeping do you reccomend relying on flow hives if you don't mind the initial outlay?
HI Kanger80, I will continue to use the standard Langstroth 10 frame equipment with and without Flow components. I have no plan to completely convert to FlowHives. I still enjoy both methods. I generally recommend that beginners start with a traditional Langstroth setup until they are solidly committed to keeping bees and won't have spent lots of $$ for a temporary experience. You can add a FlowSuper to a traditional Langstroth box if and when the bees are productive enough to work it. You don't really "need" to buy a full Flow"Hive".
that is good advice that I think I will take. I am not quite yet a beginner.
Hi Frederick, do you think a flow hive are better than a classic hives, I live upstate NY and I want just to start this june, will I have some honey this season on not, thank you
Hi Kari, I'm not saying they are "better" but I certainly do much prefer them when it comes time to take off some honey. As for if you'll get honey from one in the first season, there are just too many variables for me to give a good answer to that. 50% of the hives I put flow supers on my first year didn't fill them, but 50% did, so it's sort of pot-luck as to how your bees will or won't work the frames. I wish I could give a firm answer, but can't.
Frederick Dunn yes you help me very good, and it's good to change ideas, I think flow hives are easy and time saver, I will order some of them right now from alibaba, thank you very much
You're very welcome Kari! All the best!
Hello, how do I know if I should get the 6 flow frames or the 7?
They are pretty equal, some equipment is for 10 frame Langstroth hives, so that would match a 7 frame Flow. The 6 frame flow is matched up with the 8 Frame Langstroth. There is some hive equipment that may only match the larger version. BUT, if you're going to use strictly Flow-Hive gear, it's just a matter of what you want to work with and are willing to pay the price for. I find the 6 or 7 flow supers both work pretty much the same.
@@FrederickDunn Thank you for your quick reply! This information and your videos are so very helpful. Have a great day!
Where does the winter honey get stored?
ruclips.net/video/CZsGV1F8xbQ/видео.html
Where can I order this hybrid set and how much is it I’m very interested thank you
The link is in the video description.
Deos this version still cause honey draining into the hive that causes a full days evacuation by the hive?
No, that only occurred with my first draining with the first unit. NO problems since.
@@FrederickDunn awesome! thanks ;) Was think of doing a set up like this as I prefer to disturb them as little as possible. But I'm new and have yet to get a hive together. Lots of learning left to do.
@@animalyze7120 The learning never ends... and that's a great aspect to beekeeping :)
Why do they not use wood screws? Unless part of the hole is oversized (its not) then you cant get a properly tight joint with the included screws.
All of the hives since this video do include the square drive self-tapping wood screws... I completely agree :)
@@FrederickDunn thanks for the follow-up!!
Are the screws stainless?
Yes they are indeed.
Hi Frederick
Thanks for the video it is very important and interesting. How I can get the modern fram in my country Ethiopian Gambella there's a meany been and using traditional methods so I am interested to start so can you help me .
Please go to www.honeyflow.com and see what they can do for you? All the best.....
random question that I thought of when you said not to paint the interior: do you know if, back in the lead paint days, the bees consume the lead paint (I've heard it has a sweet taste) and taint the honey?
That's a very interesting question and I'm not sure that lead paint on hive interiors has ever been addressed? Not painting hive interiors goes way back to the originator of our current box-hive design which was well established in the 1880's by Reverend Langstroth. He stressed in his writings, that only the exterior should be finished against the elements. The next part is that I have observed honey bees chewing the interior surfaces as they round off corners and even make new openings at times and then use their own propolis as an interior finish which would protect them from lead and other hazards. It's an interesting question that I think we won't ever really have answers to as no one is still using lead-based paints. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
So, no honey super for the colony?
Not the way this kit comes, you have to add your own medium super for the bees. I've written to the company and suggested that they add at least one medium super for northern climates which would allow for the bees in winter. A Langstrogh 8 frame medium super can be put on this system, but one doesn't come with it and the company doesn't currently offer one.
You have to wonder, rather than tilt the whole hive back, or require someone to tilt it before harvest, why not just angle the bottom part where the honey flows out of it?
Just make the bottom of the honey harvest frame 1 inch longer on the side where the tap goes in.
