Flow Hives - Honey

[Alex.Tas]

Has anyone ordered one of these?
http://www.honeyflow.com/

They aren't particularly new (early 2015 release i think), but still something i though would be worth of discussion.

A couple of fellas form the Hunter region developed this system to remove honey from hives without the reed to remove the plates, cut off the caps and spin out the honey. The idea looks awesome!

Its a real shame that even though the product was developed in Australia, is made in Australia, posted from Australia but is sold in US currency, and therefore subject to the fluctuations in the AUD. I can understand that they have a predominantly US/international market and therefore it may make sense to sell using USD.

Doesn't help console me to the fact that a full setup is slightly over $1k due to exchange rates.

So far as i can tell, even if I ordered one now, it wouldn't be available until late summer.

 

[tugger]

Mead factory.

 

[Lincoln2]

It was actually developed from up this way and a lot of my mates are keeping a close eye on this. I'm dead keen for one as are some of the lads.

It's quite an interesting story if you look at their history and the kickstarter campaign. Seeking $75K and raised millions in just days, Primarily from US apiarists which may explain the Yank focus?

 

[wobbly]

Not knocking the development but these are comments from my neighbor who has a Phd in biology and works in the WA Agricultural Department on Bee research

Wobbly

[SIZE=11pt]I haven’t seen one up close, but I have looked at the videos like everyone else….they raised a lot of money by crowd funding for it….and so much interest worldwide, that they will become multimillionaires fairly quickly !![/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Apart from the revolutionary frame splitting idea, it will have a few problems if people think they do not need to be a trained beekeeper to have one.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]Say if the bees get a bee disease, which can be common in suburbia they will need to replace the bees and sterilize the hive components[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]If it needs a new queen – they will need to replace the queen bee[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]If the honey candies in the comb then the frame split idea won’t work, examples are late winter/spring when raddish and canola flowers – these nectars when turned into honey and if the bee population reduces (eg by swarming) and the frames fall to 14 C ambient, then the honey will candy quite quickly and not flow from a frame. Good strong populous hives will maintain hive temp at about 35 C and honey can stay liquid[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]For a normal beehive you can buy all the components in WA and make your own hive for around $240, and fill it with bees from a nucleus hive (with good queen) you can buy for around $145..or wait for a swarm and go and collect it for free ![/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]I reckon I will see quite a few on the verge in the coming years ! (council throw outs)[/SIZE]

 

[shaunous]

Yeh I watched it from the start. They were making hundreds of thousands over night. I've emailed them a couple of times and they keep telling me it'll stay US$ for a long while yet. They are very expensive and I can't justify it.
I really want bee's on my farm but will probably meet up with the local bee group (every town has one, or one close) and get their idea's. A lot of people have been having crop failures, and it's come down to not enough bees pollinating, so people are having to self pollinate by tipping one flower into another. A lot of effort!

The guys who created it are from North Coast NSW.

 

[shaunous]

How closely I was following them
Screen shots several days apart.

 

[Mardoo]

Yeah, these look damn interesting, but I've wondered about similar things as raised by wobbly's mate. I kept bees years ago and want to get back into it. Knowing the amount of work it can be, this looks great, but incredibly pricey. Hopefully their follow-through at distributing information on resolution of issues will be good. I'm going to wait and see a bit, but I'm still watching, that's for sure.

 

[jburke]

This is a fantastic idea(in the right hands) unfortunately going by some of the questions I've seen posted on their Facebook page, it won't be in the right hands. Yes i know everyone will learn how to care for bees but with bees you really should try to learn before. Just hopefully they can all figure it out before they get disheartened. I really hope this works though as it is a lot nicer on the bees than normal robbing but then it's plastic so is it better for the whole hive which is the main question any beekeeper should be asking, not when and how easy can i extract.
It is swarm season Mardoo, perfect time to get back into it.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

My parents kept bees. we had extractor van he whole bit

Used to chase native trees around flowering

Shame not many are into native bees. Although they are a bit harder to work with, but dont sting

 

[Dave70]

Aussies. Keepin it real in the testimonials..

"F%#$! That's the Holy Grail of beekeeping." Murray Arkadieff
Farmgate Honey – commercial apiary, Australia

 

[Crusty]

What a great idea.
Who wouldn't want one of these.
I think these guys are going to make a fortune out of it.

 

[shaunous]

They've already made over 11mil, whats a fortune to you Crusty? :lol:

 

[Alex.Tas]

Yeah I think it is really innovative. Good one these people for thinking outside the square.

Wobbly, the points your neighbor makes are probably valid, but form the very little i know about bee keeping, wouldn't the majority of what you said be true for a traditional hive too?

I might spend this summer building a brood box and roof, as well as the frame, and then look to filling it with the drain-able frames next year.

 

[shaunous]

I'm thinking along the same lines u are Alex.Tas

 

[Lincoln2]

As per Wobbly and others, I agree this is not a magic bullet that will miraculously turn you into a gun bee-keeper. You'll still need the fundamentals.

My nearest bee club is in Nimbin so I might wander over and have a chat. You should see how they smoke their hives for extraction.

 

[pajs]

Lots of interesting flow hive discussion in the article and comments here: http://www.milkwood.net/2015/02/26/going-flow-flow-hive-actually-good-idea/

Quite keen to add some bees at my place, but no way I know enough about them yet. Warre hives seem like smart design though.

 

[wobbly]

Did any one pull the trigger on one of these and if so what has your experience bee to date

Cheers

Wobbly

 

[wynnum1]

ttps://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154562544048410&set=gm.1782209288727178&type=3&theater

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Did any one pull the trigger on one of these and if so what has your experience bee to date

Cheers

Wobbly

Was going to wobbly but my wife now has got it in her head that it could be dangerous with the kids, subscribe to their emails and am presently trying to convince my wife to let me put the hive on the roof.

 

[Grainer]

Advice.. wait 2-3 years and collect them from hard rubbish.. reported issues with comb sizes so far and the bees don't really like them cause of it.