You should contact them with that suggestion :)
Hi, I am new to bee keeping and I would like to know where can I buy one of this systems. I have seen the old version on eBay but not this new one. Thanks for this wonderful video, I would appreciate any info.
Thanks
HI Lester, thanks for watching and taking a moment to comment, I have the link to these hives in the video description, you can get a $50 deduction by following that link. Wishing you all the best!
Is this sold separately or ( Brood box and Flow Hive )as a kit ? Oop's , I see you posted a link ! TY.
Glad you found the link :)
Hi Everyone! There is a NEW Flow-Hive out, it's called the FlowHive2 Click here to see a teaser! ruclips.net/video/wo8Lyn5xoog/видео.html
How to get Flow-Hives through Cold Winters: ruclips.net/video/CZsGV1F8xbQ/видео.html
From where we can order online to india
Very good
Hello Mr. Frederick Dunn how r u i saw ur hive house film, Sir I want to know where it is available n what is price for this complete house, can u tell us
Thanks a lot n waiting for reply
It is the very first link in the video description, you can find out everything there.. thanks :) wishing you all the best.
Grate, so you are using queen excluders now then,, as other videos you saidyou don't use them.
Hi Anary, I personally do not use Queen Excluders, but I feel that I have a responsibility to encourage new beekeepers to use them.
If you were an actual fan you would know he doesn't use them because he isn't beekeeping for honey mainly.
nice and relaxing video.
Thank you!
Can you put 2 supers of flow hive frames on one hive?
You could, but where I live, it's unlikely that they would complete the second Flow-Super. BUT, I haven't tried it, so can't speak in absolutes.
How often do you have to requeen with one of these systems? Also what is the purpose of requeening in general, I've always assumed that wouldn't be necessary since bees are typically able to make new queens on their own.
Also, what pound package of bees do recommend for starting up one of these?
No different from any other hive. They requeen themselves when they feel the need.
A three pound package would be fine :)
@@FrederickDunn Thank you so much for the quick response!
Ésto es sencillamente genial
Isn't lasercut joints also good because it burns the wood which makes the bee not touch it due the ash texture? Meaning, it might be easier to pull off once needed. Of course, I guess it goes away after one year.
Hi Helveteshit, none of the laser burned surfaces face the interior, so the bees really have no contact with those surfaces. It goes away after a year? I didn't know that and it will be interesting to see. I'm using a clear finish on the exterior, so we'll be able to see what happens. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
I just figured that Bees dislike smoke, smoke is something that is essentially burnt material/Charcoal. So I guess they wouldn't want to get close to such surfaces and by lasercutting the wood like that, it would lead to burnt surfaces. I figured it might be easier to separate the boxes because of that little fact.
It is just me spouting theories since I do not have an Apiary to test said theories with. But I figured bees might avoid building wax or that sealant on top of an ashed/burnt surface. But hey, I can be wrong.
As for the laser cut surface vanishing after a year? I figured normal weather and time would deteriorate the surface unless one adds extra protective coating on it.
Excelente...!!!
Mr. Dunn; from what I've seen (that you've posted), I'd love to get my grubby paws on one of these (the second one, or only in addition to my usuals.) Do you know if there's a distributor here in NA?
To find out where they are sourcing them in your area, you'd have to ask the people at Flow www.HoneyFlow.com I think they are advancing their availability.
Thank you Sir for this valuable informations ! Keep going ^__^
You are very welcome and thank you for taking your valuable time to watch and comment!
How much does it cost and where can i buy one?
The link is in the video description and if you use the link you will receive $50.00 off...
Great video! I was reading in the comments and I saw that you recommend for beginners to use a traditional longstroth setup, I was wondering if there was a set available online that you would recommend as I am wanting to get into all this action!
Hi Edgy, for a startup kit, I recommend two sources and in my opinion, they are basically equal. www.BetterBee.com and www.Dadant.com they both offer really nice complete starter kits. Thanks for watching and I hope you do venture into beekeeping.
Can't wait to get one of these!
I'm sure you'll enjoy having it.
Why so many say avoid this flow hive ilive in va is there any way i can visit you as iam new to bee keeper
HI Peter, I will address this in my Q&A video #45 which will go live today.